2-TIER TEAM FEES MULLED CITY RESIDENTS MAY GET BREAK.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The City Council will consider a plan to give Santa Clarita residents first shot at registering for city parks and recreation programs and to charge nonresidents an extra fee to sign up for coveted classes and sports teams.

The city Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously recommended the plan to stop shortchanging city residents who often find themselves locked out of the parks and recreation programs that their tax dollars subsidize.

``Every youth sports organization is (at capacity) in the valley,'' Commissioner Todd Longshore said. ``We want as many kids to participate as possible, but, at the same time, people should get what they pay for.''

At least 25 percent of the participants in Santa Clarita's dozens of parks and recreation programs are residents of communities outside city limits, such as Stevenson Ranch, Castaic and Val Verde, said Parks Director Rick Gould.

``We were fairly stunned at that number,'' Gould said. ``That's a significant amount.''

The proposal would create an advance period when only Santa Clarita residents could register for classes and sports teams. Afterward, others could sign up on a first-come, first-served basis, Gould said.

The fee for nonresidents would be based on the amount of money from the city's general fund used to subsidize the program. For example, if a sports program costs $75 per participant to operate but the registration charge for city residents is only $55, nonresidents of the city would have to pay $75 each.

``This needs to be done,'' Karin Nelson, the commission chairwoman, said.

It is unclear how much money the nonresident fees would raise for the city's general fund. However, a city study found that revenues from the youth basketball program alone could increase by $25,000 a year, Gould said.

Several commissioners said they would like to see any new revenue used to expand recreation programs.

The Parks and Recreation Department staff will begin developing a more detailed proposal to be considered by the City Council. At the direction of the commission, the staff will recommend how residency could be verified.

``We need to improve the databases,'' Nelson said. ``Otherwise, this will become an administrative nightmare that will overwhelm our staff.''

Most cities in Southern California, including Burbank, Lancaster and Palmdale, give residents preferential treatment or charge nonresidents additional fees.

City government could legally charge a nonresident fee and hold resident-priority registration only for programs held at city-constructed facilities such as the George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex, Gould said.

Santa Clarita officials may not legally give city residents preferential treatment over other Los Angeles County residents at facilities that were built with county government funds before the city was incorporated, but later turned over to the city. So, as a new city with only county-built recreation facilities, Santa Clarita established a tradition of first-come, first-served registration, Gould said.

However, fewer programs are being held at the older, county-built facilities, which provides city officials with an opportunity to institute resident-priority registration and nonresident fees, Gould said.