Yesterday evening about 150 Lents residents gathered in Lents Park to voice their opposition to building a Triple-A baseball stadium in the park. Friends of Lents Park, a group of Lents residents opposed to the stadium proposal, organized the meeting so that residents opposed to a stadium in the park would be heard.
According to Nick Christensen, Lents resident and one of the Friends of Lents Park organizers, this first meeting was all about listening to residents concerns. Christensen said, "We said going into this, we were here to listen tonight." Any resident who wanted to speak was given two minutes to tell those gathered their concerns or why they opposed the stadium proposal. For over an hour, one resident after another stood on the stage and spoke their mind.
Residents Speak
Lents resident John Jay said, "Here's what's indisputable, Sam Adams and Randy Leonard want to take green space, dedicated parkland, plow it under and put up concrete and asphalt, in this day and age that's crazy!" Andi Hodge was concerned about traffic; "I'm one of those who lives over between 92nd and the freeway and I'm locked in, on game night we're stuck, we can't get in and we can't get out. And if you bring a major league team in here were going forced to deal with that all summer long."
Most of the concerns expressed were familiar issues: parking & traffic, garbage, noise, loss of green space, loss of kids' sports fields, and too much money to risk for dubious economic development. Two major themes emerged, which are reflected on the Friends of Lents Park petition: residents don't want the park to change and they don't want to spend Urban Renewal money on the stadium.
John Mulvey represents the Foster-Powell neighborhood on the Lents URAC and has been an outspoken critic of the Lents stadium proposal. Mulvey told the crowd, "Lents is the area that is bearing the brunt of this whole project. This stadium is only half of the project. The other half is a stadium for soccer downtown. The cash cow that's making the whole thing, $100 million plus, go is your urban renewal money."
Misconceptions
As the evening wore on, it became clear that there were misconceptions about the proposal. Several residents talked about the proposed parking "structure", some worried about the loss of the little league baseball fields next to Walker Stadium. Others said residents were excluded from the process.
This speaks to a problem common with any public process: communication. While financing for a stadium in Lents has been discussed in the Lents URAC since Sept 2008, most residents weren't aware of the stadium proposal until the Lents Neighborhood Association on May 20. Friends of Lents Park announced this meeting via email, its own blog, and the ILoveLents website, yet one speaker said she only learned about the meeting when she saw it on TV.
While organizations must adequately communicate meeting schedules to the public, residents must actively participate in the process of making themselves informed. Unless both sides participate, factual information won't get out and misconceptions follow.
About those misconceptions:
The proposed parking is not a structure; it is an area of decorative pavers that could be used for community events such as a farmers market.
The little league fields would remain in their current locations. The soccer field north of Walker Stadium would be lost.
Lents URAC meetings are open to the public, are announced at least 3 days before the meeting (often earlier) on the PDC website and ILoveLents.
Tonia Foster, concessionaire for Walker Stadium, had a great piece of advice for residents, "Everyone just needs to take a breath and listen to each other. Only when residents listen and understand all the facts can residents make a good decision about their neighborhood."
After the meeting I asked Nick Christensen if the meeting met his expectations. Christensen said, "We wanted to show that there are many people in Lents skeptical of this plan, and that Lents Park is a vibrant, active part of our community, and I think it was, to borrow the baseball metaphor, a home run."
Next Friends of Lents Park meeting (tentative):
Check www.lentspark.blogspot.com, or www.ilovelents.com for updates and changes.
