Good evening. I'm Sharon Pinkstaff, chair of the pros commission. Welcome to Monday, October 5,
2026 regular pros commission meeting. Before we get into the roll call, I would like to introduce
and welcome newly appointed student commissioner Aisha Sandhu to her first pros commission meeting.
Aisha, would you like to introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Aisha. I'm a junior in high school. This is my
first year on the PROS Commission and I'm really excited to learn more about
local government and work with new people to improve Walnut Creek. And are you
sure you are a student at? Las Llamas. All right. Yeah. Welcome. All right. Acting
Commission Secretary Chris Farrell, would you like to do the roll call?
Absolutely. Student Commissioner Sandhu? Present. Commissioner Garland? Commissioner
Rockhouse? Here. Vice chair Sasser? Here. And chair Pinkstaff? Here. Thank you. We have
quorum. Next on the agenda is public communications. This portion of the
meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda under the Brown Act.
The Commission cannot act on items raised during public communications but
may respond briefly to statements made or question posed. Request clarification or
refer the item to staff. Written comments submitted have been posted to the city's
website for public review and are included in the meeting record but will
not be separately read into the record. Do we have any public comments? We do
have two public comments for items that are not on the agenda and we will start
with Mr. Jeff Maddox. All right, we have two minutes. Yeah, all right. Hello, I'm Jeff Maddox,
I'm a coach of the high school and middle school mountain bike race team for Walnut Creek and
surrounding neighborhoods. You should check us out, we're really fun to ride. I'm here to talk about
riding for practices in Lime Ridge particularly, but our team spans from all high schools in
as Moana Creek and middle schools as well.
We're looking for places to practice.
Lime Ridge has been our historical spot
and I wanna get some information
about how to go about this,
submissions are a formal request
to allow us to practice on these trails,
certain hours and certain afternoons
with signage and highly supervised coaches.
We have a ratio of like five to one kids to coaches.
Other places are allowing us to do this
including Mount Diablo and Bironas.
And so I'm thinking, well,
Lime Ridge is a great spot to ride a bike.
We'd like to start a process by which we can request
a special dispensation allowance,
whatever you want to call it,
to practice in certain hours on certain days of the week.
In other places that we're allowed this allowance,
such as Mount Diablo,
we're posting signs to tell people,
this is what's happening.
If you see bikes on the trail,
this is why, this is how.
Limited, supervised, insured,
where our team is insured to the league.
So I'd like to, I already asked Corey and Mike who are here today how to get to start
and they said well, prose is the place to start.
So I'd like to know if there's some way I can get this officially on the agenda for
the December meeting.
Thank you.
Commissioners, have any questions?
Yeah, Jeff, why specifically lime ridge as opposed to shell ridge and our sugarloaf
is small, but why, what specifically is attractive about lime ridge?
Our team starts at Northgate High School for our practices, so Shell is also quite close,
but Lime has some trails that are single track and I won't call them high speed, but they're
similar to the trails that we race on for our team, our league events.
Shell Ridge has some of them, but they're much more crowded, whereas Lime is less crowded
on a Tuesday, Thursday afternoon.
So we're focusing on Lime with the idea that we've been riding there for years, but scientists
have gone up saying, hey, you're not supposed to do that.
That's why I'm focused on the line, but just more it's more accessible. It's a little faster. It's a little more interesting for a bike ride
Okay. Thank you. We certainly take shellbridge, too
Okay, and our second public comment for an item not on the agenda is for Scott Bartle bag be
Commissioners and staff I'm Scott Bartlebaugh commenting on behalf of the bicycle trails council of the East Bay
We ask you to request staff to implement trail committee recommendation five point five H
to apply a trail use checklist for a change in use designation for bicycles on single track at Lime Ridge,
support any necessary improvements, and adopt bike use where reasonable.
We asked the Commission to add an update on the status of action items from the 2020 Trails Committee report to a future pros agenda.
You received several comments earlier this year asking for mountain bike pilots. A pilot essentially occurred from the time the
2020 Trails Committee report was issued to today.
Mountain biking is not a new use in Lime Ridge.
Legitimizing mountain bike single-track use would be new,
but the use itself is an existing condition.
User conflict, trail wear, and habitat impact have been manageable.
Conflict has reduced, and habitat has improved.
Trail closures in sensitive areas have had a high compliance.
Unauthorized trail creation has decreased greatly.
the access that has been allowed has been a deterrent to negative impact.
If not, you would be hearing about it from staff. We ask you to formally
legitimize mountain bike single-track use as a recommended as recommended by
the Trails Committee report from 2020. You might ask why this formal access is
needed in light of other regional access. People would like to ride close to home.
It takes time to drive and adds to traffic congestion and pollution. Some
people don't have access to transportation. It benefits all trail
users in the region by reducing congestion and increasing chance for a
solitary experience in open space. Simply it improves local quality of life. It's
been six years since the Trail Committee recommendations. We ask that you
prioritize recommendation 5.5H and legitimize thank you for your time.
Thank you. Those are all the cards I have so that concludes public comment
for items not on the agenda. Oh, did more come in? Oh, I just had for your card I
believe was for item 4a. And also general. I clicked you box. Okay, go
ahead, Barbara. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Barbara Ganes. I've been a resident since
1996. Some of you may have noticed that there's new signage in the open spaces
now. It's six by six posts which make it, you know, more clear and it designates
bicycles, equestrians, or pedestrians on various single track trails and other
trails. I attached some pictures to my email, of course I can't show them now,
but my first picture showed what the sign looks like in case you haven't
seen them already. And my other pictures are around four pictures of a post that
or put up at some social trails,
but there's no signs there yet.
So I thought, why these aren't even open.
But anyway, city staff had announced in June of 2026
that the social trails are permanent,
they have signs, the regulatory information is out there,
and the newly-authorized trails are safe.
However, in case you haven't heard recently from staff
regarding the two newly authorized social trails.
The project is on hold for more community discussion
and outreach, and it has dropped down
in the priority list of things to do,
and they're not sure of the timing at this point.
I think it's great, positive news,
that there'll be community outreach and discussions
before any trails are opened, residents or stakeholders,
since they originally paid for the open space land,
And also the pros commissioners are very important.
You have feedback and you have questions about things too.
So you should be a consultant before trails are opened.
I want to thank you all for everything that you do
to preserve and conserve our open spaces.
I really appreciate it.
And remember that Lime Ridge has a couple,
has an endangered Lime Ridge areaostrum plant.
It's a native plant.
And there's the threatened Alameda whip snake.
So, and there's lots of other things too,
but thank you very much.
And this time it really is the last one.
I have all the cards now, so Glenn, welcome up.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Glenn McBee.
I am with the Walnut Creek Racquet Club,
the tennis club down at Heather Farm.
I am a resident in Walnut Creek.
Family moved here in 1962.
First graduating class at Northgate,
just for all that, because it's not much worth anymore.
We just had our 50th anniversary or 50th high school reunion last couple weekends ago.
I'm here and I've talked to the City Council before.
