A local agricultural company has offered to convert some of its farmland into a temporary sports facility to help Santa Paula expand its park system.

Santa Paula-based Limoneira Co., which grows lemons, avocados and other crops on more than 4,000 acres in Ventura County, is proposing to lease the city seven to 10 acres for athletic fields. The parcel is on the southeast corner of East Area One, which is 501 acres just east of Santa Paula where the company wants to build as many as 1,350 homes.

The sports facility could become permanent if voters clear the way for Limoneira's development by expanding the City Urban Restriction Boundary to encompass the property. That proposal is expected to come before Santa Paula voters next year, as early as June.

Limoneira President and CEO Harold Edwards said the proposal is not an attempt to win favorable treatment from the City Council or voters.

"Since this is slated to be a park eventually, we figured this would be a good thing," he said, adding the company just wants to help the community.

City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz expressed similar sentiments, saying that "Limoneira wears its community hat first, and its developer hat further down the road."

The city approached Limoneira as part of a continuing effort to provide more parkland for Santa Paula's nearly 30,000 residents, especially for those who play sports.

"We're just woefully short of playing fields for our soccer-playing kids and football-playing kids," Edwards said. "It (Limoneira's land) is a great opportunity for the city, and I really hope it works."

Edwards said it's possible that the facility could have one or several soccer fields.

Santa Paula needs about 150 acres of parkland but has only about 36, according to the city's Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

Community members have expressed frustration about the conditions of sports fields and lack of facilities, according to city officials.

There are 12 parks in Santa Paula, and residents can play sports at only three of them — Teague, Harding and Las Piedras.

Parents of soccer players are frustrated with the lack of soccer fields, said Sylvia De Santiago, regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization in Santa Paula.

"We don't have any soccer fields," De Santiago said. "Right now, the fields that we're using are at Isbell School."

For this soccer season, nearly 700 children registered with AYSO, but more could not join because of the lack of sports fields, she said.

Bobkiewicz said that athletic groups looking for a place to play are accommodated if they make a request with the Community Services Department.

One challenge city officials have, though, is accommodating teams that do not contact the department and just show up to use a field, he added.

Bobkiewicz said a county conditional-use permit is required for the city to lease the land and convert it from agricultural use. The land is planted in row crops.

He said the city will apply for the permit, probably within a few weeks.

Councilman John Procter said he favors creativity in finding more land for recreation, but he added that the city must keep in mind potential obstacles, such as high costs and the length of time involved.

Councilman Ralph Fernandez, like other council members, said that the city's hope for more parkland depends on future large-scale developments in Adams Canyon and East Area One. "I think we have to take what we can get," Fernandez said. "This may not be the ultimate solution, but it's a step in the right direction."

The city also is considering schools as potential sports fields. The city already has a joint-use agreement with the Santa Paula Elementary School District but hopes to sign a new agreement that would allow facilities to be used after school hours, Community Services Director Brian J. Yanez said.

If the sites are rehabilitated with upgrades such as new turf, they could provide more parkland, he said.

Meanwhile, city officials plan to rehabilitate Teague and Las Piedras parks, Yanez said. The City Council could on Dec. 17 award a contract for new irrigation and sod at Teague Park, he said. Similar improvements are planned at Las Piedras, he said.