DATE: November 5, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Parks and Recreation Department
TITLE: RESOLUTION APPROVING UPDATES TO THE USER GROUP CLASSIFICATIONS AND AMENDING THE PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER FEE SCHEDULE
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving an updated User Group Classifications and amending the Parks and Recreation Master Fee Schedule.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The City of Oceanside Parks and Recreation Department allocates fields, courts, and facilities pursuant to guidelines in the Facility Rental Packet that were developed based on the Priority Class Descriptions approved by City Council on September 8, 2010. The existing Facility Rental Packet is silent on multiple issues, which has required staff to make decisions based on its best judgment and industry standards. The deficiency of the existing Packet was amplified in 2022 when it was discovered that a local Charter High School was placed in the same classification group (priority class B) as Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) programs. When this error was identified by community members, staff immediately addressed the situation, ensuring that said Charter School no longer received the same priority as OUSD programming which is subject to the terms of a Joint Use Agreement. Another prevalent issue not addressed in the current Facility Rental Packet is how to differentiate between resident and non-resident organizations, compelling staff to develop a standard of 70% residency that was consistent with neighboring cities, but was not identified in any formal policy or instruction. These high-profile issues ultimately led to the formation of a Parks and Recreation Commission Ad Hoc Committee on November 9, 2021 that was tasked with working with the community, including affected user groups, to evaluate equity in field and facility allocation. The Ad Hoc Committee was subsequently converted to a Standing Committee on January 10, 2023 and its work on this issue continued through September 30, 2025.
The Ad Hoc/Standing Committee hosted community workshops on August 29, September 19, October 10, and November 1, 2023. The purpose of these meetings was to solicit community feedback that could be used to help inform future efforts to revise the City’s Facility Rental Packet. The facilitators focused on having participants help develop the vision and values that would serve as the foundation for revising the User Group Classifications in the Facility Rental Packet.
On November 14, 2023, the Standing Committee presented a draft updated User Group Classifications to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The Parks and Recreation Commission voted 8-0-1 (Commissioner Wunder abstaining) that Parks and Recreation staff revise the Facility Rental Packet and User Group Classifications based on further public input, then review the revised draft with the Standing Committee, and return to the Commission with an updated Facility Rental Packet for recommendations to present to City Council.
Parks and Recreation Department staff subsequently hosted four public meetings between January 11, 2024 and May 13, 2024. The meetings were available via zoom, and recordings of the meetings were posted on a webpage dedicated to the revision of the Facility Rental Packet. The webpage includes the vision and values developed during previous Parks and Recreation Standing Committee meetings, meeting schedule and recordings, and links to field allocation documents used by other public agencies.
The meetings followed the following format:
Meeting 1 - January 11, 2024:
Topic #1: Determine whether Oceanside should re-institute the Athletic Federation or develop a Sports Council, including membership requirements and its role.
Topic #2: Determine what should be the percentage of residents for a group to be considered a resident group.
Meeting 2 - March 18, 2024:
Topic #1: Determine whether Oceanside should continue to have two allocation periods, or if the Department should have three or four allocation periods.
Topic #2: Determine whether priority should be given to programs during their traditional season, and define those priority seasons.
Meeting 3 - April 11, 2024:
Topic #1: Determine how the City of Oceanside should prioritize long-time users and new users, including how new facilities should be allocated.
Topic #2: Determine if the User Group Classifications that were developed by the Standing Committee should be the baseline for the new classifications.
Meeting 4 - May 13, 2024:
Topic #1: Determine the revised User Group Classifications.
There were eight public meetings dedicated to the revision of the Facility Rental Packet and User Group Classifications. Parks and Recreation Department staff also collected survey information related to the topics that were discussed at each meeting, which allowed organizations that were unable to attend the meetings to participate in the process. Parks and Recreation Department staff used the draft User Group Classifications that were developed during the four Parks and Recreation Department Standing Committee meetings as the foundation for the Facility and Field Allocation Policy (Attachment 4). The Policy and the updated User Group Classifications were developed based on input from organizations that attended the four Parks and Recreation Department staff-led meetings, the four Standing Committee Meetings, and input from organizations that were unable to attend the meetings.
The latest draft of the Facility and Athletic Field Allocation Policy, including the user group classifications, was discussed during the Standing Committee meeting on October 8, 2024. Staff, Standing Committee members, and the public discussed concerns that had been raised at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on September 10, 2024. Feedback provided during the Standing Committee meeting resulted in additional changes to the document. The document was presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission on November 12, 2024. Subsequently, the City and several community members engaged in a non-binding mediation process with representatives from the State of California Civil Rights Department in an effort to reach consensus on a final user guide recommendation.
The assigned mediators reviewed relevant documents and watched recordings of several Parks and Recreation Commission and Standing Committee meetings prior to meeting independently with the City and members of the community. The City Manager, Deputy City Manager, and Parks and Recreation Director represented the City in the mediation process. The mediator met separately with the City and members of the community on several occasions. The mediator proposed focusing on the user group classifications during the first in-person mediation meeting that occurred on June 10, 2025. The focus of the meeting was on categories where there appeared to be minor differences between the classifications in the latest draft of the Facility and Athletic Field Allocation Policy and the priorities of the community members.
Based on the progress made during this first meeting, representatives from the City and the community members requested a second in-person mediation meeting that was held on June 26. Significant progress was made in the second meeting, but the City and community members could not agree on how to prioritize youth groups with less than 70% residents or schools not governed by a joint use agreement. The City and community members were unable to agree on the priority for classification groups 4, 5, 6, and 7. Staff committed to sharing the points of disagreement with the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council to ensure that all voices were heard and understood during final consideration of the matter.