We have an issue with lights in our tennis courts.
The equipment is outdated.
Their halogen bulbs and ballasts, nobody makes them anymore.
We can't get them.
Lights are out.
We have lights out all the time.
They've been out for the last two City Council meetings I've been in and I've said lights
are still out. We're a club of 1,200 members, largest club in Northern
California, second largest in the state. We have destination tennis going on at
Heather Front. We have great tennis community. Lifetime is our court
management system. They're great, and they're the ones that are responsible to
get the lights fixed because of the outdated equipment and bulbs. It just
can't happen. We've had lights out three lights on one court for over two months.
I mean this is it's boring on on being able to play. So I'm not trying to say
that I know everybody's got the plan in motion but I don't want it to fall
through any more cracks. It's really urgent. So I'm here as a board member of
of the Walnut Creek Hackett Club City Liaison,
past president, captain of many teams.
And I wanna help.
I wanna do whatever I can to help push this through.
So I appreciate your attention to this.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Commissioner, any questions?
So can we have the lights at the Heather Farm
and the bike trail request at the next pro's address?
Okay, great. Thanks. Next item is the consent calendar which is approval of
minutes of August 31st, 2026. Does Commissioner wish to have any discussion?
Does any of the member of the public wish to comment on the item, on the consent
calendar, which is the meeting minutes? No? We have no public comments for consent.
All right, seeing no speakers and someone wanted the commissioner like to make a motion
regarding the consent calendar.
We have a second.
Second.
All right.
Approved vote.
Oh, yeah.
Student, Commissioner Sandhu?
Yes.
Commissioner Garland?
Commissioner Brockhouse?
Yes.
Student Commissioner Sandhu. Yes. Commissioner Garland. Commissioner
Brockhouse. Yes. Vice Chair Sasser. Yes. And Chair Pinkstaff. Yes. Perfect, thank you.
Agenda items for consideration. I invite the General Plant team with City of
Warner Creek forward to provide the presentation on the General Plant. Good
evening commissioners. I'm Crystal DiCastro, Principal Planner for the
Community Development Department and also the General Plan Project Manager
known as General Plan 2050 update. So since June we've had our joint
Commission study on vision and values and we've continued moving through the
General Plan update process the early stages. On September 24th we had our
first in-person community workshop on vision and values and we'll briefly
touch on that in this presentation tonight and we'll refine it as we move
forward. However, tonight's presentation mainly focuses on the existing
conditions report known as ECRs and the ECR provides a baseline on our parks,
rec, and open space conditions currently that will help inform the general plan
update. And so with that I'm going to introduce Tiffany Ng and Yarin Newfield,
our general plan consultants that will guide you through this presentation.
Good evening everyone. My name is Tiffany Ng. I'm a senior associate with Raymond
Associates and Alta Company.
Thank you so much for having me tonight
to talk about the general plan update,
our progress so far on the plan.
So tonight, we're gonna share an overview
of updates on the work on the general plan update,
talk a little bit about the vision and guiding values
that are in their draft form,
as well as issues and opportunities
that are coming about through the existing conditions
related to open space and conservation.
We're gonna share with you a number of ideas
from the public as well,
as well as feedback from commissioners,
from the council, from city staff
that have all come together to produce the products
that you're gonna see tonight.
So we look forward to your feedback,
especially as Crystal mentioned,
on these issues and opportunities from the ECR,
as well as additional thoughts around strategies
to bridge the gap between the vision statement
and those issued opportunities.
So to review a little bit more about the general plan process,
what is a general plan?
So I know you're very familiar with this,
but just to get over it, a general plan
informs how the city of Walnut Creek
will evolve to meet its different housing, business,
and amending needs over time.
It will talk about how to create a roadmap
to guide long-term and day-to-day decisions
by the council.
It will create a shared vision for the future that
incorporates everyone's feedback from the public
decision-makers. It also talks about what we love about Walnut Creek, maybe
what we don't like as much, thinking about challenges, and thinking about ways
to bridge those gaps to make sure that we create a Walnut Creek community for
everybody. Another important thing that the General Plan does is think about how
to comply with new state laws, as we know there's always new requirements over the
years, and so given that this is a new 20-year period that we're planning for,
how do we make sure the General Plan is up to date with everything that needs to
do. So the state of California requires a number of mandatory elements in the
general plan. As you know, land use, transportation or circulation, open space,
conservation, noise are mandatory elements. You're familiar with the safety
element that was recently adopted in May of 2026 and the housing element that was
adopted in October of 2023. All of those are regular mandatory elements as a part
of the general plan. Some are updated as you can see on different timelines. But
So the general plan law in the state of California also allows for additional topics or chapters
in a general plan based on a jurisdiction or community's wants and needs.
And so, for instance, in this Walnut Creek general plan, we have chapters on economic
development, on arts and culture, on healthy communities, and also a chapter on implementation
and ways to implement the general plan.
The general plan is broken up into different stages, and so right now we've kind of passed
the kickoff and project outcomes phase.
We've gone through the existing conditions reports
that you're gonna hear about more tonight.
And we're currently in the visioning issues
and strategy stage that we'll be discussing
with all the commissions as well as City Council.
This is all gearing up for all of our work in 2027
and beyond, where we're gonna start next year
with some of the alternative,
thinking about alternatives related to mobility
and land use.
The main way in which people can get information
online about the general plan update is through the project website. I'm sure
most of you have seen this already. It's a really beautiful dynamic website
with lots of videos, lots of testimonials, and ways to get involved in very
interactive ways. It allows for two-way communication so you can send emails, you
can get contact information. It's going to incorporate and it currently incorporates
different questionnaires and mapping exercises so people can get feedback on
different things related to the general plan stages. For instance right now we're
in, again, the visioning and strategy stage,
and so people can give feedback on those different issues.
One thing to really highlight, too,
is we have this great online feedback hub or online engagement
hub, where we're taking the information
from the September 24 community workshop,
like all the posters, all the exercises,
and people can actually go online to the website
and do those exercises in a virtual format
and also give feedback.
So I hope you have a chance to explore that.
In addition to the online ways in which people
can get information about the general plan update,
the city and the consultant team have also done
a number of outreach and engagement activities
to make sure that people know about the general plan update
and can provide feedback and know about ways to get involved.
So in terms of pop-ups, the team has done pop-ups
at Locust Street Festival,
where there was about 400 people in attendance.
They've also done pop-ups at Once Upon a Street,
where there was about 150 people.
Other pop-ups are at the Downtown Farmers Market,
at Shadelands Farmer Market,
and there is, as you know, the bigger community workshop
at Civic Park on September 24th.
In addition to, as you remember,
the Joint Commission meeting in June
and the City Council kickoff in July,
there's also been about 40 community partner meetings
where our team has met with members of the public,
different organizations, different stakeholders,
to get their thoughts on what are the most important issues
and opportunities for the city to work on
as you move the general plan process.
So yeah, we wanted to share the QR code
for those of you who are in the audience.
