Claremont’s Youth Sports Committee has raised its residency requirements for youth groups of 19 years old and under wishing to use the city’s sports facilities and fields.

The committee’s revised policy, which reached its final approval by City Council on Tuesday, July 26, will now require 65 percent of youth organizations’ registered participants to be “residents,” meaning that they must either live in the city, or attending a Claremont-based school.

Previously set at 51 percent, the change seeks a balance between allowing the committee’s youth programs the ability to use city sports facilities while also ensuring that tax payers’ money is benefiting those living within the city itself.

“One of the window’s of opportunity it provides is that kids going to school here can still play with soccer with their buddies. If you just made it for the people that lived here…they couldn’t play baseball or soccer,” said Chuck Gardenhire, chair of the youth sports committee, at the council meeting. “We’ve been working very diligently with all youth sports groups, and feel we are finally going in a positive direction.”

Full story will be published in Wednesday’s edition of the COURIER.