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Correspondence to WV Christian School - 2014CITY of CAMPBELL Community Development Department June 3, 2014 Yuritzy Villasenor, Principal West Valley Christian School 95 Dot Avenue Campbell, CA 95008 Re: Soccer Tournaments at West Valley Christian School 600 W. Campbell Ave. / 95 Dot Ave. Dear Ms. Villasenor, As you know, the City of Campbell's Community Development Department has received complaints regarding soccer tournaments held at West Valley Christian School located at the above address. The complaints state that the site is being rented to soccer leagues for tournament use and that these activities are having a negative impact on surrounding residential neighbors including noise and property damage. The Planning Division received your letter dated March 12, 2014, in which you describe the soccer activities occurring at the school. Thank you for providing this information. The letter indicates that soccer tournaments occur on the site twice annually and are used as a fundraiser for the school. The letter states that these are not league activities, but rather that players consist of members of affiliated churches. You have also verbally informed staff that players may appear to be league members because they sometimes wear uniforms, but that these uniforms are borrowed for the purpose of the fundraisers. According to City records, a church school was approved on this site in 1956 and has been operated since that time. Based on your description of the biannual soccer fundraisers, Planning staff has determined that these activities fall within the site's existing approved uses. These fundraising activities are infrequent, temporary, and directly associated with the school. If in the future you wish to expand or modify the activities described in your letter, such as increasing their frequency, please contact Planning staff in advance of any change to discuss whether permits are required. Please also note that allowing outside organizations or persons to conduct activities on the site which are not directly associated with the school use, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, would require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. 70 North First Street • Campbell, California 95008-1436 ~ lla 408.&06.2140 Pnx 408.871 .5140 • 'fuD 408.866.2790 600 W. Campbell Ave. / 9S Dot Ave. Page 2 of 2 Although there is no permit required for continuation of the existing soccer tournament activities, Planning staff strongly encourages you to work with your residential neighbors to address their concerns. Neighbors have indicated the school has been unresponsive to their concerns about noise and property damage in the past, which increases their sense of frustration. The following are some potential measures which may help resolve concerns: ^ Avoid holding events during early morning or evening hours when noise is typically a greater concern. ^ Minimize the use of amplified sound during outdoor events. ^ Consider notifying surrounding neighbors before each event with the date and times of the upcoming fundraiser. Being able to plan for the event (perhaps leave the house if bothered by noise) may reduce neighbors' frustration. ^ Provide neighbors with a contact person they can reach by phone if there are concerns about impacts of an event. Ensure any calls are returned promptly. ^ Explore methods to prevent future property damage, including the direction of play and the location of nets. Additional nets or other similar devices may be needed on a temporary basis during soccer tournaments to protect neighboring properties. ^ If any property damage does occur as a result of an event, repair all damage promptly and work with neighbors to prevent future damage. ^ Realize that the school's speed and manner in responding to concerns will have an impact on how objectionable neighbors find these activities. These potential :measures are offered as suggestions, but there may be other appropriate measures to reduce your neighbors' concerns. We encourage you to work with them directly. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact me at (408) 866-2144 or by email at MariyaHCucityofcampbell.com. Sincerely, ~~ ~ ~ : ~_ Mariya Hodge Project Planner Cc: Aki Snelling, Planning Manager Gary Kornahrens, Code Enforcement Officer Laserfiche WEST VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 95 DOT AVENUE CAMPBELL, CA 95008 PHONE 408-378-4327 March 12, 2014 Campbell City 70 N 1st St Campbell, CA 95008 ^f~~'~N 1 ~ ?_01~~ ~ ~~~'' t _' ~ ~. ~ `~ F~ ~.l._ ~. To Whom It May Concern: This letter is to inform the City of Campbell about the West Valley Christian School ("West Valley") biannual soccer tournaments. West Valley is a Christian elementary school, Kindergarten through eighth grade. We have operated in Campbell since 1948. Since that time our attendance has fluctuated from 150 to 27 students at the current time. Most of our children are from families which attend Seventh-day Adventist churches and other Christian churches in the Silicon Valley. Since 2007, West Valley has been conducting these tournaments as fundraisers twice a year. These are not league activities. The tournaments consist of soccer teams made up of members from various churches in the valley from Gilroy to Hayward that are affiliated with West Valley. The tournaments occur in the Fall and the Spring semesters. The turnout at each tournament is approximately 250-300 people. In total we raise about $1000 for the year through the tournaments. Currently, these two tournaments per year are the only fundraising events that we do on our campus. The students and parents look forward each tournament and we are looking forward to continuing these events on our campus. Please let us know what we can do to help alleviate any concerns that our neighbors may have. Thank you. Sincerely, ~ `~'~ , ~~G~ / ,-~' ~ ` ~1'uritzy laser~or Principal