If you want to use your phone,
you can use your camera function
to look at the QR code and go to the website.
The online feedback or engagement hub
is open right now from September 25th to October 25th.
And again, we really look forward
to hearing from a lot of different people.
We hope that you spread the word
so that more people can give feedback on the vision statement,
the values, the guiding value statements,
and the issues and opportunities and amenity needs for the city.
So in terms of next steps, we're going to meet with different commissions,
including Transportation Arts Planning Commission and Design Review Commission
for the month of October.
And we're going to conclude with all of this information compiled
into a very nice little package with the city council meeting on December 15th.
So before we kind of get into the existing conditions report,
thought it'd be really helpful to kind of go over the draft vision statement.
That's been the culmination of again feedback and comments from everyone here
in this room, other commissioners, city council members as well as the public at
large. And so something to think about is as we think about this draft vision
statement, how do we bridge that gap between this vision for the city and
what it can be for the next few years and you know the strategies to implement
those vision. So as it says on the screen Walnut Creek is a welcoming and
inclusive city defined by its cultural vibrancy, accessible open spaces,
walkable downtown, safe and livable neighborhoods, and innovative local
economy. It is a regional destination rooted in community, thoughtfully evolving
to maintain a high quality of life where people can live, work, connect, and thrive.
So a lot of words I know we'll continue to talk about this more in the future
though. In addition to the vision statement that kind of sets this kind of
you know a long-term vision for the future, we also have a set of guiding
values that kind of provide like the guiding the road, the path, the
guidance for how we want to see the city evolve through this general plan update
process and so the first the first value is let me get my notes is it focuses on
well-being and so the this well-being value focus on ensuring that residents
and visitors have access to essential services safe neighborhoods health and
educational resources economic opportunities and more there's a focus on
creating inclusive and welcoming public spaces, cultural experiences, and
community events that encourage connection and healthy living. For
economic vitality, this value focuses on building a resilient and diverse economy
that supports local businesses, jobs, and the city's long-term financial health.
The value also focuses on strengthening the downtown and key industries through
thoughtful planning innovation and investment. Next we have accessible
housing opportunities which focuses on providing diverse and accessible housing
opportunities for people of different ages, incomes, abilities and household
types. The value also discusses the importance of integrating new housing
housing in thoughtful ways to expand choices while complementing existing
neighborhoods and strengthening community connections. For mobility
options, this value focuses on creating safe connected and accessible
transportation networks that support walking, biking, transit, rolling and
shared mobility. Other parts of this value include improving pedestrian safety,
reducing barriers to mobility, and strengthening connections through
sustainable transportation planning. For the parks, open space and natural
landscape value, this focuses on maintaining welcoming accessible and
well-kept parks and open spaces that support recreation, connection and community well-being.
There's a focus also on protecting natural resources, biodiversity, and scenic landscapes
through conservation, stewardship, and sustainable practices. Vibrant arts and culture supports diverse
arts and culture experiences that enrich the community life and strengthen Walnut Creek
as a regional destination. Thinking about big assets and resources like the Lesher Center for
arts and the city's broader network of organizations, venues, and galleries. And last but not least,
there is a value on safety and resiliency, which focuses on preparing the community to
expand to recover from emergencies, hazards, and changing conditions. Thinking about resilient
infrastructure, reliable public safety and services, and well maintained facilities that
can maintain safe and sound for future generations. So just to begin, we're going to talk a little
bit about demographics that are kind of getting the sense of like who we are
serving, who we're talking about, we're talking about the Walnut Creek
community. When it comes to population you notice that the 2025 estimation of
population for the city of Walnut Creek is about 70,736 people. This is about an
increase of 4% since 2015. The number of households is also increased over the
last 10-year period to be about 33,359 households, which is a 7% increase
since 2015. One thing to note is that because you have an increase in
households that actually exceeds the population growth, you're going to see
that the household size, or average people per household, actually went down
over that same period from 2.15 people per household to 2.8
people per household. This could be due to many different factors which you can
also read on the ECR. Potentially the high percentage of non-family and senior
households due to communities like the Rossmore community and also the addition
of more multifamily housing to accommodate more people who are living
here. In terms of age, there's also growth and differences in the average age of
people over the years in Walnut Creek. As you can see from this graphic, residents
over the ages 65 represent the largest age group accounting for almost 30% of
the population, which is a little bit of growth since 2015. However, it's really
notable to know that there's also a wave of young adult residents who are aged
25 to 34 and that group has grown substantially in Walnut Creek over the
last 10 years, approximately 31% over this 10-year period. And again, this may
be due in part to a significant amount of multifamily housing that's been built
in the downtown area to accommodate more young people coming into this to the
city as well as perhaps more young adults living at home with their families.
These graphics show the proportion of people based on race and ethnicity in the
city. You could see that on the left in the middle this is comparing Walnut
Creek from 2015 to 2024 and you're able to compare the city's demographics to
also Contra Costa County as a whole.
So if you can see from the squares,
like one square represents about 1% of the population.
So for instance, for Asian populations in 2020 or in 2015,
there's 14 squares that represents
about 14% of the population.
So while you can see that from the teal squares
that predominantly, the city is predominantly
non-Hispanic white, it actually has become, as you know,
much more racially and ethnically diverse over time,
especially with a growing number of Asian
and Latino-Hispanic residents,
which both of those demographic groups
have grown about 3% since their last registered in 2015.
And again, we share all this demographic information
to give a better sense of the community
that we're serving here with this general plan update
to better understand how you're thinking about parks,
recreation, open space,
and how to address people's needs within the city.
So with that I'd like to turn it over to Darren
who can talk more about the existing conditions.
Oops, wrong way.
Okay.
Walnut Creek has the largest city owned
and maintained open space networks in the United States.
The city manages over 3000 acres of open space,
park and recreation areas including about 61 miles of trails.
Historically the community of Walnut Creek
has advocated for the preservation of open spaces.
like in the 1970s grassroots effort to preserve Shell Ridge open space and
Then Contra Costa service area our eight was supported and funded through community efforts to protect
2500 acres of parks recreation and open space in the city
the city owns and operates 19 parks at about
238 acres
The park inventory includes a diverse range of parks from under one acre to some close to 100 acres
These parks are spread throughout the city to allow accessible opportunities for the entire community
The city also has four major
recreation special use areas totaling approximately
174 acres the special use areas provide both active and passive recreation opportunities
active recreation opportunities
Center around organized play areas including basketball golf soccer swimming and children's play equipment
and then passive recreation activity
that does not require the use of organized play areas
such as hiking, dogs off-leash, biking, horseback riding,
and picnicking.
This slide lists the parks and special use areas
in the city and a map identifying their location.
And the city maintains over 2,700 acres of open space.
These are included in Shell Ridge, Sugarloaf,
Lime Ridge, and Aquilanus Ridge open spaces.
The network of trails provide the community
and visitors alike with unique recreating experiences,
scenic views, and interconnected accessible ways
to move throughout the community.
And this slide lists the existing open space
and trails network in the city
and throughout the city boundaries.