Following mediation, City staff and the community members met three additional times and made some additional progress; however, the City and community members were unable to reach an agreement that could be presented jointly to the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council. As such, the City is recommending City Council approval of the user classifications that were developed at the conclusion of the mediation process (Attachment 2). It should be noted that the community members have submitted an alternative (Attachment 5) for consideration.
The associated Facility and Athletic Field Allocation Policy (Attachment 4) serves as a Department Instruction, which provides guidance to staff about how the Department allocates and manages the use of City facilities and fields. The Department can make adjustments to that policy to address unforeseen operational issues, and to ensure that the City is providing equitable access to fields and facilities. The User Group Classifications are being submitted to City Council for approval. As noted above, the Facility and Athletic Field Allocation policy is a staff-developed document that’s used as an implementation tool and does not require City Council approval.
If approved, the User Group Classifications will change the priority class descriptions that were approved by City Council on September 8, 2010, thereby requiring changes to the Department Master Fee Schedule. A comprehensive list of all fees is attached and compares existing fees to the proposed fees based on the updated user group classifications (Attachment 3). Although there are some organizations that will experience fee increases, these are primarily a result of changes in the user group classifications and are not intended to generate additional revenue. There are several fees that are no longer used and are proposed to be removed from the Department Master Fee Schedule. There are also some amenities that need to be added to the Master Fee Schedule. Once adopted, staff recommends that fee changes take effect at the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2026.
The Department initiated a pilot program on June 22, 2021 to reduce the fees charged for gymnasium rentals to better align with fees charged by other cities and increase the number of gym rentals. The former Parks and Recreation Division Manager proposed the pilot program that was communicated to the Mayor and Council by a pass thru memorandum from the former City Manager. The Department recommends adding these changes to the Department Master Fee Schedule.
Aquatic Fees were also adjusted to create greater alignment between all of the facilities, while adjusting rental rates to align with the new user group classifications. Monthly, quarterly, and annual passes will be valid at all of the aquatic facilities. The hourly staff rate has been adjusted to account for cost-of-living increases that have been enacted in the last several years. The Department proposes to eliminate non-resident fees for drop-in lap and recreation swim to streamline the number of fees charged. Non-resident rates will be preserved for passes; however, the Department proposes to increase the non-resident rate for annual passes so that residents enjoy the same proportional discount for annual passes as they do for quarterly passes. This was a concern raised by several Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Staff requests that this fee not be subject to Council Policy 600-05, which stipulates that non-residents will pay a $10 fee surcharge and allow for a higher $40 surcharge. For example, a family quarterly pass costs $125 for residents and $135 for non-residents, but the annual pass is $500 for residents (four times the cost of a quarterly pass) and the cost for non-residents is $510, which is not four times the cost of the quarterly pass. Staff proposes that the non-resident cost for an annual pass be increased to $540, which is four times the non-resident rate of the quarterly pass.
The fees for pool parties and water aerobics have been updated to reflect fees currently charged to achieve required cost recovery.
The Department proposes to eliminate fees for Lifeguard Training, Emergency Response, and Water Safety Instructor because they are courses that certify candidates that are recruited for vacant positions at City of Oceanside facilities. It is expected that eliminating these fees will incentivize additional candidates to apply for these positions which have become increasingly difficult to fill.
Changes in the Facility and Athletic Field Fees are proposed to align with the revised priority classifications. There are reductions in some fees for priority class 8, which are Non-Profit Oceanside Resident Senior or Therapeutic Groups because these are senior and therapeutic programs for Oceanside residents offered by non-profits for free or minimal fees. The new fees reflect a standardization of spaces across all of the Department facilities, and eliminates room configurations that are not used. Staff recommends introducing a refund policy for facility rentals where cancellations with more than 60 days advance notice are eligible to receive a 75% refund of fees paid. Cancellations with less than 60 days advance notice will not be eligible to receive a refund of fees paid. This is necessary to reduce the number of last-minute cancellations, particularly at the El Corazon Event Center.
There are some fees in special events that have been updated to reflect adjustments to cost recovery because the City collects pass through fees charged by a third-party vendor, including insurance and cleaning fees. Staff also recommends capping charges for bandshell rentals at 10 hours per day. This is particularly important for events that have multiple day rentals or complex load-in and load-out plans.
The changes to fees for gyms and athletic fields are primarily to align with changes to the user group classifications. A fee was added for beach volleyball and pickleball court rentals.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact is anticipated based on current usage; however, when groups are reclassified based on the new priorities, there may be additional revenue from additional usage that does not meet the requirements of priority 3 - Oceanside Resident Recreational Youth Groups.
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
The proposed updates to the User Group Classifications and the Department Master Fee Schedule were presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission on September 30, 2025. The Commission voted 5 - 4 not to recommend the that the City Council approve the updated user group classifications and updates to the Parks and Recreation master fee schedule. The Commission did not vote to recommend or approve an alternative plan. At that meeting, the Commission also voted 5-4 to disband the Standing Committee given that the User Guide is now scheduled for final consideration by the City Council.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The referenced resolution has been reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
Attachments:
1. Staff Report
2. Use Group Classifications
3. Parks and Recreation Fees
4. Facility and Athletic Field Allocation Policy
5. User Guide Proposed by Community Group
6. User Group Classifications and Department Master Fee Schedule Resolution
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Prepared by: Manuel Gonzalez, Parks and Recreation Director
Reviewed by: Rob O’Brien, Deputy City Manager
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager