One Person’s View
by Mary Robertson
It’s like the Pink Floyd song “Is Anybody Out There?” has sprung to life in the Village and the answer is a resounding “Hell yes! - and we’re not going to take it any more!”
Last month, the GRF Board presented a resolution to eliminate some of the rules in the Recreation Policy Handbook involving clubs. This was part of an effort by the GRF Community Activities Committee (CAC) and PCM to clean up the handbook and eliminate rules that are not enforceable. One of those rules has caused controversy.
The vote on these rule changes will be occurring at the GRF Board meeting in December. If you are interested in the outcome of this issue, plan to watch the meeting on TV 6. If you want to have a say in the decision, plan to attend the meeting. It is the first Tuesday in December at 9:30 a.m. in the Board Room at the Community Center.

Current Rule at Issue
The rule at issue states that non-residents can be members of a club under two conditions:
(1) the club is part of a state/national/international organization; or,
(2) the person was a previous resident and member of the club.
However, no more than 10 percent of a club’s membership can be non-resident members.
GRF is recommending deleting this rule as it does not affect how many non-residents can attend a club function and therefore is not meaningful. Opponents to this change say it is opening our community to outsiders.
I was appointed to the Community Activities Committee in May, in the middle of its review of the recreation rule changes. I needed to catch up fast on what was going on so I sat down and reviewed the Recreation Policy Handbook (it can be found on the Laguna Woods Village website). Truth is on both sides. Here is my take on the matter.
CAC is correct when it says checking membership lists to count non-residents has no impact on how many outsiders can come in to attend a club function. Residents can invite friends into the Village and to their club event/meeting as guests as long as the club allows guests to attend its club functions.
On the other hand, by removing the membership rule, clubs will no longer have to ensure that 90 percent of their members are residents, which will mean any non-resident can join a LWV club as long as a resident is willing to sponsor him/her.

What the Membership Rule Means
Under the rule, the Recreation Department reviews the membership roster and confirms that the two conditions are met. It does not state PCM is to monitor all club functions to ensure no more than 10 percent of the attendees are non-residents.
It seems to me there is little value in having PCM monitor attendance at club functions unless there is also a limit on how many guests can attend. To actually monitor all the club functions to take head counts would require a significant increase in PCM staff and, consequently, an increase in assessments.

Other Rules Affect Facility Use
I did find there are other existing recreation rules that control when and how many non-resident guests can use our facilities. They are contained in Section III of the Recreation Policy Handbook and are not changing.
These rules differ from facility to facility, probably because they were created over many years based on resident demand for individual facilities. Here are some:
• A resident can have no more than five guests at the swimming pools.
• Guests of a resident can use only one tennis court (thus limiting the number of guests a resident can have).
• A guest cannot use the Photo Studio/Lab.
• A guest cannot use the workshops at Clubhouse 4.
• A resident can have no more than five guests in the fitness centers. A guest may be denied use of equipment if residents are waiting.
• A resident takes precedence over a guest in the gymnasium unless the guest is part of a resident team.
• Only residents may lease a garden plot.
A resident can have no more than three guests on the golf course. The limit is one guest on weekends and holidays (until noon/1:00 PDT).

Exceptions to the Rules
As always, there are exceptions to the facility use rules above. For instance, the Saddleback Emeritus program (see article in this newsletter) provides many classes enjoyed by residents. These classes, by State law, must be open to the public so non-residents do attend them. Saddleback College provides a list of those non-resident students to PCM each semester and the recreation rules state non-residents in those classes must arrive no more than 15 minutes before class and must leave no later than 15 minutes after class ends.
Also, a club or resident can submit a request to the GRF CAC to hold a special event which includes outsiders such as a tennis or golf tournament. GRF evaluates each of these requests on an individual basis, weighing the wishes of the requester and the resident population in general.

How Best to Control Facility Use by Outsiders
The main concern of residents is to not allow non-residents to interfere with our residents’ enjoyment of facilities. The issue is how best to spend our money to ensure this will not happen while still allowing residents the freedom to enjoy their friends who do not live here.
We could keep the 10 percent rule on the books, but will that meet the need? Do we want to limit the number of invited guests to club functions? Do we want to increase staff and assessments to ensure all clubs are following the rules?
Perhaps we should ensure there is adequate staff at the entry to those facilities where special rules have been created to limit non-residents and to expand those limitations when demand requires it.

All these issues are fair game for discussion.