Many residents live within a five to 15 minute walk
of a public or private park within the city.
Certain areas of the city,
such as the outer edges of the city limits
and much of the Rossmoor community
are identified on the map to be more than a 25 minute walk
from the closest public or private park.
This is important because areas that have more limited access
to facilities, such as open space, community centers,
and parks, are at risk of higher rates
of unintended health consequences
than others that reside in communities
that are closer to these amenities.
Understanding the existing policy that has been updated
or established since the 2006 general plan is critical
in understanding this existing condition report,
but also how we can inform policies established
for this general plan update.
Chapter three of the general plan 2025,
titled Natural Environment and Public Spaces,
focuses on management of natural resources,
preservation of open space lands,
and expansion of recreational and trail opportunities
throughout the city, among other conservation topics.
The 2008 Open Space Vision Project
evaluated the long-term vision management
and preservation of Walnut Creek's open space resources.
The plan identified opportunities for long-term
stewardship of the open space system.
And in 2013, the East Bay Regional Park District
Master Plan established a long-term framework
for management, preservation, and expansion
of regional park lands and rec facilities
throughout the East Bay region.
And then Your Parks Your Future
is a multi-phase project evaluating Walnut Creek's
recreational areas and community facilities
to identify improvements for future activities.
Can I interrupt you for one second?
Yeah, sure.
The East Bay Regional Park District Master Plan
is for their properties and not for city properties.
So what is its role in being part of a policy background?
I think the point of that to mention that is also that
Walnut Creek uses regional open space
and recreation activities in addition to folks
that come into Walnut Creek and use our,
the city's facilities and rec opportunities.
So I think that was part of the inclusion.
The existing condition report also has several other
Previous policy framework documents like the existing tree preservation policy and other things that also are not included on the slide
But that was the point I think of including that and then in
2023 the city adopted the sustainability action plan which identified actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
enhance community sustainability and resilience to the effects of climate change and protect the health and well-being of Walnut Creek residents a
Vulnerability assessment was prepared as part of the sustainability action plan that identified potential climate change vulnerabilities
And that vulnerability assessment was incorporated into the safety element that was just adopted by City Council in May
Examples of new state legislation that we have to address this time in the general plan update
Senate bill 1425
Requires updates to the open space element to address rewilding
equitable access to open space and adaptation and resilience and connection with the safety element.
Assembly Bill 1889 requires local jurisdictions to incorporate considerations for wildlife
movement and habitat connectivity in the city. Senate Bill 1000 requires jurisdictions to
identify disadvantaged communities and reduce health risks while promoting equitable access
to parks and recreation as well as equitable engagement, civic engagement.
And then lastly, Executive Order N8220 created the California Biodiversity Collaborative.
It also established the Natural and Working Land Strategy,
which was part of the more recent carb scoping plan update.
And it sets a conservation goal for preservation of 30% of state lands by 2030.
Now, we're going to go talk about what we've heard so far.
Some of the preliminary issues and opportunities that were gathered during the safety
element update as well as the kickoff meeting for the general plan update and conversations
with city departments, as well as public engagement that has taken place thus far.
One of the primary challenges for management of parks, rec and open space is related
to ongoing impacts of climate change.
As discussed before, the sustainability action plan, a vulnerability assessment was developed then that identified air quality, drought, extreme heat, flooding, landslide, and wildfire as some of the major hazards that could affect the city in the coming years.
Based on these preliminary hazards,
the sustainability action plan identified
21 sustainability strategies that aim
to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
but help wanna creep adapt and become more resilient
to the effects of climate change.
Examples of these strategies include increased access
to active and public transportation
and promoting community-led initiatives.
Information from the vulnerability assessment
can help the city position strongly
to address challenges more effectively.
In the short term, it'll help the community adapt
and become more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Then another key challenge is balancing the needs
of diverse recreational users while protecting
and effectively managing the city's parks and open spaces.
Walnut Creek is a popular regional destination
for recreation, which makes preservation,
protection and management of these open spaces critical.
Projecting and anticipating growth
will help to prepare the community
to protect sensitive resources
and manage recreational spaces more effectively.
And these are some of the points we've heard
from community engagement thus far.
For parks and rec facilities,
focuses on preserving the creeks
for social gathering, recreation, and community wellbeing,
preserving existing parks, open spaces, and rec facilities,
and ensuring they meet the current
and future community needs.
Expanding access to community gathering spaces,
parks, and open space, including in commercial areas.
Updating parks and rec facilities
with new equipment as needed.
And then for open space,
balancing recreational needs and open space
with habitat management and protection,
while maintaining the city as a destination for recreation,
protecting wildlife and natural resources
that contribute to the city's unique identity,
maintaining and improving connections
to open space areas and trails,
and restoring creeks and riparian areas
to create healthier watersheds
in the city and surrounding region.
And for arts and programming,
we've heard preserving the connection
between parks, open space, and the arts.
Expanding art through the city within parks,
making art interactive and recreative,
maintaining high quality programming and services
while planning ahead to address future community needs,
and supporting environmental educational efforts
and coordinating with volunteer organizations
such as the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation
and the Walnut Creek Watershed Council.
And then for sustainability and resilience,
maintaining and expanding tree canopies
and landscaping across the city,
including in public spaces, parks, and streetscapes,
reducing vulnerability from wildfire,
particularly in open space areas.
And as Tiffany mentioned,
we had a community workshop on September 24th, 2026,
and we're still compiling all the data from that workshop.
But just to focus on some parks, recreation,
and open space input at that workshop,
we heard a lot about expanding access to gathering spaces,
parks and open space, updating parks and recreation facilities
with new equipment over time, protecting wildlife
and natural resources, reducing vulnerability
from wildfire, flood, and other hazards,
maintaining and expanding a resilient urban forest
to create more inviting public spaces, plazas,
and streetscapes, and specific input on managing open spaces
for wildfire risk, more dog areas for off-leash play.
We've heard some comments about the conflict of e-bikes
and other users in the open space,
a few comments on preserving the lake at Heather Farm Park,
and interest in creating more micro-habitats and community
gardenings, especially in the downtown area.
And with that, I'm going to turn it back to Tiffany
to go through some of our discussion questions.
So yeah, I know that was a lot of information,
so thanks for bearing with us.
This is the more maybe fun part of tonight.
We'd like to have a discussion on a couple key questions
and get your feedback on some of these thoughts.
The first one is, are there any pressing park,
open space or recreation issues or opportunities
that are missing from what Darren just talked about,
those like issues and opportunities slides?
And if you wanna share more about
why they're important to the community or to you,
that'd be great.
The next question is what strategies could bridge the gap
between the key issues and draft general plan
vision statement and guiding values that we had talked about?
If it's helpful, I can give a little example.
So for the first question, you could say like,
well, this is the pros commission.
I think that lack of recreational services for youth
is a really big issue that maybe wasn't really mentioned
on that list, right?
or maybe there's, as Dare mentioned,
the need for more parks downtown.
We should really emphasize that more.
For the second question that focuses on strategies,
you can look at those first issues, right?
Like what are those first issues and say like,
well, for lack of rec services for young people,
what about we work on new funding sources
for youth recreational programs?
That could be a strategy.
In the case of needing more parks for the downtown area,
you could say, well, let's work with
creating new requirements for open space
alongside new development downtown.
So you kind of get like a benefit of downtown development
with more parks and open space.
So these are our main questions for today.
I don't know if people have questions about the questions,
but we'd love to hear your thoughts on the first question,
either you can do the first one or the second one,
or bring them together, and this is open for you.
You want some time to think about it?
That's also great.
I don't know which category this goes into,
and maybe it bridges the gap
into some of your transportation kind of deliberations.
I would tend to agree that there's many parks
very close to a lot of the residences.
But how do you expect people to get there?
Because I know that, like I have two small children
and I wouldn't let them walk to the very close park
by themself because of the automotive traffic
is let's just say fast and inconsiderate.
My children are fine, I would trust them on their own,
on their bikes, but I wouldn't trust the motorists
as they come across.
So yes, the parks are close, but how do people get to them?
Ignacio Valley Road, for example,
is an incredibly inhospitable place to walk,
but there are several parks that you would have to access
via that road.
So I think that's an issue is how do you get to those parks?
Yeah, thank you for sharing that.
Any other thoughts?
I want to remind the commission that we'll also
be going to public comment on this.
so we can continue the conversation
and take public comment now if you would like.
If there are no additional comments from the commissioners,
we can't open for public comments.
So just looking over the years I've been on the commission
and what issues people have raised with us,
pickleball's a big issue.
I mean, I know that's very specific,
but, you know, and how recreation has changed,
I guess is kind of what I'm getting at.
It's like maybe tennis is more popular once.
Now we have to look at the things
that are currently more popular like pickleball.
And the same thing's true on the bikes, you know.
I have to tell you that kids who do wheelies down the road
on their e-bikes and they're 10 years old really bug me.
But on the other hand, those e-bikes are everywhere.
So the city has a policy, or I think they've adopted it,
but I mean, I think we have to really be conscious
of how things are changing
and we're trying to predict out 25 years to a future population.
And even though we have a lot of older people here
who like pickleball.
But yeah, I just want to make sure
we're looking at how things might change in terms of what
is it people want to use.
Because that's a lot of the base of the conflict,
is it's been changed.
There's a neighborhood park that used to be three,
two tennis courts that were used once in a while,
and now there's eight pickleball courts that
use like 20, you know, would be used 24 hours a day if they could be, you know what I'm
saying?
Yeah.
And then the other one was on the sustainability side for the fire.
I was really glad that lots of people are aware of, you know, really concerned about
that issue.
But like everywhere else, you know, a lot of people are having trouble with insurance
and stuff like that.
And I really think we need to make sure as we look at ways we can help on that sustainability
issue maybe we kind of consider some of the types of things that the whole you
know big statewide insurance crisis really is is doing because I do know
people residents of the city who have been cancelled or threatened to cancel
and you know whatever so we love our open space we love our our tree
canopies and all of that but you know we have to figure out you know it's just a
consideration while we're trying to develop these things yeah thank you so
I hear you on the both ends, there's so many issues at play and they're intersecting with
each other too.
And I like also the comments about changing times, like this general plan is looking at
this 20 year horizon, my 20 year period.
So how can we create a general plan with goals and strategies and actions that address that
like long term plan.
Any other comments or questions?
I had two comments.
So yes, I agree with Fram that I would like to see that pickle ball recognized as well
just because of the community input that we've heard and then the second thought
that I had is that that I learned from city staff that we have we have several
parks that are underutilized and if there's you know there's just not a lot
of develop I mean the park hasn't been developed and so on so I think it's
important for us to to Matt to you know really look at what we have and to find
ways to develop it so that it is much more usable and used by residents as
well as other people in the community. Thank you. I want to add one other thing
and it kind of goes with what you said about transportation to parks and
things like that. I know we've had complaints in the past about people
coming to use a park driving and then parking in front of the neighbors that
live by that park because the parks are all considered city parks you know
they're not exclusive to neighborhoods or anything like that so you know they're
open to everyone and so people bring their kids or their dogs or go play
basketball or whatever you know I'm saying and then they and then if the
parking is overflowed so we have to make sure that even though we're trying to get
maybe people to take other modes of transportation in point of fact people
drive so we really do need to make sure that we're you know being respectful of
neighbors that do surround existing facilities as well as that might have a
changed use and any new facilities that we built. Thank you. I'd just like to add
something to the pickleball thing. A lot of my friends live near Red Gear and
they make a lot of complaints about the noise, so maybe we could like designate a
certain park that's just for pickleball because I know that's a big issue. Thank
you. Pickleball noise. So looking at the comparison of the population
breakdown like age-wise and ethnicity in Walnut Creek. So with this general plan
update, the forecast of the age of the population and then also the amenities
that support that future scenario, like I think pickleball is a good example when
you see an increase of senior or aging population that pickleball like became
that sport for that age group and how do we forecast that and you know focus on
developing those amenities and as well as multi the the housing unit where you
have families in these housing units like near the downtown area then perhaps
focusing on upgrading some of the facilities like Civic Park the we hear a
a lot of complaints about the restrooms at Civic Park.
How do we put these infrastructure upgrades
to where the families with little children
will have the most density?
So yeah.
Yeah, thank you for that.
Definitely, thinking about demographic trends
is really good for thinking about how
to plan for the future, yeah.
And we've already done the housing element, you said,
right?
That was approved by the state.
So it has a predicted population for 2050,
and it probably has what kind of that's going to be.
So is that, I didn't notice that in this report, right?
No, it's more about the demographics,
like age and ethnicity, and household size,
more so than like a house.
But that will be integrated in with,
even though it's already been approved,
I mean, the information from there is,
the goals of the city.
So that will inform these discussions, really,
about new parks and what types of activities we need
and stuff like that.
No, that's exactly right, yeah.
Commissioner Garland, just moving forward,
could you turn your mic facing up a little bit?
Yeah, they're having a hard time picking up.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Anticipating Wanna Creek getting larger
and continuing to be a regional hub for recreation.
I can only imagine that the open space will get,
not crowded, but just busier.
And it'd be nice to maybe see an increase in the ranger
force that exists.
Not to take anything away from the rangers that are there now.
I think they do a fantastic job.
But I know if we're going to have more bikes and more hikers
and maybe more equestrians, there's
just a chance for conflict, as well as we've
heard on this council a lot of discussion and conversation
about this trail or that trail, what's its use,
who's supposed to be on it.
And I think having a larger ranger force
that can help enforce that,
or even just counsel the users on appropriate use
would be really helpful.
Thank you, that's a good point.
And for the education piece,
I heard about the organizations,
Warner Creek Open Space Foundation
and the Watershed Council.
And this is Ayesha's first meeting.
I'm thinking about the opportunity to get youth involved
in these open space related opportunities right now.
I can tell you that the foundations are,
definitely the profile is much more senior
with a group and it will be great
if we can figure out how we weave our youth
to these opportunities for the open space and environmental education and
yeah mm-hmm yeah that's great anything else you think we missed around the
issues and opportunities discussion or recommendations on solutions and
strategies public comment well I do think partnerships is a great idea and
the city's done some successful partnering. And even the East Bay Park
question was kind of about that as well. You know they are a major player, have so
many parks, and there's also you know two water districts that have you know
watershed land and things. I mean looking for opportunities to partner is
And I think we partnership in a way with Concord on Lime Ridge. I mean they own part of the land
So I just think we should be conscious and looking for opportunities to partner with other entities that have similar goals and missions
No, that's a great point that actually came up a lot during the public comment or the community workshop as well
People talk about different kinds of partnerships and collaborations on different issues
Whether it's about open space or even about like environmental cleanup
So I'm thinking about the park specifically, and you already mentioned that you had a lot of comments about
updating and maintaining kind of current equipment.
My comment is more about the temperature. I know that
it's kind of invoked to have this soft rubber kind of surface on parks, but it's hot.
You know, Heather Farm playground is very large,
but it's almost unusable in the middle of the day because it's so hot
There's no trees and that rubber surface just holds a ton of heat and so it would be nice to see some
You know gentler surfaces, but you know really get creative with how we
Landscape the park what surface we're using so that it can be an all-day
experience for children
Yeah, that's a great point thinking about like the the design of the parks that addresses things like extreme weather extreme heat in the changing climate
Yeah.
Other thoughts?
Any other questions?
If no more questions, we'll move to public comment.
Okay.
Okay, but we have several public comments on this agenda
and we will start with Matthew.
Hello, my name is Matthew Tarlac.
I live out by the Bancroft Garden
and I'm on the board of the Mount Diablo Bird Alliance,
although I'm speaking here just for myself.
And I'm here to advocate for natural habitat being given
a priority in the master plan for our parks
and recreational spaces.
We're very fortunate that past generations set aside
large amounts of open space here in Walnut Creek,
but that was done in the narrow when it wasn't understood
as well as it is today how to keep those open spaces
healthy habitat.
And I'm glad to see there's a lot of consideration
being given to the streams and creeks,
A lot of them which were channelized or covered
with concrete back in the day, and possibly restoring those
over time as possible to become better habitat.
Because we're the bird alliance, and we've
got several hundred members who focus mostly on the birds.
But really, a healthy natural environment
benefits all of our residents, even the people who
don't study wildlife with binoculars.
In the springtime, when you hear the songbirds come through
or see them flying overhead, or you walk in the park in the fall
And the arrival of the winter ducks
reminds you of the change of seasons.
Everybody benefits from that.
It enriches the life for everyone.
And so I'm glad to see the plan includes
some talk about the creeks and waterways and watersheds.
I thought the mention I heard of microhabitats downtown
that I imagine would support pollinators and that kind
of thing.
That sounds terrific.
My particular focus is on the natural lake
in the natural area at Heather Farm, which I've spoken about this before, and that really
should be treasured and celebrated as a centerpiece of our natural environment here in Walnut
Creek, and it's really in need of work. It's getting choked with tulees. There's not a
lot of fresh water coming in to keep it healthy. It needs really professional study and work
to be restored while the populations of animals that return there every winter are still there.
Thank you for your time.
Next we have Barbara.
My name is Barbara Ganas.
I've been a resident since 96.
I specifically just looked at a couple items.
I only have two minutes about the agenda report.
So on page five of the agenda report,
it lists out different values or goals
and it lists open space.
It says balancing recreational needs in open spaces
with habitat management and protection.
And then it says, while maintaining the city
as a destination for recreation.
That to me, I looked at the definition of a park
and of an open space.
And recreation can be part of an open space,
but I don't see it being this big draw.
So that to me should belong under parks
rather than if you want to put something in
about a destination for recreation
because parks are more recreation oriented,
there's sports and that type of thing.
The other thing, on page six of the agenda report,
this is where the people here were just asking you
about pressing open space park or recreation issues.
And I think, and some of you already touched on this,
and thank you for doing that.
You've heard a lot of people talk about the clash
between people that are just walking,
pedestrians on the trails and then e-bikes, mountain bikes, other types of
vehicles on single-track trails that are not designated for bikes and we've had
some people tonight talking about that. I think high-intensity bike usage is not
appropriate in the open spaces. The municipal parks, East Bay municipal parks,
they receive funding from Alameda and Contra Costa County. State parks get
money from the state. The Walnut Creek open spaces only get money from the
taxpayers or what the revenues that come in just for the city of Walnut Creek.
So then East Bay Parks has 77 police officers, Walnut Creek has zero and they
should have, if you look at the number of acres, they should at least have a couple
enforcement officials. Thank you very much. Next we have Bob Wedi. Hi, I'm Bob Wedi
and resident of Walnut Creek and I actually submitted this afternoon a document to the
commission policy proposals for Walnut Creek's 2050 general plan. So I'm not going to go
through that. Hopefully you'll get that and have a chance to read and look through it.
It's only a page and a half. But it is representing the thoughts and ideas of the Walnut Creek
Open Space Foundation, so I'm speaking on behalf of the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation
in regards to those recommendations.
So just very briefly, I'll touch on them.
So number one, make ecological protection a primary open space objective.
Measure the ecological health of our open space and have a way of periodically measuring
and updating that.
and protect wildlife corridors. There was a discussion about East Bay Regional Park
Districts and so forth, and you know you can go in certain places and within two or three
miles hike between Shell Ridge, you know East Bay Regional Park and Mount Diablo. So of course
wildlife corridors are across all of our systems. So we need to protect those, evaluate significant
changes before they occur to make sure that they're not significantly impacting the open space
wildlife and then ensuring meaningful public review of any changes. So those
are just the the points in the the document that we're submitting. This is
just obviously for the Commission's information only. We'll be submitting that
to the Planning Commission and to the staff for the 2050 General Plan in a more
formal way. We're just sharing it with you for your information. It is based on
our review and analysis of chapter 3 which was mentioned here tonight of the
2025 plan and goal one and I think that you'll find if you look at our
Submissions and our proposals. They very much mirror what's already in the 2025 plan
But they do give some specificity that we think will help measure the success of the plan going forward. So thank you for your time
If you're representing an organization and get 10 minutes
Well, so eight more minutes. I appreciate that. Everybody's busy and and there's a lot of information that has to be
kind of understood and communicated, so I think I hit the high points and
I would also say that that that we're open to
working with all of the parties to kind of arrive at a plan that balances the needs and the
constituencies that are representing the community of Walnut Creek. So but we but we do put forth the proposals
that are
That you have in writing and this really represents the points the points of view of the of the foundation. So
That's it. Thanks
To revisit Matthew. I believe you are speaking on behalf of Mount Diablo bird allowance if you would like extra minutes as well
Let's be equitable. I
Appreciate that and I won't take too much more of your time
but I was just getting started on my favorite topic, which is the natural lake at Heather farm and
I've spoken to the commission before, and I think a lot of
people don't even realize that it is a natural lake. It is a
remnant of the natural tully ponds and lagoons that were there
on the earliest Spanish maps, dating back to the early 19th
century, on those maps and on the earliest USGS map of the
area from about 1900. It is the only year-round body of water
between Shell Ridge and Sassoon Bay, so it's been really a
vitally important body of water for wildlife,
migratory and wintering and summering wildlife
for hundreds of years.
