HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-24 Parks & Recreation Agenda PacketDRAFT
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MINUTES 5
PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 6
REGULAR MEETING 7
February 24, 2015 8
CITY HALL 9 250 Hamilton Avenue 10 Palo Alto, California 11 12 Commissioners Present: Stacey Ashlund, Deirdre Crommie, Jennifer Hetterly, Abbie 13
Knopper, Ed Lauing, Pat Markevitch, Keith Reckdahl 14
Commissioners Absent: 15
Others Present: Council Liaison Eric Filseth 16
Staff Present: John Aikin, Daren Anderson, Catherine Bourquin, Rob de Geus, Peter 17
Jensen, Matthew Krupp 18
I. ROLL CALL CONDUCTED BY: Catherine Bourquin 19
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II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, and DELETIONS: 21
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None. 23
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III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: 25 26 Chair Reckdahl: I have one card for David Carnahan. David, you have two minutes. 27 28
David Carnahan: Thank you, Chair Reckdahl and Commissioners. David Carnahan, 29
Deputy City Clerk, here to talk to you about commission recruitment. Currently the city 30
is looking to fill terms on the Human Relations Commission, three terms on the HRC, 31
three terms on the Public Art Commission, and two terms on the Utilities Advisory 32
Commission. Terms on all three commissions run for three years, from May 1st of this 33
year through April 30, 2018. The deadline to apply is March 3rd. I'm coming to all the 34
boards and commissions in hopes that commission members know people that they could 35
refer for application, as well as members of the public that attend meetings and watch 36
from home may be interested. These are great opportunities for members of the 37
community to give back to their community and help shape the future of Palo Alto. 38
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There are a few specific requirements for each board and commission. For HRC, the 39
Human Relations Commission, you need to be a Palo Alto resident. For the Utilities 40
Advisory Commission, each member needs to be a Utilities customer or a representative 41
of a Utilities customer. Did you guys hear any of that? Okay, good. For Public Art, it's 42
a bit of a mouthful. There's really no concise way to say this, so I'm just going to read it 43
to you. The requirements to be on the Public Art Commission: members shall either be 44 members of the Architectural Review Board or shall be professional visual artists, visual 45
arts educators, professional visual arts scholars, or visual arts collectors whose authorities 46
and skills are known and respected in the community and whenever feasible who have 47
demonstrated an interest in and have participated in the arts program of the city. You 48
also do not need to be a Palo Alto resident to serve on the Public Art Commission. 49
Again, applications for all three commissions are due on March 3rd. We have 50
applications at the back of the chambers. They're also available online. If there are any 51
questions, please contact the Clerk's office. Does the Commission have any questions? 52
All right. Thank you very much. 53
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IV. BUSINESS: 55
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Chair Reckdahl: Before we move on to new business, this probably should be an 57
announcement at the end, but I'm going to move it up. Congratulations to our liaison, 58
Rob de Geus, on his new position. He is now head of Community Services. We 59
appreciate that. 60
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Rob de Geus: Thank you very much. Much appreciated. It's an honor and a privilege. 62
Thank you. 63 64 Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. 65 66
1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the Regular Meeting of January 27, 2015. 67 68
Approval of the draft January 27, 2015 Minutes was moved by Vice Chair Markevitch 69
and seconded by Commissioner Hetterly. Passed 6-0 Ashlund abstaining 70
71 2. Information Report on the Conceptual Plans for the Re-Building of the Palo 72 Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. 73
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Rob de Geus: We'll invite John Aikin up here, and team. Let me just introduce John. 75 John's the Director of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. I have to say one of the 76
great things about becoming Director of the Department is I get to be involved in some 77
areas where I haven't been involved as much recently. The Junior Museum and Zoo is an 78
example of that. It's such a great program. When is the last time the Commissioners 79
have been to the Junior Museum and Zoo? Pretty recently? You've got to go back. John 80
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and team are doing a great job there. It's fantastic. It's a treasure of a place for the 81
community, and it's bursting at the seams, and it has been for some time. I'm excited to 82
have John here to talk about what could be in the future for this wonderful program. 83
With that, let me pass it on to John. 84
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John Aikin: Thank you, Rob, for that wonderful introduction. Commissioners, I'm 86 pleased to be here to bring you up to speed with something that we've been planning for a 87
couple of years. The Friends of the Junior Museum and Zoo have been fundraising and 88
helping the city come up with concepts for what this could be, but it didn't become an 89
official city project until a letter of intent was authorized by the Council, I guess, at the 90
end of the last fiscal year. This is our first opportunity to really come to you formally and 91
bring this project forward. I'm very excited to do it. I'd like to introduce the members of 92
the team here. Sarah Vaccaro from Cody Anderson Wasney Architects here in Palo Alto. 93
Peter Jensen, I think you know our landscape architect. I'm going to let Peter set the 94
context for this in terms of the Master Plan. 95
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Peter Jensen: In association with the Junior Museum and Zoo Project, this was an aspect 97
of the Rinconada Long Range Plan, which you haven't heard about in a little while as far 98
as the expanding footprint of the Junior Museum and Zoo building and Zoo itself that 99
was shown in the Long Range Plan. The Rinconada Long Range Plan is a joint, I guess, 100
venture with the Junior Museum and Zoo as far as getting its environmental work done. 101
The recommendations that were part of the Long Range Plan are basically now being 102
reviewed as far as environmental review. That's how these two projects are joined 103
together. The Long Range Plan did show the expanded footprint of the Junior Museum 104
and Zoo. It was shown at several community meetings and discussed about the future 105 expansion of the Junior Museum and Zoo. No public opposition came to light from those 106 meetings, and I don't image that they will. As Rob said, it is a cherished item in Palo 107 Alto. The Junior Museum and Zoo is really beloved, the building and the Zoo. That's 108
how it connects to the Long Range Plan. Those two things in their environmental work 109
are going along together. Without further ado, I'll turn it back to John and the consultant 110
to talk more about the Junior Museum and Zoo. 111
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Mr. Aikin: If you'll turn to your screens, our mission is to engage a child's curiosity in 113
science, to encourage exploration, and to build a foundation for understanding and a 114
lifelong respect for nature. We chose those wisely, because it's really about their 115
curiosity that they bring. Science is a process, and nature is the phenomenon that we 116
want to engage them in. We've been here a long time. We're celebrating our 80th year 117
for the Museum, and the 40th year for the Zoo. We are a hybrid institution that is part 118
school, part zoo, part museum, but very much part of the community. I think part of that 119
is that we are in a residential neighborhood. We've been free for a long time for people to 120
stop by. It is has really meshed us well in the community. We have about 150,000 visits 121
a year. That's not really visitors; that's number of visits. We don't collect admission, and 122
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so this is an estimate based on nose counts throughout the year. All of them are local. 123
Many of them are repeat visitors, and they're all children 0-9 years of age and their 124
caretakers. We have a second demographic that we serve. We have probably one of the 125
greatest outreach programs that I’m aware of. In this outreach program, we provide 126
science education in our local elementary schools, and we're touching 100 percent of the 127
local elementary schools. We have robust contracts with at least 70 percent where we're 128 doing every grade, every child, every science curriculum. These are amazing programs. 129
Lots of hours with the students. Many students served. The Friends support at-risk 130
neighborhood schools pro bono, so they raise the funds and deploy city staff to teach 131
those classes in East Palo Alto and now in Mountain View. When people stop by, this is 132
all about play for a young child, but we've staged that play thoughtfully with exhibits that 133
engage them in scientific phenomena and use their whole bodies and get them to observe, 134
question, and open their minds to exploration. From there, it's the school work or it's 135
coming back and taking classes to learn more. That stage is all set in the institution. 136
We've been there for a long time. This building was built in 1941, and it no longer really 137
reflects the scale of our audience nor our storage needs or staff needs. I'll go through a 138
few of the issues. Parking conditions are pretty challenging. Let me get back to that. 139
This is actually our relationship with the park which, I think, could be much better. I 140
think there could be an entrance to that part that's more inviting. The Zoo has turned its 141
back on the park with a USDA-required fence. I think we can do a much better job of 142
having a presence in the park. The parking lot is laid out in a confusing manner that is 143
dangerous. I cringe as I see moms walk kids across that every day. We're crowded on 144
busy days, to the point that on rainy days we take cell phone numbers to call moms 145
waiting in their cars, because we don't have enough room in the institution. We're chock 146
full of storage places and we have great people that take wonderful care of our animals, 147 but we can do much more if we build new facilities that reflect modern husbandry 148 practices and modern zoo conditions. We have about 4,000 objects in our collections, 149 and we've been Palo Alto's attic for a long time. We've got a lot of interesting things. 150
Some of them meet our mission very well and are important to our teaching. Some of 151
them don't, and we're in the process of cataloging those, but they need to be housed in 152
accordance with standards established by the American Alliance for Museums. This 153
rebuild should allow us to do that. Those outreach programs that are so phenomenal are 154
ultimately limited by storage space and our ability to deploy teachers. This is the mother 155
ship that allows all that to occur. I'm going to turn it over to Sarah Vaccaro now, who'll 156
walk you through the current plans. 157
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Sarah Vaccaro: Hello, Commissioners. Thank you for having us here tonight. Peter, 159
thank you for setting the stage in terms of the Long Range Plan. John, thank you for 160
setting the stage of what this treasured amenity is in the City of Palo Alto as well as the 161
facility needs in order to grow and make this program able to reach more in the 162
community. I want to set the stage with the existing facilities to begin with. This is the 163
existing site plan. The existing Museum building is shown in the dark gray. The existing 164
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Zoo footprint is shown in the light gray. This overlays the Rinconada Park boundaries. 165
Rinconada Park along with Lucie Stern and the Junior Museum and Zoo sit in one large 166
public facility parcel. A part of this parcel is zoned as parkland, the Rinconada Park. 167
The current Zoo sits mostly within parkland, so the zoological program is an approved 168
existing use within Rinconada Park. We'll circle back on that in a few minutes. This 169
diagram shows the existing Heritage Trees and special trees around the Junior Museum 170 and Zoo. The red trees are Heritage redwoods. The dark blue are Heritage oak trees. 171
There are two special trees that are highlighted with a green graphic. One is the dawn 172
redwood tree which is a special deciduous redwood tree, and then a large pecan that 173
outdates most of the buildings on this site. All of the Heritage trees will be protected 174
with this proposed expansion as well as the two specimen trees will be highlighted as 175
features in the proposed plan. As John mentioned earlier, the existing vehicular 176
circulation in the parking lot is confusing as these arrows indicate, and there are a lot of 177
collision opportunities between pedestrians and vehicles in this current organization. Part 178
of the Long Range Plan as well as working with our team, we're trying to reorganize the 179
parking lot to be much safer and clearer as well as provide additional parking spots. This 180
diagram in the dark blue or purple color shows the proposed expanded building footprint 181
for the new Museum. It is about 5,000 square feet larger than the existing footprint. That 182
is for the reasons that John outlined before of providing expanded storage capacity as 183
well as education spaces and visitor amenity spaces. The blue outline here shows the 184
proposed expanded Zoo footprint. As I mentioned, it is entirely in parkland in line with 185
providing only zoological program in the parkland which is in line with the existing zoo 186
program currently in park. The proposed expanded footprint is about 11,000 square feet 187
further into the park than the existing Zoo footprint. As Peter mentioned before, the 188
expanded Museum and Zoo footprint have both been identified in the Long Range Master 189 Plan and coordinated with the overall design of this end of the park, coordinated with the 190 other amenities that are located here. This diagram shows some of the immediate trees 191 that will be affected with this proposed expansion in the orange color. There are about 192
10-12 trees in the area immediately surrounding the existing building and Zoo that will be 193
affected and need to be removed. This is in the context of the entire larger Long Range 194
Plan. There's over 300 trees on the site. These few trees around the JMZ as well as other 195
trees on the site have been identified—there's about 50—to be removed, and then close to 196
78 trees are proposed to be planted in the Long Range Master Plan. This is the proposed 197
site plan. The darker blue color shows the proposed building location. We have the 198
Museum building on the lower side of the screen. It circles around that dawn redwood 199
tree creating an educational courtyard and a nice entrance plaza off of the drop-off zone 200
in the parking lot. This site plan shows the proposed reconfigured parking lot, which has 201
been developed in coordination with Peter and his team. The light blue shows the 202
proposed outdoor Zoo enclosure. This will be a netted enclosed area, so it will be a 203
loose-in-the-zoo concept where birds and animals will be able to roam freely as well as 204
other animals that will be in enclosed exhibits. There is a small proposed zoo support 205
building that is located in the park. This will provide support such as animal care and 206
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feeding rooms and other quarantine-type spaces to allow for proper husbandry care for 207
the animals. The lightest blue is the back-of-house support area for the Zoo as well. One 208
thing to note in this plan is that we are proposing a public restroom on the park side of the 209
proposed Zoo building, and this will be accessed from the park and serve as a public 210
amenity on this end of Rinconada Park as there's currently no public restrooms. That's it 211
for this time. 212 213
Mr. Aikin: We have a few other drawings here we could ask questions, but we wanted to 214
target this informational session to you with issues that we thought were pertinent to park 215
planning and not get into zoo and museum design and things like that. If you have 216
questions, we have a few more slides we can get to. Thank you. 217
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Chair Reckdahl: Commissioners, comments or questions? Commissioner Knopper. 219
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Commissioner Knopper: Thank you for your presentation. Could you just explain, you 221
have the proposed Zoo footprint and then the proposed Zoo building and then there's a 222
gray area that sits underneath that. I can't point. 223
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Ms. Vaccaro: This area? 225
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Commissioner Knopper: Yes. What is that? 227
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Ms. Vaccaro: It's an exterior zoo support area. There will be some cages for animals that 229
need to be moved in and out of the main exhibit spaces as well as a lay-down area for 230
materials and support. It's an exterior support area for the Zoo. 231 232 Commissioner Knopper: Thank you. 233 234
Chair Reckdahl: You mentioned that the new Zoo's going to take up 11,000 more square 235
feet of parkland. Can you compare both the outside Zoo area now and then and also the 236
building areas now and then. 237
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Ms. Vaccaro: The existing Museum building footprint is approximately 8,500 square 239
feet. The proposed Museum building footprint is approximately 13,600 square feet. 240
That's an expansion of about 5,100 square feet. The exterior Zoo enclosure, the area 241
where all the exhibits and people are able to access the existing Zoo, is 10,600 square 242
feet. We're proposing to grow it to 13,000 square feet. That's a difference of about 243
2,400. The Zoo support building, currently there is no Zoo support building, so that's 244
zero for the existing. We're proposing a 2,900 square foot building. The exterior Zoo 245
support yard that we were just speaking of currently is about 2,400 square feet, and we're 246
proposing an expanded area of 3,900 square feet. A difference of 1,500. 247
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Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. 249
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Vice Chair Markevitch: I agree that the Museum and the Zoo are fantastic. They're 251
great. I'm looking at this, and I'm very concerned that Rinconada Park is getting chipped 252
away. Walter Hays took a big part of it, and now the Zoo is proposing to take a large 253
part. Earlier in your presentation, you said we want to be able to have a more welcoming 254 aspect into the Zoo from the park. Then in this later screen shot, you have a building 255
there, which is not a welcoming thing to me. All it is is a public bathroom facing into the 256
park, and then this is a working building where the animals are going to be taken care of. 257
That doesn't match up with what you had said earlier. Also, was a two-story building 258
considered, so you would take up less of a footprint and you would roll out less of the 259
Zoo into the park? That's really a sticking point with me. I just feel very strongly that 260
this park needs to stay the size it is, because it is such a wonderful park. Is this also 261
coordinating with the Rinconada Master Plan that we worked so hard on? It looks like 262
the play area and the tot lot have rolled closer to Hopkins. Does that mean that the bar-263
be-que area is now gone from there? It seems everything's getting pushed, and then some 264
stuff is just going away. I didn't see the bar-be-que area on here. That's all my questions 265
and statements for now. 266
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Mr. Aikin: Peter, do you want to answer the question about the Master Plan? Then I'll 268
address the questions about the building. 269
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Mr. Jensen: The playground does get pushed closer to Hopkins to make more room for 271
the Zoo building and the Zoo itself. In that corner of the park, there is nothing that really 272
takes place there. It's not like it's a high-use zone of the park. It looks like the back of 273 someone's yard, because of the fence area there. I think that the land that's being given 274 up by the park is being better utilized in this sense. If you just walk around through that 275 space, this area again is not programmed at all. It's not used at all. It's mostly full of 276
asphalt and is the back of the school. The walkway and the entry into the park with the 277
connection to the parking lot is much improved with the design, even with the larger Zoo 278
and Zoo building there. The proposed bathroom in the Zoo building is something that 279
was a high priority for the Long Range Plan of getting a bathroom down closer to the 280
playgrounds. Either way, the back of the Zoo building or the back of a restroom facility 281
aesthetically can be made to look a lot better than what is there now, as far as the wood 282
fence. Nothing as far as the amenities in the park is being lost. The playgrounds are 283
shifted closer to Hopkins, but the actual playground expands because the tot lot by the 284
tennis court is moved into this area so you have a joint playground use. The existing 285
picnic area there is reconfigured, but it actually gets larger and more amenities, such as a 286
fire pit that was requested by the Girl Scouts. In the final design of the Long Range Plan, 287
a lot more elements are being incorporated into that area than are there now, which I 288
think works very well in conjunction with the Junior Museum and Zoo and in close 289
proximity to the school that you have this node of activity where people are gathering. In 290
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the overall sense, no park amenities are being lost in any way in that location. The 291
location being taken up by the Zoo, like I said, is kind of a dead zone or dead space in the 292
park. It's not really being utilized for anything, mostly composed of asphalt right now. 293
The footprint shown was in the Long Range Plan discussed with the community. 294
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Mr. Aikin: I'd love to address the issue of the building and the back-of-house building in 296 the Zoo. We do have buildings in the Zoo today, but they're scattered, small CMU 297
buildings, and really don't reflect modern husbandry practices. What we are designing—298
we'll show you here—is a two-story building so that we can have public access on the 299
roof deck which is a butterfly garden. It's essentially a greenhouse on the second floor. 300
Down on the first floor is back-of-house animal care as well as underground exhibits for 301
kids to go underground and underwater to see animals. It's really a stacked zoo with a 302
back-of-house connected to it. This is the view from the park. The building is sunk—I 303
think it's 4 feet—underground so that the first roof layer—I think it's about 7-9 feet—304
pitches down. It's got a green roof on it. Then you can see the netting on top there above 305
the greenhouse structure. I think that it should be pleasing but, yes, it is a structure. 306
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Vice Chair Markevitch: I had two more questions regarding the parking lot. One of 308
them was, you've closed off an entrance. Are you adding parking spaces? When you 309
have a performance that comes out of the Main Stage, everybody leaves at the same time, 310
and it can be chaotic. The other one is, I noticed alongside the garden area of Lucie Stern 311
where there's two 15-minute green striped parking spaces. It looks like you're redoing the 312
brick there. I want to be sure that what you're doing is historic to the building, because 313
it's important. I know right now it's just red brick and it's cobbled and people trip on it 314
and fall. I want some thought put into that design. 315 316 Mr. Jensen: The red brick is historic. It's actually going to be restored along that 317 walkway. Up to this point here, the existing walkway will remain not exactly like it is 318
today. It's going to be repaired within the next few months. That's using a lot of the 319
existing brick, but that will be maintained the same in the language of Lucie Stern. That 320
walkway that connects through the walk does exist through here. This portion is new 321
along with a new entry court there. That does connect you fully through the park over to 322
Lucie Stern, making a better connection to the amenities that are all there. We are aware 323
there is an elimination of a driveway into that parking lot, which currently exists in this 324
location. In the overall design, it was felt the safety and having a clear destination and 325
drop-off for the Junior Museum and Zoo was a key aspect of that design because of the 326
user group, mostly small children. Making that clear designation of having a drop-off 327
and not having the main entry pathway coming directly in front of that was a big bonus to 328
that design. The parking lot—I'm not aware of the number—20 more parking spaces in 329
the parking lot than is there now. That is accomplished by the restriping of the parking 330
lot and the expansion of the parking lot into this area here. We are in the environmental 331
review, looking at the intersection there and what can be done to ease traffic congestion 332
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in that area as well as the ease of crossing the street at that location as part of the upgrade 333
for the parking lot. 334
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Commissioner Lauing: Thanks for your presentation. I went to the public meeting about 336
this that you presented, so I had a lot more detail which was helpful. The overall 337
question is obviously going to be the intrusion on the park as existing. Just to pick up on 338 what Commissioner Markevitch has said, it's almost doubling the intrusion there. That 339
night when I saw it in the public meeting and I see it here in the document, I guess the 340
question is, if you had to scale back, how would you prioritize what you would take out 341
to fit it in? If we do remodels, we don't get to buy the land next door. We just have to fit 342
it on the site. When I go through here and I see things like storage or maintenance or 343
exterior animal cages, interior stroller parking, not just exterior but interior stroller 344
parking, offices, I can't prioritize those. If we're giving up square footage of parkland for 345
people to have better offices and storage, maybe offsite storage could be helpful, and 346
2,000 of the 4,000 specimens could be offsite. Obviously it has to be in the right kind of 347
conditions. The general question is, how would you prioritize to make it smaller? 348
Maybe you can't answer that tonight, but at some point I think that the various 349
commissions should see an alternative that's smaller so that they can judge what you'd 350
have to give up. That's kind of the driver. Another question in that regard is, since you're 351
basically taking down the building and starting over because it's so magnificent, was 352
there any consideration given to just finding a different location? It's already so jammed 353
with the school and the parking lot and the community center and the park itself, maybe 354
we should just look at a different location for it entirely. You touched on it, but at some 355
point you'll have the opportunity to go into more detail. You're now going to draw more 356
visitors in, and you're already doing some outreach to Mountain View and East Palo Alto, 357 and this is going to be spectacular. Plus or minus 20 car spaces may not be enough. At 358 some point, the city has to come up with the tough decision that parking spaces are going 359 to have to go underground as expensive as they are, because we're planning for the next 360
50 years. Maybe something as radial and as expensive as that has to be tossed into the 361
mix. I think that's the fundamental issue, the relative size, what you give up and the 362
increased folks that are coming through here that would have to come in to see this new 363
magnificent spot, where we are going to put them as well. 364
365
Mr. Aikin: If I could just quickly mention what that footprint in the park does versus 366
what the footprint in the non-park area where the Museum sits now. It's primarily animal 367
enclosures and animal back-of-house. I say primarily because there's one office for the 368
Zoo Director who sits in the Zoo today. The back-of-house is really needed to operate a 369
zoo according to the accreditation standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 370
The animal collection is pretty much the animal collection that we have today with a 371
couple of additions, the butterfly house and a meerkat exhibit. They're scaled to meet 372
those accreditation standards, and so the reality is the Zoo today has exhibits that are too 373
small. If we get criticisms, it's usually about "Gosh, couldn't these animals have a little 374
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bit more room?" I think we are pushed up against Walter Hays on one side, a parking lot 375
on another, a park on the other side, and there's only so much room . We did look at 376
other sites before we ventured in on this. The conclusion that we came to is that the 377
relationship with the community for this location and this institution was a great deal 378
of—a big part of the equity of this institution and the relationship with the community 379
was the ease of transport to get here. The other site that we looked at was off a freeway, 380 but it required everybody to get into a car and not ride a bike or take a Palo Alto shuttle 381
or walk. As we solve the transportation issues, I hope that we're going to be able to do it 382
in a multimodal way so that not everybody has to get here by car. We will take all this 383
into consideration and come back with some priorities. 384
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Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Hetterly. 386
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Commissioner Hetterly: I agree with all the comments that have come before. I also 388
wanted to ask about the entry plaza. As I looked at that overview with the layout of the 389
proposed building and Zoo area, it looked like the entrance plaza is as big as the 390
encroachment into the park. I wonder if there's not some way to create a better balance 391
there to reduce the impact on the park. 392
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Mr. Aikin: I'll probably turn this to Peter to talk a little bit about that entry plaza. What 394
I'll mention is from the Museum's standpoint and our ability to throw public events and 395
have a space to really engage the public in meaningful ways outside and have gathering 396
areas, that's one of the things that we are limited now. We would love some outdoor 397
plaza space. Peter, do you have any comments about that entry plaza? 398
399 Mr. Jensen: The entry plaza, as far as the Long Range Plan goes, is proposed as a way to 400 properly link the parking lot to the park. If you've visited the park, which I'm sure you 401 have, you walk past the dumpsters and that's the way to get into the park. It doesn't really 402
have a formalized entry or connection to the parking lot. In look or what they could be 403
has not been decided yet. It's more of a placeholder in the Long Range Plan that we 404
would have some type of connection point that would lead from the parking lot. That 405
could be studied more, and we could look at the Zoo encroaching more into that space. 406
That is made more difficult by the trees that are located there, the large oak tree and the 407
large pecan tree. The encroachment into the root zone of those areas would have some 408
impact on those trees. The space that you're gaining is nominal, if any, as far as the entry 409
plaza goes in trying to add some of the space to the Zoo. I think it goes to note again that 410
the restroom facility on the backside of the Zoo was a popular amenity to the community 411
as far as its proximity to the playgrounds. That space would become, if the Zoo wasn't 412
there, a restroom facility as well and would take up the majority of that space. I think it's 413
a fair tradeoff. As you can see down at the bottom image, the Zoo then expands out into 414
this area right here. Like I said, it's the asphalt, meandering walkway that's next to the 415
school and a small portion of the larger turf area, not overly used in that respect as a main 416
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feature of the main turf area. I think the usability, the benefit that the community gets 417
from having the expanded Zoo, the beneficial impact that it has on the animals to have 418
the proper care area for them, I think those are all good reasons to look at that space as 419
being dedicated to the Zoo than to the park. 420
421
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Ashlund. 422 423
Commissioner Ashlund: I have a couple of questions. Can you go to the last diagram in 424
your presentation. The first question, in the redesign of the parking lot, are these two 425
parking lots that are shown in this diagram, are they connected? Once you're in the main 426
one, can you drive to that second portion? So they would become connected. Okay. 427
Where does the main driveway go? You said the main driveway that's currently coming 428
into the JMZ is removed. Is it now the main driveway into Lucie Stern and then you 429
would take the right into the Zoo? Yes, okay. The public restroom access, I wasn't clear. 430
Is that only once you're in the Museum and Zoo that you can access the public restroom 431
or is there an external access from the park side as well? 432
433
Ms. Vaccaro: There's an external access from the park side. Anyone using the 434
playground areas or the picnic areas would be able to come over and access the restroom 435
right off the park pathways. 436
437
Commissioner Ashlund: I applaud the addition of the Girl Scout fire pit. We've been 438
sharing the Boy Scout fire pit for many years, so I appreciate the addition of that. The 439
main question about the redesign, is the existing foundation being reused or is this a total 440
teardown and do over? 441 442 Ms. Vaccaro: We're proposing to remove the existing building. It's an older building 443 type, and it would not be easily renovated or expanded to this newer building type. It 444
would be costly. 445
446
Commissioner Ashlund: So the foundation would be redone as well? 447
448
Ms. Vaccaro: Correct. 449
450
Commissioner Ashlund: Have you given any thought to rotating the placement? I agree 451
with Commissioners' comments about the welcoming aspect of the Museum and Zoo into 452
the park. Right now it feels like the welcoming direction is still the direction that it 453
currently is. If we're redoing the whole foundation anyway, did you do any proposals 454
that looked at rotating it so that the entry plaza was more adjacent to the parkland rather 455
than the Zoo building for equipment? 456
457
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Ms. Vaccaro: We have studied numerous layouts for the entire footprint. The goal is 458
really to try and keep the Museum portion out of parkland as it's not currently a use in the 459
park, and only put Zoo programs in the park. That limited us to this area of the site here. 460
We are currently developing the design right now to really strengthen the views and the 461
connection from the park entrance plaza and from these areas of the park to the main 462
entrance so that there really is a strong view corridor. One item that I failed to mention 463 earlier is that this wall that encloses the Zoo is going to be themed as an educational 464
component, so that it actually lends itself as kind of a guiding or wayfinding mechanism 465
that leads people from the park around the Zoo enclosure and then to the entry point of 466
the Museum and Zoo. 467
468
Commissioner Ashlund: The final question I had is regarding the cost of this proposal 469
and the fundraising efforts for that as far as considering the underground parking as an 470
option because it would buy back space, it would preserve parkland. Has that option 471
been looked at? 472
473
Mr. Aikin: The option really has not been studied. I think there was a proposal early on 474
the table, conceptually, that "Gosh, would the city consider underground parking?" I 475
think that question was bigger than we could answer. I think I would leave that to the 476
Commission and the city to grapple with. Are you ready for underground parking in 477
Rinconada Park? It probably could be designed. It would be very expensive and 478
disruptive to build. Is this the time and is that where we want to go? It's a tough choice. 479
480
Commissioner Ashlund: Thank you. 481
482 Commissioner Crommie: Hi, there. Thank you for the presentation. This reminds of 483 building the megaplex, potentially, of soccer fields in the Baylands and creating a 484 regional draw. I think our Zoo is an amazing resource for our community, but I'm just 485
wondering is the goal here to make it more of a regional draw? Because you're using the 486
word locally without really defining what you mean by local. You're not speaking in 487
terms of Palo Alto residents. You're calling local from here down to San Jose and up to 488
San Francisco? I'm just a little bit confused. What are the forces that want this regional 489
draw? No matter what you're saying, this clearly has a huge impact on Rinconada Park. 490
It's really a question of priorities. Do you want to give up parkland to have a bigger Zoo? 491
My family has used this Zoo a lot every since my kids were little. We continue to go 492
there now. My kid now helps in the CIT program there now as a teenager, so she's been a 493
user of this Zoo from age 1 to now age 14, and she's not done yet. I'm a huge supporter 494
of it, and I've always seen it as a program that's incredibly valuable. The staff is 495
incredible. That's what makes it; the quality of the people who run this is just out of this 496
world, which makes it a huge resource for residents in terms of camps and training and 497
leadership opportunities for teenagers. It looks like it's worked really well. I know over 498
time we do have to update things, but I'm really always dubious about regional draws 499
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especially because it's just plopped down in the middle of a neighborhood. It's not like 500
the Exploratorium in San Jose that is in the middle of the city. I have a couple more 501
questions, but can you go over the forces that are leading to this regional program and 502
why you want meerkats for instance? 503
504
Mr. Aikin: Thank you for asking that question, because I don't think I was very clear 505 about the audience that we're building this for. We are trying to right size the project for 506
our existing audience. To prepare for that, we did years of surveys of our visitors to find 507
out where they come from, who they are, and who is using this space and what the 508
limitations are that keep them from coming. Our goal is not to make this a regional 509
facility. Our goal is to make this a great example of a local facility that does amazing 510
work with its elementary schools and its community. What we know about our audience 511
today is about 25 percent of our visitors are from Palo Alto, and the rest of our visitors 512
are primarily from about 15 miles in radius around us. What limits them is the age of our 513
audience, which is a young enough age that they can only spend so much time in the car. 514
There's a fair amount of stuff that comes with them, and then they need nap time and they 515
need food and they go home. I'm also glad that you gave the example of your children 516
following other opportunities within the Junior Museum. That is our core audience, 517
preschool and early elementary school-age children and that is going to stay our core 518
audience. What we plan to do is follow kids into middle school and high school as 519
opportunities to help us mentor young kids. At a programmatic level, this facility allows 520
us to stage their involvement in the institution. It's really not about trying to get people to 521
drive from south San Jose or central San Jose here. It really is about right sizing it. One 522
of the things that will allow us to control that to a certain degree is that we are looking at 523
an admission charge in the new facility, and that admission charge with a membership 524 program could help us make this much more available to local people versus one-time 525 visitors. People that go to destinations tend to do it two or three times a year, so there's a 526 price point and a strategy around dealing with that. We're investigating all of that now. I 527
can't answer fully how that's going to work, but we are looking at it. I just want to let you 528
know that we're as concerned about that as you are. Our goal from the very beginning is 529
to right size this for the existing audience. 530
531
Commissioner Crommie: Can you answer the rationale behind the meerkat exhibit? 532
533
Mr. Aikin: Yes, absolutely. We have an audience of very young children, and we have 534
sleeping bobcats right now which they spend maybe a minute in front of when they're 535
active. Children need more active animals, diurnal animals that are busy in the daytime. 536
We're trying to find some new exhibits that really engage them and that are appropriate 537
for that age. Butterflies and meerkats are two of the species that do it. We didn't want to 538
throw out our existing animals, because they're all rescues and we're caring for them. We 539
wanted to provide places for them. I think that's part of that prioritization that we talked 540
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about earlier, that we could come back if we had to make choices about what would have 541
to go. 542
543
Commissioner Crommie: Thank you. As far as square feet go, can you tell me how 544
much green, open turf space is lost during this expansion? You're saying it's not really 545
using area that's useful, which I sort of take exception with. When you reorganize the 546 young play area with the big play area, you're densifying the space that the children are in 547
for their play as far as I can tell. When I look at this picture, it looks to me like there's 548
less green, open turf. Can you tell me what it's diminished by? Now compared to if this 549
plan were enacted. 550
551
Mr. Jensen: I don't have the numbers of what the turf is to what it would be with the 552
Museum. We would have to come back to you with that number. 553
554
Commissioner Crommie: I'd like that. Thank you. I've tried to add up all the numbers 555
but it seems hopeless. Can you give me a clean number on the footprint square footage 556
now versus the total footprint square footage with your plan? Just so we can tell the full 557
magnitude difference. Just the entire footprint of everything now versus everything 558
according to this plan. 559
560
Ms. Vaccaro: Sure. The existing footprint of the Museum building and the Zoo areas is 561
21,500 square feet. The proposed is 33,450 square feet. The delta is 11,950 square feet. 562
563
Commissioner Crommie: What's the delta? Can you give a percent increase on the 564
delta? Percent expansion. 565 566 Ms. Vaccaro: I can't do that math off the top of my head. 567 568
Commissioner Crommie: Okay. 50 percent bigger? 569
570
Ms. Vaccaro: Yeah, about 50 percent larger. 571
572
Commissioner Crommie: It's not twofold bigger; it's a half-fold bigger? 573
574
Ms. Vaccaro: Correct. 575
576
Commissioner Crommie: Since it's clearly a big resource for Walter Hays school, have 577
you thought about cutting a deal with them where they give up some of their land and 578
produce a two-story building? They have all these one-story buildings on their school. If 579
they consolidated into a two-story building, would they be willing to give up any land for 580
the storage space? Just because they tend to use that facility probably more than any 581
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other school in the city. First of all, do they use that facility more than any other school 582
in the city? 583
584
Mr. Aikin: Walter Hays has the most robust contract with us, yes. We serve their 585
students probably with more capacity than any other individual school because they are 586
next door. We met with them very early on to make sure that what we were planning 587 would meet their needs. They said, "We'd love to help you stay off our land." They also 588
have a capital project that they're planning now to expand the school and get rid of the 589
temporary structures out there. They're also feeling squeezed for space. I think we have 590
a very cordial relationship with them, but we can't really do a land grab. 591
592
Commissioner Crommie: You call it a land grab, but I don't know how that works. Is 593
there anyone in the city, like the City Manager, who controls those types of discussions? 594
I think it should be on the table. 595
596
Mr. de Geus: It's something that the city and school district can certainly talk about. I 597
would think maybe the City/School Liaison Committee might want to discuss that. That 598
would be the place to do it. 599
600
Commissioner Crommie: Almost done. How many years would this project go on and 601
where would the animals be and where would the exhibits be for this whole group of 602
children that are born during this period? 603
604
Mr. Aikin: I think several of you probably mentioned the value of the staff there. It's the 605
staff that make this work. Our intention is to keep the staff intact during construction, 606 which is about a two-year period. We're looking at temporary facilities for both the 607 animals, because there aren't places to place them. They're all rescues; they didn't have 608 homes in the first place. In an ideal location, we will have a pop-up museum so we can 609
prototype exhibits for the new Museum, but we'll also need to keep the education 610
programs intact. I've been meeting with the site counselors to assure them that our 611
contracts with the schools will continue, that the teachers they know and love will 612
continue to come and bring animals and objects and scientific equipment to the schools 613
and keep that all going. We intend to move offsite during the construction and then come 614
back in. 615
616
Commissioner Crommie: Would that include offsite for summer camps? You have a 617
really large summer camp program there. 618
619
Mr. Aikin: It would. The biggest impact would be Zoo Camp. We offer nine summer 620
camps every summer. The others could take place in other locations easily. It's the Zoo 621
Camp piece that would be the most difficult. 622
623
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Commissioner Crommie: You wouldn't try to do a truncated Zoo Camp? You might 624
have to take it offline? 625
626
Mr. Aikin: Depends on the site. 627
628
Commissioner Crommie: I'd put a big plug in to keep it going in some way. Seems like 629 you just did the bobcat habitat renewal. When did that take place? I lose track of time. 630
How many years ago was it? 631
632
Mr. Aikin: It's about four years ago, and it's protected on the site and reused for bobcats 633
and raccoons right next to it. We are going to salvage that and not have to spend that 634
money twice. 635
636
Commissioner Crommie: Okay, great. What is the feedback from the public meeting? 637
In general, we usually get that attached to a report, and we didn't get that tonight. I'm 638
wondering when we're going to get the public feedback summary from your community 639
outreach meeting. 640
641
Mr. Aikin: I can get that to you. I'm sorry for not including it. We had about 12 642
members of the public come to our open house community meeting. Their questions 643
were many of the same questions that you had, but were all in general in support of the 644
project. It was really more curiosity about how we're going to do this and what we're 645
going to do, and really no concerns that they brought up. 646
647
Commissioner Crommie: Okay, great. If you can just send us that, that'd be great. 648 Thank you very much. 649 650 Chair Reckdahl: We're about 20 minutes behind schedule, so I'll keep this short. In 651
addition to that feedback at the public meeting, it'd also be nice if this presentation, we 652
were not delivered an electronic version of that, so if you can also send us that. The 653
PowerPoint that you're showing upon the screen, we did not receive that. We received a 654
four-page text, staff report. 655
656
Commissioner Hetterly: (inaudible) 657
658
Chair Reckdahl: Is it on the site now? 659
660
Commissioner Markevitch: (inaudible) 661
662
Mr. Aikin: It's been on the site. 663
664
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Chair Reckdahl: It was not in our packet. Okay, thank you. One question. On the top of 665
this four-page text, the top of page 2, it says "[d]ue to inadequate storage and support 666
space, accreditation options for both the Museum and Zoo are unobtainable." What does 667
that mean? 668
669
Mr. Aikin: There are two accrediting bodies for the Museum and the Zoo. One, the 670 American Alliance for Museums. The other, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 671
We don't meet zoo standards for both the size of some of our exhibits and the fact that we 672
have kitchen and animal prep facilities alongside animal enclosures, which those need to 673
be separated. Also, the animals that go out to schools have to be separated from the 674
collection that stays there permanently. Part of the back-of-house building is to house 675
those animals that go to schools separately from the rest of the zoo animals, because it's a 676
requirement of accreditation. The American Alliance of Museums, the primary standard 677
that we don't meet is how we house our artifacts and collections. We've been in this 678
community so long, we have some very rare objects that are priceless. They need to be 679
under lock and key and in climate-controlled facilities. This old building just doesn't 680
provide us either with the room to organize that or the HVAC systems to do it properly. 681
682
Chair Reckdahl: I also would like to echo what other people have said here. The Zoo is 683
wonderful, but I really would like to see a smaller encroachment into the park, whether 684
that's digging a basement or going to a second story. If you could shrink the building, I 685
think you could pull the whole Zoo back and you would have less encroachment. I do 686
like the idea, like Peter said, about the bathroom really is servicing the park. I like that, 687
but I would like to have that back another 20 feet. I think that'd be a much better design. 688
Everyone is short of space. Parks are short of space. Their square feet, right now, per 689 capita is not in our target, and it's only going to get worse as the population grows. I hate 690 to give up any park space that we haven't tried really hard to keep. I don't think we've 691 tried hard. This is a single-story building. I'd like to go down or go up and squish it 692
together so we don't go into the park nearly as much. That is it. Any other questions? 693
Rob. 694
695
Mr. de Geus: I'll make a couple of comments here, listening to the feedback. The 696
feedback's very interesting and helpful for the staff and the team that's working on this. 697
As I looked at this, I wondered about the parkland and how the Zoo is larger and using 698
more parkland. I suspect that's going to be the big conversation with the community, is 699
that really worth it. For me, as I thought about the value that the Junior Museum and Zoo 700
brings, that's also an important part of the equation. One, the Zoo is already on parkland. 701
If the Zoo expands, it's not necessarily thought about as giving up parkland. It's using 702
parkland differently. Does that make sense given what is being designed and built here 703
for the community? As I think about it that way, it has helped me to become more 704
excited about the possibility of the expanded Zoo. I bring that up because I've thought 705
about it quite a bit. The other thing I would mention is about Rinconada Park generally. 706
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It's probably the best park that we have in Palo Alto, partly because there's so much to do 707
there. It's an excellent destination with the Art Center and the Children's Library, the 708
Children's Theatre. We've got the park and, of course, the pool and tennis courts, and 709
then the Junior Museum as well right there. It's an amazing destination. That's partly 710
why it works as opposed to maybe another location. Thank you. 711
712 Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. 713
714
3. Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. 715
716
Chair Reckdahl: We do have one public comment for the Master Plan. Shani Kleinhaus, 717
you have two minutes. Oh, is she here? 718
719
Shani Kleinhaus: Good evening. I'm Shani Kleinhaus with Santa Clara Valley Audubon 720
Society and a resident of Palo Alto. Somebody asked me to tell you all that I’m an 721
employee of Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, and I represent the members of our 722
organization in this city and others. In Palo Alto, we have several hundred members. I 723
think it's more than 400, and they care about nature and birds and having those species of 724
birds and animals and habitats stay in the city. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan, I 725
have attended several of the meetings, and I've seen many of you there. I've several times 726
asked for the word nature to be part of the title. There's some kind of process where the 727
word nature is not there. I guess it assumes that open space takes care of that, but I've 728
seen the word open space being used for a lot of other uses that are not necessarily 729
natural and thought it would be good to specify it. If we specify trails, why not nature? 730
It's interesting to me when I look now, in Palo Alto I think nature has an intrinsic value 731 for people. They don't just want to have nature because they want access to nature. They 732 actually want to have nature for nature itself. That is not being measured, and it's hard to 733 measure it. All the criteria that we have here don't measure it. The value of the nature 734
that we have in the city, that is not measured by how many people are actually using it in 735
some way and just having it around. It's mentioned; many, many people mentioned it in 736
different meetings, but there's got to be a more specific address of the word nature and all 737
the species and all the ecosystems and all the habitats that come with it. I have another 738
specific comment to the ... 739
740
Chair Reckdahl: Ten seconds, please wrap it up. 741
742
Ms. Kleinhaus: I'm sorry. The recommended criteria, including sea level rise and 743
making that a criteria excludes from high priority a lot of areas in south Palo Alto, like 744
Ramos Park, excludes a lot of the Baylands and parts of Byxbee. It's a problem when 745
you come to areas such as ... 746
747
Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. 748
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749
Ms. Kleinhaus: ... Lucy Evans which is one of the most valued places for education and 750
for recreation. Thank you. 751
752
Chair Reckdahl: We'll move onto the presentation. Rob de Geus and Peter Jensen and 753
consultants. 754 755
Rob de Geus: Good evening again, Commissioners. We have Lauren Schmitt here and 756
Ellie Fiore from MIG and of course Peter Jensen, Landscape Architect, who's been 757
working really hard on the Parks Master Plan. Just wanted to mention that last month's 758
meeting was a challenging one on this topic. I had real trouble sleeping after that 759
meeting, I have to say, but it was good though, actually. It was needed, I think, for us 760
and for you, of course. We've done quite a bit of work this past month to sort of reset a 761
little bit. In some ways, just hit the pause button and take stock of where we are. The 762
feedback that we're receiving and how we're collecting that data and how we're sharing 763
that data and really sort of think through a structure and a framework for how that will be 764
used to define needs and then ultimately priorities and recommendations for the Master 765
Plan. I appreciate the feedback. It was important. I think we've come a long way this 766
month and am looking forward to the conversation tonight and hearing your feedback 767
about where we are today. With that, I'll pass it onto Lauren or Ellie. Lauren. 768
769
Lauren Schmitt: Thanks for having us here tonight. You received in your packet a 770
memo of a concept that we want to go over with you tonight as a way to help start sorting 771
through what is a phonebook of data, which I know is kind of overwhelming. One of the 772
things that Peter has done is started to put together in one place so you have a resource 773 for the remainder of this planning process but also in the future for all of this analysis, all 774 of the public input, pulling that together as a resource. We want to share with you a 775 concept for an evaluation matrix and some of the criteria, so that we can start talking with 776
you about how we move towards recommendations and a plan. Before we get into the 777
matrix though, I just wanted to share some thoughts with you about how that's going to 778
work. I think your park system is so complex. The programming that you do, the 779
facilities that you offer, I think the presentation we just heard is a real illustration of that 780
and the balancing that you need to do. It's not like there's a bunch of this analysis and 781
then all of a sudden we're going to presto, come out with a plan. There's a lot of steps, 782
and we need you and we need the staff involved in making decisions, evaluating things 783
along the way. We just wanted to emphasize that we've had this data collection and 784
analysis. Now we need to summarize that and say, "What does it all mean?" and start 785
thinking about what might we do in the future. To do that, first we need to understand 786
supply, understand demand. We need to define Palo Alto's role in meeting demand 787
across the whole system, not just what are we doing for sports fields, what are we doing 788
for museums. That will then allow us to define the needs. We can then think about what 789
are the options for meeting those needs, because you may not opt to meet all needs. You 790
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may not be able to do everything within the constrained land base that you have, so you 791
have to balance. Then and only then can we start laying out the directions. We've got a 792
ways to go, and I think it's important to pause and really think about those steps that are 793
ahead of us. Just thinking about where we're going, there's a lot of different tools. The 794
directions that we eventually get to setting out as the right directions for this community, 795
there's a lot of tools that will be in the plan. They're not just necessarily site specific 796 recommendations, but also policies, potentially standards, things like that. We'll evaluate 797
all those things as we go forward. I wanted to talk a little bit about the task at hand right 798
now, which is around defining need, supply, demand. I know one of the questions that 799
has come up is, "Well, can't we just simply say what's the percent capacity? Are we low? 800
Are we high? Will it be good into the future? Put the demand over the supply and see 801
where we're at." My answer to that is, "Yes, we can do that, but there's a number of 802
assumptions." I just want to lay those out on the table, some of the questions that we 803
need to all be considering. We're not going to answer those tonight, but we do want to be 804
thinking about those as we think about the complexity that is this park system. To start 805
out with supply, there's been lots of work in this process and previously looking at 806
supply. We know what the counts of things are, where they're located. We know what 807
programs you offer. There are still other issues. How much of the day should we be 808
counting? There's peak use times. There's times that are very popular. If you go out to a 809
certain site at 5:00 in the morning, it may not be used. Do we count that time in supply or 810
should we be looking at those times that are customary use times? Defining capacity. 811
Some sites and some programs, we know that you can put 20 people in this class or the 812
building has this capacity. Something like a playground, what is the capacity? We need 813
to be clear what that is. To some people, 25 kids on that playground would be way too 814
crowded. To others, you could just keep packing them in. The other thing that Palo Alto 815 does well is temporal use. You do a lot of sharing, not just your own facilities but other 816 facilities. How do we account for the supply of a room like this one at Lucie Stern that 817 sometimes is an exercise room and at other times is an event space? Where does that 818
count in the supply? Even though we have a good idea of what's out there, there's some 819
things we need to think about how we count that. On the demand side, we've had tons 820
and tons of data, not just from the systems here and the registration system, but much of 821
the public involvement data is really talking about demand. One of the key questions is, 822
who are you trying to serve? That issue came up earlier. Are we serving a regional 823
audience? Are we serving a local audience? Something that you wrestled with in the 824
Field Use Policy. That's a policy I've been impressed with when I studied it. I've told 825
Peter it's something we've recommended other agencies look at, because you were very 826
deliberate about who you were serving, how you were going to evaluate those things. 827
One thing I also want to point about who you're trying to serve, there's today's users, 828
there's the people who you're reaching today. Because this is a Long Range Plan, we also 829
want to think about who tomorrow's users might be and what are the new activities that 830
are going to be generated and provide some space and thinking about needs to 831
accommodate those new, cool things that are going to happen in recreation in the coming 832
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years. The other thing on the demand side is setting parameters. That's something you 833
did really well in the Field Use Policy, where you had a standard about what's a 834
reasonable amount of practice games, tournaments that a local group could be allowed. If 835
you don't do that, somebody could just come in and say, "I want to do this every day." 836
As a public entity, is that as valid as something that's a bit more metered? You do that 837
with your pool right now, how you allocate lap swim time and other things. A really 838 important question is the whole peak demand versus non-peak or average demand. If you 839
build your park system or you build a set of gyms for 7:00 p.m. on a weeknight, you're 840
going to have a whole lot of gyms and not much of anything else. It's kind of like 841
building your parking lot at the mall for December 24th. We just need to think about 842
what level of demand we want to do or do we want to be looking at that season when a 843
whole bunch of things overlap or the prime Saturday, the nicest day of the year? The 844
other thing that's an issue in demand is certain types of facilities, certain types of spaces 845
attract more demand and sometimes generate more. If you have a really nice dance 846
room, all of a sudden you're going to start getting classes that work really in a really nice 847
dance room. People are going to start gravitating to that. Sometimes you can even create 848
demand. We found through the outreach, for example, that certain configurations of 849
tennis courts were attracting more use and more demand than others. We need to be 850
deliberate about how we factor those things in. We need to have our team, the staff team, 851
and all of you be on the same page around the assumptions so that you feel confident and 852
the community feels confident that as we're stepping through and making decisions and 853