The Spanish knew it as Laguna de Chupacanoi,
associating it with the local Chupacán
bound of Native Americans.
So while I haven't been able to dig up
any archeological evidence,
I strongly suspect that there was a lot
of Native American activity there too.
It really is a key part of our local heritage,
naturally and culturally and otherwise,
And it is a destination.
Back before the construction started on the pool,
my organization used to do five or six
beginners introductory birdwalks around the pond.
Every year, we've shut that down this year
because it's not as hospitable anymore with the construction.
We'd like to start that again.
And it really is, as I said, it's
a local treasure that should be celebrated and protected.
And it needs a lot of urgent help right now.
So I'd ask that to be a specific priority.
Thank you.
Rochelle Fortier.
Hello, my name is Rochelle Fortier.
I live in Walnut Creek.
I'm a member of Mount Diablo Bird Alliance.
I am on the board as a membership chair,
but I do not, right now my opinions,
these are my own opinions.
I'd like to focus on the nature pond at Heather Farm Park.
I notice that in these key issues here
here, and I also went to the September 24th workshop and put up the name, put up post-its
for the nature pond. Other people are calling it the Nature Lake. There's no agreement
on what this is called. Some people call it the Mostly Natural Lake. I see this as a critical
falling between the cracks. It's in the parks, but it's actually a nature pond, probably
with the nature area around it, but I don't think it's ever been officially designated.
when we say open space in Walnut Creek, of course, we think to those wonderful open spaces,
the lime ridge, shell ridge that have the foundation and other, I think it's a separate
division in what public works. So this pond is falling between the cracks. It's always
been there. It's just there. I know we've done a lot of cleanup, planting of trees,
But Nature Pond, it's a natural resource and it's in a manmade park.
It's only mentioned in our current General Plan 2025 under parks and there's a little
list, a table of each park and then there's Heather Farm Park and it says the play fields
and the playground and the dog park, Nature Pond, fishing pond, so it has no attention
put on it in the 2025 General Plan.
It's not, I've searched, it's not there by any other name,
lake, pond, somehow it's been overlooked.
It just follows through the cracks, as I said.
So it needs, since I'm representing
the Mount Jallibird Alliance, can I have more time?
So it is my, so the Nature Pond,
it needs its own paragraph in the final 2025 General Plan.
There are, as example, you could look at the city of Fremont's 2030 general plan adopted
in 2011, and their Chapter 7 conservation biological resources.
They prominently mention their ponds, and their ponds have actual names.
They have, and you can look this up on their website.
Thank you, Rochelle.
Oh, I thought I got more time.
You don't, because the organization has already spoken there 10 minutes.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Sorry.
Thank you.
It's okay.
I wanted you to finish your thought.
And I believe the last speaker card we have is for Scott Bartlebaugh.
Thank you.
Scott Bartlebaugh with Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay.
I appreciate the discussion here and the questions from the commissioners.
I think they're very thoughtful and getting at good points.
I think it's significant that the planning thus far recognizes Walnut Creek as a regional
destination.
It is of significant size and while it's very important to the residents here, it does
draw people in from outside.
And so I think it is important that you consider that in your deliberations on where you go
with the plan.
There's a question about the East Bay Regional Park District Master Plan.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but they're in the process of updating that 2013 master
plan and coming up with a new master plan there and discussions about what
parts of the 2013 master plan they keep and whether they create a new strategic
plan so that might be something that this commission might want to interface
on if you haven't interfaced on that already. I appreciate the comments about
change being acknowledged and that things are different now than they were
on that plan so it's good to see that that's being considered. There was a
comment about youth involvement. Jeff Maddox who was here is with an
organization that works with youth and I think there's an opportunity to partner
there. Mount Diablo Trails Alliance has had some really effective interactions
with local mountain bike teams on trail stewardship activities there. There were
comments about partnering and I think regional trail connections are
something to look at as well.
And I think there was some discussion to that
and something for this commission to consider as well.
And those are the items I heard
that I thought were interesting
and I appreciate that you're considering them.
Thank you.
Any discussion on the public comments?
No?
Thank you.
Next on the agenda is a presentation
of Heather Farm phase three.
invite Chris Farrell with the city of Warner Creek forward to present, to
provide the presentation. Good evening Chris Farrell, Director of Arts and
Recreation Commission. As you'll remember last meeting we discussed three
potential options for moving forward with what was initially envisioned as
the Clark pool repurpose plan and upon your direction staff did discuss the
option that you wanted to move forward to Council and just to revisit that for
the public that may not have been present for that meeting. The option that
this Commission wanted to move forward was an option to instead of looking at
just the parcel where the pool is located to broaden the vision to include
a Heather Park Master Plan update and at the time there were concerns from the
Commission about the timeline as well as what that parcel would look like interim
in between the demolition of the pool and the construction of whatever future
amenities might go there. So staff did go back and dig in to be able to provide an
update and in our conversations we also thought of a new option that we wanted
to present as well. So I think it's good timing that we're piggybacking this
conversation on the general plan conversation because this is really I
think where staff is rooted in trying to align all of our efforts to get the
biggest bang out of our buck. So going back to the timeline that we presented
last year we did revise the timelines a little bit they're not much different
than what you saw previously but the one thing that is different than what we
presented last time is there is a interim plan for what that parcel will
look like in between demolition and future construction so there is a plan
to put a minimal amount of landscaping and irrigation into that parcel so that
one, aesthetically it looks nice, but also can be used as passive space, you know, for
picnics and informal play, as was the current construction site. The passive
space that used to be there would be in that space until construction moved
forward. So I wanted to make sure that you understood that. That's different
than what staff had told you in the last meeting. So if there is a delay from
demolition to construction there will be landscaping in place that the community
can enjoy. So we can move forward with that recommendation that you suggested
from last time however we wanted to put on the table that we actually think that
within the same time frame so not adding any more time than what you had proposed
last time is that we could not only look at Heather farm park master plan update
But we could also go back to the work that was done with your park, your future, and
do a master plan for Civic Park as well.
So it will cost more money, and the budget conversation is one that we'll have for Council.
So you don't necessarily have to get in the weeds of that.
We do have some funds available that we can use for that.
But we thought it would be a more comprehensive approach to really mirror the work that's being
done on the community outreach side with general plan to really get to look at Civic Park.
So it does not have a current master plan. Heather Farm does. It's 20 something years
old, which is why we want the update. But the work never continued on to Civic Park.
So even though that was recommended as part of your parks, your future, we've never gotten
to the point to be able to move forward with that. So we think a consultant can look at
both of those parks and within the same time prime give us two well one update and one
full master plan which would marry nicely with the general plan work. So we wanted to
bring that back as a third option for you for consideration so we have representation
from my department and from public works that are here to answer further questions that
you might have and ultimately we're looking for you to either confirm your initial recommendation
to council or provide anyone. Any questions from the commissioners on the view option? So if I'm
reading this correctly it's a similar time frame to one of the proposals from last time but also
includes Civic Park so that's the that would be the change? Correct. Okay so it would be on the
kind of longer horizon but then would have some direction for updates to Civic as well? Exactly
And I wanted you to know that in the meanwhile,
there would be some landscaping in that parcel
because we weren't clear about that last time.
And I think we were thinking there might just be dirt
after demolition.
So I wanted you to know that at least the park will be,
that parcel will have some passive use available
during that time.
So like if the, so once the new pool is opened
and Clark is kind of decommissioned, demolished,
the hole is filled in with dirt,
it would look kind of like it did,
kind of like around the current,
or the old community center looked
where it would just be kind of open grass.
There'd be some open grass space
and probably some tan bark, right?
We don't wanna invest in putting tons of irrigation
to keep, you know, a giant turf field open, per se,
but it would definitely be landscaped
in a way that it could be used.
And if you don't get the money that you need for that, then.
We have a couple pots available.
I mean it's under Council's authority, obviously,
how they want to spend that, but we currently
have some funds that we are gonna recommend for the project.
I just wanna make sure we move forward with Heather Farm
if you don't get the money for Civic,
but assuming you have the money for Civic,
then yes, I would support moving forward with both,
but I don't wanna delay Heather any longer
because we're waiting for money to add to it.
Fair enough, and we can certainly add that
to the recommendation.
So are you looking for a vote by the committee?
Correct, so either coming up with a new recommendation,
like we did last time,
or just giving me a confirmation
that you just wanna stick with your original one,
or option three, as being proposed in.
When was the last time Civic Park got
real update, not like equipment update, but like when was last time it had a kind of formal plan
update. So it does not have a master plan, one does not exist, but as far as like when were
recent renovations done or anything like that, could you speak to that Director Payne? That predates me.
Good evening, Rich Payne, Public Works Director. That's a really good question, I can't give you
an exact date. All I know that it was in the early 2000s and if you recall those
of you that were around that space of Civic Park East we made some
improvements we removed some of the portables and we updated the grass and
put a pathway around there so there's been sort of systematic improvements
here and there but it's just it hasn't really received a master plan and that
was one of the reasons why we wanted to bring this back to you because as you
you are aware, several years ago you suggested that we do a civic park master plan and we've
actually included in the 10 year CIP and we just didn't have the funding. So it's in the
10 year CIP to do this but given that we're doing a general plan amendment and we're doing
some other things, we just thought it was a good idea to come and present this to the
commission to see if that was something that we wanted to do at the same time.
I have another quick question while you're here.
Yes.
So the existing community buildings that are there, those uses will move to Heather Farm
and they'll be repurposed or?
Actually that would be vetted out through the public process, so, but that would be,
it's a good point, those would be evaluated and considered as we look at Civic Park as
a whole.
Thank you, I don't have any other questions.
we do a motion so do we public comments? I have received no public comments. Okay.
All right. A motion, I recommend option three or option two, right? There's three
options or like last time you can create your own. So last time Chris we talked
about you know could we do I think we were in favor of kind of the option too
but an accelerated timeline and you're offering us a third option but was an
accelerated timeline a possibility? The only thing that we could really offer
was that there would be some landscape there to be able to have the park open
we don't want to commit to be able to do it any faster than what we are
including right now. Can I ask one more question? So with the turf and
landscaping done, like what kind of activities it will support? I mean it
hasn't been designed, so that's why I want to say passive. It would be, you know,
nothing like a soccer practice or anything like that. It would be more like
a picnic, you know, free play for kids, a place to kind of read a book and relax,
not organized sports or anything like that I would make a motion to accept
option three including civic park in the master plan effort for Heather farm I'll
second okay we have a first and a second I will take a vote we have student
Commissioner Sandhu? Yes. Commissioner Garland? Yes. Commissioner Brockhouse? Yes. Vice
Chair Sasser? Yes. And Chair Pinkstock? Yes. Great, it passes and we will report
back on how it goes when we recommend the council. We plan to bring it to the
second meeting in October. Next on the agenda is the presentation of Heather
farm aquatic center amenity naming approvals might crisp out of the city of
wanna Creek forward to provide the presentation sure so this is also part
two of an item that we brought last month so as I mentioned at that time the
foundation is continuing to work on their donor solicitation and in that
vein they have three new donors so they would like for the pros commit
Commission to accept the names the three names in the
Recognition are Michael and May Lee lay cell foundation and that would be for the diving board
Donor there will be no signs specifically at the diving board
But this would be a plaque that will go on the the don't the large donor wall and then two lane captains
Which again will go on the donor wall and those would be named for Curtis Lynn and for Leo Lynn
And so we are asking that you approve those donors
Chris last time we flagged two
Names, do you have an update on that? I do there was one name that the
it was inconsistent with how the nickname was listed and so we did get a
confirmation from the foundation that they spoke with those donors and we are gonna go with the
Nickname in the middle in quotes. So for example, it would be
Robert quote
RJ last name and that will be what we will use for any other similar donations moving forward
Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for reminding me
We do not have public comment, okay. All right
Anyone want to make a motion to approve the
changes
proposed naming requests I
Move we approve the three proposed names
I'll second
Okay, we have a first and a second student Commissioner Sandhu. Yes, Commissioner Garland
Yes, Commissioner Brockhouse. Yes, Vice Chair Sasser. Yes, and Chair Pinkstaff. Yes
Perfect approve. Thank you
Next on the agenda is reports on projects
the staff had to have any updates on projects we do not next item is staff
announcement and brief reports on activities any activities we do not
that's for us that's commissioners I just wanted to say that I Mike gave art
and I tour of the construction site two weeks ago and at Heather farm and it
was really good. It was a really good tour. They're making great progress. It's starting
to actually look like a, you know, like the facility. And so it was very interesting and
really appreciated him and the construction managers time that they spent with us. So
if you have an opportunity, I just am suggesting that everyone on the commission go. And Mike
also said that as they continue to progress, he will offer additional tours. So I thought
That's great.
Yeah, I also have a report out.
The Wanna Creek Open Space Foundation,
I've been the liaison between the PROS Commission
and the foundation for a little over a year.
I attended the last meeting, and I
opened to conversation of additional commissioners
wanted to be the liaison with the foundation.
I learned a lot in the past year and the great work they're doing with the communities,
with students, with volunteers, and the projects that are taking place in the Walnut Creek
Open Space.
So I'm open to volunteer if you want to be the new liaison with the Foundation.
I'd be interested to do that.