what we're saying about the need, we're all on the same page so that we can do that math 854
that you're looking for to determine the capacity and where you're at. With that 855
overview, I'm going to turn it over to Ellie to talk a little bit about this matrix concept. 856
We want to get your feedback on that to see if you think it's a tool that will work to help 857 connect the dots and parse all of that data. 858 859 Peter Jensen: Ellie, I'm just going to say that passing around right now is a binder. The 860
binder is a sample of what you're going to be getting soon. It relates back to this 861
information that Ellie's going to be talking about. It's the matrix that we have. It 862
references back to the binder. Information, data, those types of things can be referenced 863
back to where they come from and easily found within the binder. You will be getting 864
the binder in the next couple of days. We'll figure out how to get that to you, but I did 865
want to send around the sample. The package of papers that we have now in there you 866
can see is very dense. That's what we're hoping the matrix that Ellie's going to start to 867
describe here pretty soon starts to summarize a little bit and get you to a more direct path 868
of where to find that information, that data that's in there. 869
870
Ellie Fiore: Thank you, Peter. We wanted to come back this month and start to try to 871
answer some of the questions that you all raised last month, which is not just what do you 872
know. I know that there was some concern and some fear that we were going to jump to 873
recommendations and that that logical and analytical path wasn't clear on what those are 874
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based on. We are taking this moment to pause and kind of reframe and start to lay out 875
more explicitly what we know and how we know it. The tool we're proposing to use for 876
that is what we're calling the Data and Needs Summary Matrix which was in your packet. 877
I want to take this opportunity to orient you to that tool, and then we want to get a sense 878
tonight from you of whether this is a concept that makes sense, whether it does start to 879
answer some of those questions. If so, we'll move forward with populating that. The 880 idea here again, as Peter implied, is that this is kind of a rollup of all of the data that's 881
going to be in your binders. Those are all things you've seen before for the most part, but 882
we know they've been arriving bit by bit and piecemeal. This is our attempt to reframe 883
and pull everything together and frame it for you. What you got in your packet were two 884
things. One is the matrix, the big Excel sheet with the green header. The other was the 885
Data and Needs Summary concept, which is the narrative description of the matrix. I'll 886
just walk through what the matrix consists of. Down Column B, what we have in 887
categories are the elements of your park system. We've got three overarching categories: 888
parks, trails, and open spaces; recreation facilities; and programs. You'll see this is not an 889
exhaustive list, for example, of every type of program, but they're rolled up into 890
categories that we think make good sense and that we've worked over with staff as an 891
organizing structure, again to kind of present that higher layer of data. Working across 892
the elements in the columns. These are evaluation measures that we consider, that we're 893
going to base our summary of needs of recommendations on. I'll walk you through each 894
of those. In the narrative packet is a description of the data sources. This again keys 895
back to the list of data sources that'll be in your binder. For each we've developed, where 896
appropriate, a rating scale and then criteria for rating that. We'll walk through those now. 897
The first set is Columns C and D, which are the current service/inventory and then level 898
of control. This is basically a summary of what's on the ground, what is being 899 programmed currently, and then how much control does the city have over that looking 900 into the future. That includes ownership, lease and, also as mentioned, sea level rise. 901 Moving in Column E, this is our measure of capacity. As Lauren just mentioned, there's 902
a lot of different dynamics that can be considered here. What our attempt at the criteria 903
here is to do is to give an indication of whether it's below, at, or over capacity, again 904
putting some parameters around those criteria. Column F is geographic analysis. What 905
we're presenting here is summary statements, because there are several data points 906
leading into this. Some are qualitative; some are quantitative. We wanted to pull out 907
some key findings and summary statements here. Columns G and H are two sides of the 908
same coin. This perception of quality as we've heard it expressed by the community and 909
based on our own site observations, and then also expressed need. Quality is, are there 910
improvements needed or are there deficiencies that were noted? Express need is, was 911
there demand for more or expanded services? Column I is a quick summary of the 912
demographic trends. The analysis of which I know we wanted to resurface for you. You 913
mentioned it briefly last time. What we've done is tried to roll it up and say, "Based on 914
the demographic analysis that we did with the census and the school district data and our 915
knowledge of recreation trends, do we expect that the demand is going to grow, be stable, 916
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or decline?" Columns J and K are what we're calling barriers to access and projected 917
demand. This is physical or institutional or other barriers that have been expressed, why 918
people can't physically or have trouble getting to places or why they can't access 919
programs. Is it oversubscribed? Is it a time of day that's inconvenient? What are those 920
things that we've heard articulated or observed in our analysis of the programs? The 921
project demand is a summary of, are there opportunities for new activities for growth in a 922 certain area? This is a summation of not just the demographic trends but the recreational 923
trans and our professional judgment based on experience and planning in other 924
communities. What that all rolls into hopefully in a logical manner is what we're calling 925
the Summary of Need. What we've done in this matrix that you received is flesh out as 926
examples four rows, a couple within each category area. The Summary of Need is our 927
high level observations at this point based on everything that came before it. This is what 928
we would discuss with you, discuss with staff. Did we get it right? Do you agree? If so, 929
then that becomes the foundation for talking possible projects and possible 930
recommendations. We want to go through this exercise first to make sure we have all the 931
information we need to get to there, and that it's clearly articulated. I think the question 932
is, whether this helps clarify the process, the work done to date, the structure we're using 933
to fill in some of the holes, to gather a little bit more data, and then does this fill in that 934
middle piece of the scope of work and the middle piece of the process that I think we felt 935
was missing last time we met? 936
937
Chair Reckdahl: Can you comment about the data sources in the top? 938
939
Ms. Fiore: Yes. Our intent was to get you these binders tonight, but there was a little 940
production hiccup. The list of data sources is keyed in Row 2. For example, Number 2 is 941 the data in each summary. Number 4 was the sustainability review. All of the inputs into 942 each of those columns reflects back, so it's essentially a table of contents for your binder 943 as well as a data source list. 944
945
Chair Reckdahl: Is that going to be multiple rows or how are you going to get that 946
information in Row 2? It'd be nice to have an example of what's going to be the content 947
in Row Number 2. 948
949
Commissioner Lauing: It's just numerical, isn't it? 950
951
Ms. Fiore: Yeah, that is the content. It references back to the sources that we used to 952
generate what's in each column. 953
954
Commissioner Lauing: You might have six numbers in there, one, three, seven, nine, ten. 955
956
Ms. Fiore: Yeah, exactly. For demographic trends, you see one number, seven, because 957
that references back to the demographic trends piece. For the column previous to that, 958
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expressed need, there's five items, many of which were the several different community 959
input elements. What's going to be in the matrix is those numbers, and they reference 960
back to the summary of products and the work products. 961
962
Chair Reckdahl: Okay. The concern we would have is if on Row 2 you list seven 963
sources, then when I'm looking down on Row 17, I have to go through those seven 964 sources in order to figure out where that number came from. It would be nice if for each 965
number that you list, each content, you would say, "That comes from Page 13 of 966
Reference 3," and reference that for each row as opposed to up top. Otherwise, we're 967
stuck just looking for the needle in the haystack. 968
969
Ms. Schmitt: I think it's going to be very difficult what you're asking. The reason is 970
there's not a smoking gun around each of these things in each source. The question in the 971
summary from Mapita, for example. There might be a whole bunch of comments in there 972
that are in an appendix. It's pages and pages and pages of comments. This is a huge 973
amount of content. Along the way, we've been taking it in, we've been assessing, and 974
we've been overlaying and looking for patterns, and then checking as we come back. For 975
each and every one of these things, there's not "here's the quotation or the figure that says 976
... ." For some of them, there probably is, but I don't think we'll be able to map page 17, 977
this figure, or page 19, that figure. I don't want to over-promise that. I understand what 978
you're saying. It's like, "Well, if I have to look through the whole summary ... ." 979
980
Chair Reckdahl: There has to be some rationale of how we score these things. What I'd 981
like to see is a separate document that lists the rationale for each one of these. Otherwise, 982
we have no way of verifying what that demand is. 983 984 Ms. Schmitt: That's one of the reasons why we try to establish some criteria. In some 985 cases, those are more numerically based. The perception of quality is one with certain 986
Mapita score ranges, because we can pull that data and say, "Okay, we can evaluate these 987
things." There's also noted issues around certain parks. We are trying to use the criteria 988
to provide what you're asking for, so that it works across all of these sources of data and 989
what all of those inputs are. If you're feeling like these criteria aren't doing that, my 990
question to you would be, do you feel like we could dial those in further? I really don't 991
think we can reference each and everything, because I can't tell you how many cells that 992
would be. I'm just thinking about how many times somebody has commented on tennis 993
or community gardens or whatever. There's a lot. 994
995
Chair Reckdahl: Yeah, but when you were filling out this spreadsheet, you have to 996
evaluate each of these cells. You're not putting random numbers in it. You actually are 997
looking at, "Okay, I'm looking at community gardens. How did I determine the 998
demand?" You must count something. There must be some way that you're quantifying 999
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the demand for community gardens, and there's some way that you're quantifying the 1000
supply of community gardens. 1001
1002
Ms. Schmitt: Yeah, yep. 1003
1004
Chair Reckdahl: Since you're the one who's doing that, we're just asking you to show 1005 your work. 1006
1007
Ms. Schmitt: Yeah, so that's what we're trying to do with this matrix. Let me explain the 1008
thought process around community gardens, since you chose that particular one. We 1009
look at the supply; you have three sites. You have a high level of control over those sites, 1010
because you own the sites where they're located. It's not like a Cubberley situation. You 1011
can be confident they're going to be there. We know from your capacity and bookings 1012
that you get more requests than you have plots. That's why that is rated over. It relates to 1013
the criteria in there. You're getting more requests than you have supply so it's over 1014
capacity. The geographic analysis showed—you can see the commentary in there—your 1015
community gardens are clustered in the northern end of Palo Alto. You have a number of 1016
plots that are arrayed across those three sites. All of those sites are in the north end of 1017
town, and there aren't other options for community garden sites. In some communities, 1018
there's churches or other providers that have them. The southern part of the community 1019
doesn't have them. When we step into the perception of quality, what we heard through 1020
all of the public workshops is people love the community gardens that you have. They 1021
think they work very well. We also heard that there is a need for more sites, more plots. 1022
That jives with what we know, that you don't have any in the south end of town and that 1023
the plots are oversubscribed. The public is also saying that. In terms of the demographic 1024 trends, we know that older adults favor gardening, and your results show that. You've 1025 got a high population of older adults, and that's projected to increase. Therefore, the 1026 participation trend for that one, we project the demand is going to increase. You're 1027
already oversubscribed; you're probably going to have more interest in that activity in the 1028
future. That takes us to the next column. There are barriers for participation, and the 1029
barriers are that there's not enough plots and they're all in one end of town. Looking at all 1030
of that, we see there being high projected demand. Community gardening is one of those 1031
activities that's been increasing across the nation and regionally. That's why that's rated 1032
high. We have all of this local data, and so the summary we would say around that 1033
preliminarily is there's a need for overall more plots whether they're at the existing sites 1034
or elsewhere. 1035
1036
Chair Reckdahl: One of the problems I have is that right now we're doing the high, 1037
medium, low. That's too coarse. It doesn't make it actionable for us. For example, if you 1038
say it's oversubscribed, so it gets an H. We have no idea if it's oversubscribed by 10 1039
percent or 300 percent. Does that mean that we have to find three more plots in the city 1040
or 300 more plots? We have no idea. When you keep it very qualitative, we can't action 1041
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on that. We need to say the demand right now is 120 percent of the supply and, using 1042
projections, we think it's going to be 150 percent of the supply in ten years. 1043
1044
Ms. Schmitt: I think we can get to that number, but I want to come back to what I talked 1045
about in the beginning. There's a lot of assumptions. I could do that math, and I could 1046
give you a number. You might feel comfortable that it's a number, but if we're not on the 1047 same page about the assumptions, then it's a garbage number. If I make the assumption 1048
that we're in a community where all plots have to be 20x20. We had a shortage of plots, 1049
but that size plot was too large for a lot of people to handle. Yeah, it was oversubscribed. 1050
Yet, when you looked at did people actually follow through and garden, there was a 1051
number of underutilized sites. That's the trick of that number that you're looking for, 1052
which is why we try to stick with criteria. Is it generally over? Is it generally under? We 1053
can get to that number, but we have to have a broader discussion about what goes into 1054
that number. Also, keep in mind that I think community gardening is one that's easier to 1055
predict. Just because something is undersubscribed now doesn't mean that there's not a 1056
demand for that activity or that there wouldn't be in the future. It could be an emerging 1057
activity. It could be that you haven't reached the population. There's populations we've 1058
heard that you would like to be serving or that you think would be important to serve in 1059
this community. Right now, you're not serving some of those populations. If we are only 1060
looking at the things that you're doing now, we're going to not account for the needs of 1061
these folks that many of you and many of the community members think is really 1062
important to reach out to. We also want to make sure we leave space as we're looking at 1063
these needs to account for that. I don't want to seem like I’m ducking this, but this is 1064
really complicated. You as a city particularly have a very complicated system, and you 1065
have a very sophisticated layering of services that you're providing. It's not like you're a 1066 green field community and you're expanding out and you're stamping out the same 1067 neighborhood park in every subdivision. It's very nuanced. 1068 1069
Commissioner Lauing: Just to add one point to what you're saying. You're talking about 1070
percentages, but I'm actually even more interested in sample size. If 4,000 dog owners 1071
said that we need more dog space—I'm making all these up—versus 4 community 1072
gardeners said we need more space, those are both very interesting points to know. One 1073
we need to take some pretty severe action on. The other one maybe we don't have to take 1074
any action on in the next five years, and we look at it in 15 years. We're going to keep 1075
asking for this, quantitative data. Quantitative data. Not that you heard at a community 1076
outreach that two people wanted X, Y or Z, but that in surveys and in face-to-face votes, 1077
people said X, Y or Z. 1078
1079
Ms. Schmitt: I get that. I think Ellie gets that too. One of the reasons why we like to do 1080
the type of outreach and that you guys have embraced is doing a lot of different types of 1081
outreach and different layers of outreach for that reason that you're getting at. You don't 1082
want just some organized group to come and cook the result. Again we tried to get at 1083
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your concern with criteria. Express need, we ranked it high if across multiple channels—1084
three, four, five different activities—or through results that you'll see in the next month, 1085
through survey results from Mapita, through some of the things that got really big 1086
numbers, if it came up again and again and again, then we're ranking that as high. If it's 1087
mixed, like tennis was one of those that's mixed where a certain percentage of your 1088
population plays tennis. When you look at the overall community results, people are like, 1089 "Eh, I think we're good on tennis." If you ask the tennis players, they're the ones that 1090
have real specific needs around the facilities. Is it lighted? Is it grouped together? When 1091
we hear from them, what they're saying is, "You know, there are some needs here." In 1092
that case, it's mixed from these different sources, so we ranked it as medium because 1093
there's some evidence that there is a need there, but it's mixed. Low, there are just certain 1094
things that just really didn't come up or, when you look across multiple channels, it was 1095
just, "Eh." A couple of the things that it was very clear there was a high expressed need 1096
for. It's not reflected in this table at this point, but restrooms came up again and again 1097
across multiple channels as something that was really a critical part of enjoying the park 1098
system. Community gardens was one of those. Having seating and great resting places 1099
in parks supporting people spending time, lingering, talking to their friends, that came up 1100
again and again. It came up at the workshops. It came up in intercepts. Things like that. 1101
We're trying to use those criteria, so that as you start to layer that you start to see those 1102
patterns emerge. The land here and the facilities that you have are just way too precious 1103
not to take all of that in and make the best decision because you're going to have to make 1104
hard choices. Again, I think the presentation earlier tonight made that very clear to me 1105
about the kind of choices that you guys are going to be wrestling with in the next 20 1106
years. We want to make sure you have a tool in this plan that helps you make the best 1107
decision for the community, because it will be difficult every single time. 1108 1109 Chair Reckdahl: We've used up 35 minutes, and we've allocated 45 so we still have a 1110 little time left. We can run over if we need to. The first priority is to do it right, but also 1111
I don't want to waste time. Rob, what do you think? What's your priority? Do you want 1112
to hear comments from here or do you have things that you want to ask the consultants? 1113
How do you want to work this? 1114
1115
Mr. de Geus: I appreciate the work that the consultants have done and taken the time to 1116
work with us. We've met numerous times over this last month to think about this data 1117
question. I'm particularly interested in hearing from the rest of the Commissioners. I 1118
don't want to move forward with our process until we get to a general comfort level. This 1119
is a framework that has a lot of value and could really help us with the Master Plan, 1120
particularly defining the need. The next and more important step is then looking at those 1121
needs through a filter that is most important to the community to start making priorities 1122
and recommendations. I actually think it's a pretty good framework but again, before we 1123
start populating this matrix and having the consultant spend a lot of time on that, I want 1124
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to be sure the Commission feels comfortable with this approach, this methodology for 1125
how we will use the data for coming up with some findings. 1126
1127
Chair Reckdahl: Comments, questions? Commissioner Knopper. 1128
1129
Commissioner Knopper: Thank you. I'm echoing what Ed had said with regard to 1130 quantifying the high, medium, low. I totally understand why you need to consolidate all 1131
of the information. If there's nine passionate people about community gardens in Palo 1132
Alto and there's 500 dog owners, at some point in the process we just have to know that 1133
piece of information so we can then rank what should be priorities. Not to beat a dead 1134
horse, but I think it's really important to be clear on that particular point. I appreciate that 1135
we're regrouping and clarifying in a more strategic way all of this giant information dump 1136
and the way that we can cross-reference it. That binder is great. It's obviously 1137
overwhelming, and I'm really looking forward to having it in my house with all the other 1138
paper that we get. Any time that you think, "Gosh, maybe we need to break it down and 1139
really cross-reference and give them statistics and this is how many people answered this 1140
particular question and this is a really high priority;" any time you think, "You know 1141
what? They want even more quantitative data," I would love for you to assume that we 1142
would. Thank you. 1143
1144
Commissioner Hetterly: I just have a couple of comments. I do think that this matrix 1145
would be a useful tool for discussion once it's populated and being able to see what you 1146
see as the core documents for whichever column we're talking about. I do think it would 1147
be much more useful if, to the extent possible, you could make notations within the cells 1148
when there is a smoking gun or a key report that was most telling in certain areas. 1149 Otherwise, you have seven of us duplicating all the work that you've just done and 1150 coming to our own separate conclusions. I don't think that's very productive. As I look 1151 through the binder, it's basically the reports that you have presented to us, it appears. I 1152
know we had a lot of comments on most of them. I wonder if these have been updated 1153
since they first came to us in draft form or if we're going to reread what we saw before. 1154
1155
Ms. Fiore: Most of them are as you've seen them before. We have captured those 1156
comments on all of the documents. Some of those comments on the documents were 1157
addressed in the form of memos to you, which will also be in the binder. For example, 1158
the ones that we heard last month, I have documented but we have not gone back and re-1159
edited those documents because we wanted to keep moving forward. Those comments 1160
have all been memorialized somewhere, but we are not necessarily taking the time to 1161
update those documents. They are recorded, and they will be fed forward. For example, 1162
the program analysis which we dug into pretty deeply last time, that document is still 1163
very much in draft, so that one will be updated. Most of the rest of them are in a semi-1164
final state, as I like to call it, so we're just keeping the record of your comments and then 1165
moving on. 1166
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1167
Ms. Schmitt: Just as a process point, the intent on these is they're a platform for moving 1168
forward. Your plan is not going to be a compendium of the demographic trends analysis 1169
and this and that. When we craft that document and the language that goes into that, any 1170
comments that you've made that are around, if we're taking a section of text out of 1171
something, all of that will appear in the final document. To Ellie's point, none of that is 1172 lost. By the time you've received some of the documents and some of the comments that 1173
you're making, they roll into the next piece of analysis that we’re doing. In some ways 1174
by the time things get to you—this is one of the challenges—we've been continuing to 1175
move forward on certain other aspects of the project, so we can then give you the next 1176
round of analysis. 1177
1178
Commissioner Hetterly: Thank you. We shouldn’t look at the sustainability report and 1179
say, "Why doesn't this reflect that we had this discussion?" I just want to get that on the 1180
table, that these are not final versions. They don't incorporate necessarily our comments. 1181
1182
Ms. Fiore: Correct. 1183
1184
Commissioner Hetterly: A piece of data that seems to be missing from the binder—and 1185
I'm not sure how it can be represented—is your discussions with staff about field use. 1186
What's going on with field use? Who is using it when and how? Or the capacity 1187
bookings information. You come to conclusions about capacity booking, but it doesn't 1188
look like there's anything in the contents here that would provide the backup data for how 1189
you reached that conclusion. 1190
1191 Ms. Schmitt: Yeah. Capacity bookings is actually one that we don't have the data yet. 1192 We're working on that now. We've been crunching the program and booking data. That's 1193 one that does not exist yet. It's still in processing form. Eventually that will become the 1194
program analysis Part 2 that's really about capacity and needs. 1195
1196
Mr. de Geus: Just to add to that, Commissioner Hetterly, is that the binder will continue 1197
to grow as we get more data. The survey data is not in there yet. You make a good point 1198
about staff analysis and staff interviews that have been happening, capturing that data. 1199
It's actually pretty rich data. These are staff that are working in the field with these users 1200
every day. Capturing that and including that and referencing it in the matrix is important. 1201
In addition to that—we've discussed this internally—as we discover certain trends, as the 1202
data is starting to suggest that we need more of something, then do additional research or 1203
outreach to that particular group of users to understand more of what they need. That 1204
would then also add to this matrix and to the folder of data. Does that help? 1205
1206
Commissioner Hetterly: Yes. 1207
1208
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Ms. Schmitt: A forthcoming thing, I think, that will also document some of the staff 1209
discussions around the physical facilities which I believe you'll be getting next month, is 1210
Item 9 on the data list which are the existing conditions maps. Those are detailed of 1211
every single site. It's giving some of the history. It's giving some of the noted issues and 1212
deficiencies. Daren has been heavily involved with that, and other staff, in documenting 1213
the things that are there. This is again one of these other pieces that the documentation is 1214 happening. It's on its way to you, but you don't have it yet. That's one of the other 1215
challenging things for you as a body; things are not yet in your hands but we're starting to 1216
formulate ideas about them. 1217
1218
Mr. de Geus: I know that we have other Commissioners that need to speak, but this may 1219
help as well. If we think about the next step on this, if we agree this is a good 1220
methodology and we move forward and start populating this and start defining the high, 1221
low, medium or whatever rating that we decide is the one that really works. An 1222
important next step that we would like to do is have a special retreat on the Master Plan 1223
and spend several hours on the matrix with MIG and staff and actually walk through 1224
these line items and talk about them. "Here are the Summary of Needs. How did you 1225
come up with that?" It'll be in a narrative form in the Summary of Needs. We'll have the 1226
binders and all of the data, and we'll have a really rich discussion about each of these. 1227
There will be different interpretations, and we'll discuss that. Then we'll tweak the 1228
Summary of Needs during that meeting. Hopefully at the end of that, we'll have a pretty 1229
good picture of the Summary of Needs. 1230
1231
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Crommie. 1232
1233 Commissioner Crommie: Thank you. I think this is really helpful, to see this. It's 1234 moving in the right direction. I would like to ditto what other Commissioners have said. 1235 When you list your sources, if you can just letter them and then reference back to those 1236
sources for the key points, it's really going to be helpful. Something like when you say 1237
demographics show that we're increasing the number of school children, can you cite that 1238
report? That's a very global issue. Something as big as that, I think it's worth citing the 1239
document. A couple of points here. When you were listing the elements on page 3 of the 1240
report, they go onto page 4, I like seeing this kind of granularity. I appreciate this. I like 1241
that you have experience nature, but I also think we need something about the 1242
preservation of nature. The reason that's important is because of the wildlife, because of 1243
the ecosystems. When we go to experience nature, it's predicated on having nature there 1244
to begin with. If you can add that in, I'd really appreciate it. On this list, again, where 1245
you have all these bullet points that I'm referring to—one of them is experience of 1246
nature—should dogs be fitting into one of these bullet points? I couldn't find it there. 1247
1248
Ms. Schmitt: It's under recreational facilities, off-leash dog areas. We were thinking 1249
about it more on the facilities side. For some of these, it's how you slice it. We put 1250
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restrooms with parks, open space and trails because it came up cutting across all use of 1251
the system. 1252
1253
Commissioner Crommie: Yeah. I just find that one can go into a couple of different 1254
places, but I know you're thinking about it. It seemed like population density wasn't 1255
encapsulated. That's really important for planning, knowing where the population density 1256 is. That's going to impact the kinds of gaps that we have. Again I was thinking that 1257
could be a bullet point, just in the big picture. I'd add that land preservation has to do 1258
with ecosystems, and then also population density. Another part of the big picture to me 1259
when we're looking at supply and demand is where our schools are located in the city. So 1260
many cities are just very integrated with their schools, and the schools provide these 1261
major resources. Look at the community of Los Altos, one of our neighboring 1262
communities. It's completely integrated, because they really don't have nearly enough 1263
parks, and they really rely on their schools. I'd like to see some meta analysis of where 1264
our schools are relative to where the population is. The schools provide a green space for 1265
populations. I know in the south of Palo Alto, especially in my neighborhood, we're not 1266
near a school at all. We have a lower amount of parks, and we're not near a school. 1267
Somehow the locations of schools can compound gaps. Is there a way you've done that 1268
in the past, where you bring that in? 1269
1270
Ms. Schmitt: Yes. One of the things that we're trying to retrofit with this approach is 1271
most of these planning efforts will have a needs assessment. They'll address things like 1272
that. Both of those points that you brought up around population density and looking at 1273
that as an overlay as well as where the schools are located, I think we need to give a little 1274
bit more thought exactly how that works. They either fit within that geographic analysis 1275 or they become their own column around it. Yeah, I think those are good ones. They are 1276 really important in actually the demand side. More people equals more demand. On the 1277 supply side, because they provide an alternative, the schools do. 1278
1279
Commissioner Crommie: I'm about halfway done. Those are some big ideas. Getting 1280
into a little bit more lower level stuff. I'm not seeing the gyms really differentiated like I 1281
would like to see them. What I know goes in gyms is volleyball and badminton. If you 1282
look at our demographics of having an increasing Asian component, that's a really 1283
popular sport among the Asian cultures, south Asian and Asian. I'd like to see that 1284
differentiated. I don't know how it came back in the polling. I just want to have a 1285
column for it if you need to talk about it. 1286
1287
Ms. Schmitt: Okay. If you look down in Column B in recreation facilities, we did 1288
actually call out gymnasiums. The facilities we called out are off-leash dog areas, 1289
community gardens, basketball courts, tennis courts, rectangle sports fields ... 1290
1291
Commissioner Crommie: Can you reference pages please? 1292
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1293
Ms. Schmitt: Sure. It's on the matrix, and it's Line 22. Row 22 is gymnasiums. It 1294
actually has its own row. For the reasons that you said, it's come up a lot. We're looking 1295
at the need for gymnasiums. 1296
1297
Commissioner Crommie: When you talk about resources and unmet needs, so many 1298 things are parsed out here. You represent a lot of things, but I don't see volleyball. I 1299
don't see badminton as far as it being called out when everything else is. I don't see a lot 1300
of omissions, so my list is not long. It's just a few things. You've listed so many things, 1301
you might as well list them all. 1302
1303
Ms. Schmitt: Here's the thing. The gymnasium is the recreation facility that contains 1304
those activities that you're talking about. If you were to build an indoor gym, you would 1305
program it in different ways. Sometimes you might have basketball where there's ten 1306
people, five on a side, playing each other. Sometimes you might put a couple of 1307
volleyball ... 1308
1309
Commissioner Crommie: Excuse me. I understand that. If we're talking about gaps, 1310
aren't you within a gym going to specify any of these activities? I don't see where they're 1311
going to be cited. 1312
1313
Ms. Schmitt: So then we're looking at the programming in the programming section. 1314
The grouping that we use within the programming—if this isn't right, we want to talk 1315
about it in a different way. We use the groupings that the city already uses for how it 1316
thinks about programs. These categories of adult aquatics, adult special interest classes 1317 are the way you look at data now in these groupings of types of classes. Within those 1318 would be the specific activities that you're talking about. We'd certainly be open to 1319 looking at it in a different way. I'd like Rob's feedback for sure. 1320
1321
Commissioner Crommie: Let me specify a little more. I don't know right now if we have 1322
badminton as a program. 1323
1324
Mr. de Geus: We don't. 1325
1326
Commissioner Crommie: That's an example of we don't have it, yet people might want it. 1327
How does it show up on this matrix? 1328
1329
Mr. de Geus: How I think it would show up, and we don't have it yet here. With respect 1330
to badminton for adults, for instance, it would show up in the Needs Summary. I would 1331
expect it would be in the narrative there specific to programs. It's under adult sports, so 1332
within that particular need there may be multiple sports that emerges as being needs. 1333
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Under several outreach efforts, it came up that badminton was a need or an interest. so it 1334
would be defined there. Hopefully if this ... 1335
1336
Commissioner Crommie: Can you give me the line where it would be? 1337
1338
Mr. de Geus: That would be Line 32 on the matrix, adult sports, other programs. 1339 1340
Commissioner Crommie: Could it come up under youth as well? 1341
1342
Mr. de Geus: It could. 1343
1344
Commissioner Crommie: Okay, okay. 1345
1346
Mr. de Geus: There's a youth sports or a youth and teen programs. 1347
1348
Commissioner Crommie: These will get filled in over time, and then we'll assess ... 1349
1350
Mr. de Geus: Right, right. 1351
1352
Commissioner Crommie: ... what we want. As far as on Line 8 when you have essential 1353
activity access, it's sort of a bigger idea. You might want the word "hit." You have 1354
throw, catch, shoot, kick. I think hit is for lacrosse, anything with a stick. That also 1355
relates to badminton; although, you don't do that outside as much as lacrosse. That's just 1356
an idea. I really wanted to comment on now the Columns E, H and I on the spreadsheet. 1357
I actually think this relates to a question that Chair Reckdahl was bringing up with the 1358 community gardens. I think community gardens is a good example. You said maybe we 1359 are overbooked, so Column E would come up as over. You could also have a situation 1360 where something is not overbooked, but you have H as an expressed need. An example 1361
with community gardens is very illustrative, because you can have all these people who 1362
live midtown south who aren't anywhere near a community garden; therefore, they 1363
haven't even bothered to put their name on a list. I think those columns are very 1364
important. In fact, I'd even say you might want to push E over near H and I. Those are 1365
very independent kinds of things, and they're all equally important. I like that you're 1366
doing it that way. When you're doing projections of need, like community garden you 1367
brought that up with the elderly. It's a different kind of data-driven need. Our other 1368
Commissioners were all very interested in you tying this into your data. You're going to 1369
have to have some kind of data projected trends. It's going to help parse apart where the 1370
data is coming from. Right now you might rate something as a very high need based on 1371
projections of the aging population. I just hope there's a way you can cite that. It'll make 1372
the argument stronger if you can do that. It comes up to this idea of is it just nine people 1373
out there asking for community gardens. That's one component. You can give a number 1374
and say within your outreach how many people did you encounter. What would 1375
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strengthen something like that is in your projection. All those things have to fit together. 1376
When you can do it, it would be very helpful. 1377
1378
Chair Reckdahl: We hit the one hour, so if you can keep it crisp. 1379
1380
Commissioner Crommie: Okay. I just want to make sure I brought up everything. I 1381 think I hit the major points. Can we email you if we think of other things? Okay. 1382
1383
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Ashlund. 1384
1385
Commissioner Ashlund: There were three more specific things. My high level question 1386
is, the binders contain a lot of the communication that we've received and commented on 1387
and discussed already as a Commission, how do you want us to use that binder? Other 1388
than when we're looking at the matrix, if we have questions or we think things are not 1389
reflected as they should be, we would refer back to it. But how, other than that, do you 1390
want us to use that? 1391
1392
Ms. Fiore: What you described is one of the major uses. It's also a historical record. I 1393
know you weren't here last month, but there were some questions about "Oh, yeah, we 1394
received that demographic analysis a couple of months ago, but it would be great if we 1395
could look at it now that we're talking about needs." We wanted you to just have 1396
everything at your fingertips. 1397
1398
Commissioner Ashlund: Great, thank you. I thought that this was going to be our major 1399
topic of the March 20th retreat, so I'm glad that you said you think this will be a whole 1400 separate retreat that we would have to discuss the Master Plan. 1401 1402 Mr. de Geus: Yeah, it could be the March 20th retreat. Depending on how far we get 1403
this evening and if we can populate this matrix by then, we might choose to do that on 1404
March 20th. I've been discussing this with Chair Reckdahl, which one should come first. 1405
He definitely would like to have a retreat where we talk about the year generally and all 1406
the other areas of work that we have. Given that the Master Plan is the most important 1407
project of the year, if we're ready to have a deeper discussion on that, I have an interest in 1408
moving forward on it and working on that on the 20th. 1409
1410
Commissioner Ashlund: You just mentioned that we as a Commission would discuss and 1411
populate the matrix together. I was under the impression ... 1412
1413
Mr. de Geus: No. 1414
1415
Commissioner Ashlund: ... that MIG would. 1416
1417
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Mr. de Geus: MIG would, but we would discuss their findings and how they populated it 1418
and what conclusions they came to. 1419
1420
Commissioner Ashlund: All right. The three things on page 4 of the narrative that are 1421
the elements, the Parks, Trails and Open Space elements. You talked about that some 1422
points cut across categories, restrooms for example. I would encourage you to add 1423 accessibility as a separate bullet point in that list. Walkability is number 1 which is great 1424
for the mobile, but not necessarily great for the blind and visually impaired or mobility 1425
impaired. I would include that particularly because walkability is not necessarily the 1426
point of access that many people can use. Sometimes parking is essential for people that 1427
won't be walking there or public transportation as well. That is the page 4 comment. 1428
Page 5, under the elements for recreation programs, I see that the bullet says 1429
"intervention/special needs." I'm not clear on the use of the word intervention in that use. 1430
I'm very familiar with this area, so I'm wondering did you mean early intervention, 1431
therapeutic intervention? Did you mean inclusion or is there some other use of that? 1432
1433
Mr. de Geus: That really refers to some of our at-risk youth programs. 1434
1435
Commissioner Ashlund: I'm sorry? 1436
1437
Mr. de Geus: It refers to our at-risk youth programs. 1438
1439
Commissioner Ashlund: Oh, okay, great. Thank you. That definitely helps clarify that 1440
for me. When special needs is listed as part of that or even as a separate bullet, I just 1441
want to make sure we're capturing both special needs programs as well as support for 1442 inclusion programs. 1443 1444 Mr. de Geus: Within that particular cost center and the way the budget is structured 1445
within the city, there's three areas within intervention and special needs and that is senior 1446
programs, therapeutic recreation programs and at-risk youth programs. 1447
1448
Commissioner Ashlund: That's budget-wise as separate specialized programs for special 1449
needs. How does one get further budget support for inclusion in the broad programming 1450
sense? 1451
1452
Mr. de Geus: I think to get budget support we could potentially look at this Master Plan 1453
when it's populated, particularly if there is a need that's been identified across different 1454
platforms related to this line item around access or special needs, in one of those 1455
categories. We could use that as a tool, and I think the Council will be looking at it as 1456
well for where to invest more versus less. 1457
1458
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Commissioner Ashlund: Okay, great. My last quick question on page 6 was actually 1459
related to the sea level rise question. When I was reading this, I also had the same 1460
thought. Are we automatically going to be excluding something like the Baylands? I 1461
want to be careful just because something is adjacent to the Bay that it doesn't 1462
automatically get excluded as a high priority for major investment if it's of value to the 1463
Palo Alto community and could have 20, 30 years of use. 1464 1465
Ms. Fiore: Yeah, absolutely. What we're trying to convey here, what the high, medium 1466
and low refers to is the city's level of control over that site, what level of control does the 1467
city have over the 50-year time span. Sea level rise being an impact we can expect to 1468
occur in that timeframe. It's not saying if sea level rise is going to impact that site, it 1469
becomes a low priority. It factors into the level of control the city has over the site. Does 1470
that make sense? The high, medium, low here is not the priority assignment. It's high 1471
level of control, medium level of control or low level of control. One of those factors 1472
that factors into that rating is sea level rise. The others are ownership and management. 1473
1474
Commissioner Ashlund: I understand the ownership. That's a lot more clear of course. 1475
What time span are we looking at when we say a 50-year sea level rise might be much 1476
more significant than what's happening in 20 years? 1477
1478
Ms. Schmitt: This is supposed to be a 20-year plan. Sea level rise is an issue that's come 1479
up. One of the things it's made clear, you guys want to be able to make rich decisions, so 1480
we decided to include sea level rise in addition with ownership because you should just 1481
be aware when later on you're going on and you're weighing, like you said, investments at 1482
one site versus another, you may make a strategic decision that investing in a site with 1483 sea level rise is the right thing to do because of the need or because of the timeframe of 1484 the improvement. You should know going into it that that's an impact. The same thing if 1485 you were to invest in a site that you didn't have long-term control of the property, if you 1486
didn't own it or have a long-term lease. 1487
1488
Commissioner Ashlund: Thank you. That's all my questions. 1489
1490
Chair Reckdahl: Council Member Filseth. 1491
1492
Council Member Filseth: If I can ask a gear head question here. On one of the early 1493
slides, there was a line that said the Master Plan called for 3 acres of park space per 1,000 1494
residents. 1495
1496
Ms. Schmitt: No, that was just to be an example of a standard. The Master Plan is not 1497
calling for anything. We have to do the needs assessment and make that determination 1498
about the right level for Palo Alto. There are for setting Quimby Act fees. There's a 1499
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minimum and a maximum threshold that the State says, and 3 acres is the minimum. 1500
That's why I just pulled that number as an example of a numerical standard. 1501
1502
Council Member Filseth: There's a State guideline? 1503
1504
Ms. Schmitt: For setting Quimby fees. 1505 1506
Council Member Filseth: Quimby fees, okay. All right. Thanks very much. 1507
1508
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Markevitch. 1509
1510
Vice Chair Markevitch: I had a question regarding the collection of data. You're using 1511
census and you're also using school district numbers with regards to children, but we also 1512
have a fair amount of private schools in Palo Alto that the kids might not necessarily live 1513
in Palo Alto but they're here during the day and they may be using park facilities. Has 1514
that been taken into account, and homeschooling kids as well? 1515
1516
Ms. Fiore: I don't believe it's explicitly been taken into account, but we have identified 1517
youth outreach as a focus area we want to do more of, in part because we didn't capture a 1518
lot of middle high school students in our survey. We're working with Rob and his staff to 1519
identify who the best contacts into that population are. We're going to do a focus group 1520
style event. That's a great point that we should consider those populations. 1521
1522
Chair Reckdahl: To answer Rob's question, I do think this spreadsheet is a good start. 1523
I'm worried about the high, medium and low. That's just too coarse to make any 1524 actionable decisions. We're on the road, but I want to see more quantitative analysis. 1525 Give me numbers. Thank you. 1526 1527
4. Discussion of Temporary Batting Cages at the Former PASCO Site Next to 1528 the Baylands Athletic Center. 1529 1530
Chair Reckdahl: We have two speakers. Shani Kleinhaus is first. Shani, are you going 1531
to speak? 1532
1533
Shani Kleinhaus: (inaudible) 1534
1535
Chair Reckdahl: Okay. Then we'll move on to Craig Yanagisawa, sorry. 1536
1537
Craig Yanagisawa: Yanagisawa. Thank you. I'm a board member of Palo Alto Little 1538
League. We're supporting the construction of the cages at the Baylands, as currently Palo 1539
Alto Little League is the sole supplier of batting cages in Palo Alto, and we service over 1540
1,000 kids with our facility which includes only four cages. Our league consists of kids 1541
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up to 12 years old. Beyond 12 years old and up to high school, there is no current facility 1542
for batting cages. Palo Alto Little League is not connected to Palo Alto Babe Ruth. We 1543
serve different ages. The two high schools, which have batting cages, are only dedicated 1544
to their sports teams. We're just supporting Palo Alto Babe Ruth in construction of new 1545
cages. Thank you. 1546
1547 Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. Daren Anderson, Parks and Rec, is up now. 1548
1549
Daren Anderson: Good evening. I'm Daren Anderson. I'm with Open Space, Parks and 1550
Golf. With me tonight is Park Supervisor Miguel Chacon and Chris Lillios who's a board 1551
member with Palo Alto Babe Ruth little league. We're here tonight to get the 1552
Commission's feedback about this project and how we can improve it. Let me start by 1553
giving you the background on this site, and it being proposed as the location for this pilot 1554
batting cage project. The city entered into a lease with Palo Alto Sanitation Company in 1555
1958 for garbage collection, and we leased them this land on this site. That entire area in 1556
the blue and the green was leased to PASCO, as they're called. One acre of that land 1557
became parkland, and that's the little triangle in blue. Miguel can highlight that for you 1558
with the mouse, so you can make that out. Eventually the city moved onto a new 1559
provider. Instead of PASCO, they went with GreenWaste, and GreenWaste didn't need 1560
that piece of land. It became unused; it was just a paved parking lot that PASCO had 1561
used for parking vehicles and some storage. Eventually Public Works removed the 1562
asphalt, and it's just a base rock. A little triangle about 1 acre in size. The city at that 1563
time, around 2009-2010, explored options to see if we could fit soccer fields or some sort 1564
of playing field on there. Because of the size and the configuration, we could not fit any 1565
fields on that. It's a challenging site because you've got an existing PG&E power pole 1566 right in the middle of the wide section. You've got about five or six utility gas 1567 infrastructure boxes that are at grade or above grade. Then you've got a PG&E gas and 1568 power line easement that I'll get into a little bit more detail about, that prohibits any 1569
structures on that facility. I want to show you what the site looks like right now. This is 1570
one of the angles looking towards that power pole in the center. Again, this is the base 1571
rock. A little closer view on that power pole. Again, all developed, there's a few pieces 1572
of weeds, weed patches here or there, but not much vegetation; no trees. Again you can 1573
see the fence line existing that separates GreenWaste's facility from the rest of this former 1574
PASCO site. There's an example of one of those little utilities that's covered with an A-1575
frame barricade that's above ground. I mentioned the PG&E easements. This slide here 1576
is not in your packet, but I'd like you to look up just for a second to the screen. You can 1577
see about a 95-foot buffer between these two easements. There's three easements 1578
actually. There's two power pole easements and a gas line easement. The two yellow 1579
lines on this sheet show you where those power lines run through the property. The gas 1580
line runs right between them. The red lines show that boundary where you cannot build a 1581
structure. That definitely makes it a challenge, definitely limits what's possible. We took 1582
the plans that you see in the packet tonight to PG&E, and met with them a number of 1583
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times to see if we could adjust our plans, and we did. They indeed approved the plans 1584
that are in your packet. In May 2014 Babe Ruth baseball league approached staff with 1585
this concept of building batting cages and funding them completely at the Baylands 1586
Athletic Center. In light of the Master Plan which is underway and again scheduled to be 1587
completed in November 2015, Babe Ruth proposed doing a pilot program for this batting 1588
cage project. Under the pilot program, there'd be two batting cages placed on this former 1589 PASCO site. They'd be situated outside the PG&E easements and would be designed and 1590
constructed to be temporary. They could be moved or eliminated when and if the Master 1591
Plan or golf course reconfiguration planning determines a better use for that site. The 1592
other aspects to the project include converting one parking stall. To the upper left—1593
you've got it in your packet too—you can see a blue area that indicates a normal parking 1594
stall would need to be converted to a handicapped stall and then a small pathway that will 1595
connect to the existing one. It's comprised of base rock; we just need to clean it up. It 1596
would connect to an existing gate to that parcel. No new infrastructure would need to be 1597
added. It's just cleaning up that site. At this point, I'd like to turn it over to Chris, and he 1598
can give us a little bit of detail on why there's a need for batting cages at this site. 1599
1600
Chris Lillios: Yes, I see three main driving forces toward this batting cage project. One 1601
is utilization of the Baylands baseball field. A quarter to maybe a third of any baseball 1602
practice is spent doing batting. I've seen countless number of teams spending time on 1603
this beautiful large diamond, one coach hitting a ball to 12-15 kids one at a time. It's a 1604
very inefficient process, and it's a very poor use of a beautiful field which is primarily 1605
used for games, base running, fielding practice. The batting portion of any practice is far 1606
better executed in a batting cage where you can get far more repetitions at hitting the ball. 1607
The retrieval time is minimized, and it would offload the use of the main baseball field 1608 for better use of it. In other words, having full on scrimmages and so forth, and not using 1609 up a whole field just for one person hitting a ball to a number of players on the field. In 1610 addition, having the cages would extend the use of that area, because the field is closed 1611
for four months out of the year, November, December, January, February when no 1612
baseball activities could happen, or softball at all. Having a batting cage facility would 1613
extend the utility of that area by allowing year-round training opportunities for not only 1614
Babe Ruth but, as Craig had mentioned, Little League and Palo Alto Girls Softball. The 1615
Oaks also play there. American Legion plays there, and countless numbers of moms and 1616
dads with their kids are out there just wanting to hit the ball. We'd love to have batting 1617
cages. Currently people go to facilities that they have to pay for to get this kind of 1618
batting in. There's a big business around batting cages, and I'd like to have an 1619
opportunity for these 12-year-old kids and above to do batting, not using Palo Alto Little 1620
League's facilities which are already oversubscribed with not only the kids in their 1621
program, but also older kids like high school-age and middle school-age kids which I 1622
think would be better served in a facility that we're proposing here at Baylands. 1623
1624
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Mr. Anderson: Thank you, Chris. I should also point out that in 2004, City Council 1625
approved a park improvement ordinance to add a batting cage at the Baylands Athletic 1626
Center. It's unclear exactly why that didn't end up happening. It was part of a CIP where 1627
they carried out some improvements. That was slated to be one, but for some reason it 1628
wasn't included. In that staff report associated with that park improvement ordinance, it 1629
was noted that most baseball and softball facilities of the same size and caliber as the 1630 Baylands Athletic Center do have batting cages. It demonstrates that this need has 1631
existed for a long time. It was once approved by Council and, for some reason, it didn't 1632
happen. I want to highlight some of the advantages that I see regarding this project. One 1633
is it's fully funded by Babe Ruth. The second is that it could provide some useful 1634
information to the Master Plan. Batting cages is one of the things that was originally 1635
thrown out by staff as something to look at when they started the Master Plan process. 1636
This could provide a lot of information of is it really useful, is it heavily used. If we were 1637
to put in a pilot program, is this the right site? Guidance on the preferred design in terms 1638
of durability and security, what it would need to make this successful. There's some up-1639
sides in terms of the fit for Palo Alto especially in this area. Another advantage is once 1640
it's established and up and running, as Chris had pointed out, it would become part of the 1641
Baylands Athletic Center facility. That would benefit other groups; little league, softball, 1642
private teams, and camps. Another part is this is an undesirable spot to invest money in 1643
before we've got a finished Master Plan or before we've made decisions on what's going 1644
to happen to the golf course reconfiguration. This is not a place we'd probably want to 1645
invest money just now. When we have an opportunity to have an outside group fund it 1646
with the understanding that it's temporary and will pend the results of a Master Plan that's 1647
coming, it's definitely something that could be advantageous to the city. Lastly, this is a 1648
flexible project. It's designed to be temporary, so it can be moved. There's no foundation 1649 set into there. You don't have to dig into the ground at all. We can eliminate the cages 1650 when that Master Plan or golf course reconfiguration planning determines that there is a 1651 better use for that site. This is a highlight on the accessibility page where you can see 1652
that parking lot path that would lead into the parcel. These are some cage types. I 1653
mentioned in the staff report they're still deliberating on two different types. We've got 1654
the open frame and then the enclosed. We just need some more time to analyze both the 1655
investment and the benefits of those two options. Again, synthetic turf would be 1656
underneath the facility. If this project is successful—I'm defining successful as well 1657
used, a safe facility, vandalism is kept to a minimum, and access is equally distributed. If 1658
we have those things, the pilot would continue until the Master Plan is complete and we 1659
have an identified use from the Master Plan for this site. If the Master Plan were to 1660
recommend this location for batting cages and there's the demonstrated need, staff would 1661
return to the Commission to discuss the option of a Phase 2 for this project. The Phase 2 1662
could include two additional batting cages, a warm-up area, a walkway and a storage 1663
shed. I believe it's in your packet, but there's a visual demonstration of what that Phase 2 1664
would look like. Again, that would pend completion of the Master Plan. This final slide 1665
again illustrates what we're talking about, which is just the two batting cages and the 1666
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accessible parking lot conversion. That concludes the staff presentation. We welcome 1667
your questions and comments. 1668
1669
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Knopper: 1670
1671
Commissioner Knopper: I think it's great. In my opinion, there's absolutely no reason 1672 not to do it. I literally did a double take when I saw October 2004. I'm like, "Wow, that's 1673
11 years. That's a long time to wait for a batting cage." I would put it up tomorrow if I 1674
could. 1675
1676
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Crommie. 1677
1678
Commissioner Crommie: Hi there. Thank you for your presentation. I know batting 1679
cages are really important. It seems like it does increase the efficiency of practice, 1680
especially during the youth practice sessions. Are they used during the games or just 1681
during the practices? 1682
1683
Mr. Lillios: If there's a game going on and there's another pair of teams coming before 1684
their game, they will use the batting cages to warm up and do some practice swings. Yes, 1685
it will be utilized to help prepare the teams that are coming on for a subsequent game. 1686
1687
Commissioner Crommie: As we stand now, all the other locations where baseball is 1688
done, are there batting cages and are they at the schools as well? 1689
1690
Mr. Lillios: The cages that I'm aware of, there are four cages at Little League. They're 1691 highly utilized. They are on Palo Alto Little League private land, so they have been kind 1692 enough to let the public meander in and out. Other than that, there's a couple of cages at 1693 Cubberley that Palo Alto Girls Softball has. They're small and not well known and, I 1694
think, under lock and key, so there's not much access there. Of course, all of the high 1695
schools will have two to four cages minimum, but again those are under lock and key by 1696
the high schools. Other than that in the City of Palo Alto, I have no knowledge of any 1697
other batting cages open to the public. 1698
1699
Commissioner Crommie: Babe Ruth is a private club kind of baseball. It's a try-out 1700
system to get into Babe Ruth, right? It's a high level activity. I'm little bit confused if 1701
this is only for Babe Ruth players or if other people who are playing recreationally can 1702
use it. 1703
1704
Mr. Lillios: This project is being spearheaded by Babe Ruth because we have a strong 1705
desire to have a baseball facility, not just for ourselves. Our charter is to serve the 1706
baseball playing youth, whether they're Babe Ruth or Little League or not in any league. 1707
They could be recreational softball players. They just want to go out there and take some 1708
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hacks. The Malibu Fun Center used to be the place where you could go and take some 1709
hacks. There just aren't places like that, where people can just take some swings. 1710
Although, we're spearheading it and we have obviously a vested interest because we have 1711
pretty high utilization of that Baylands field. There are plenty of other organizations. 1712
Like I said, there's the Oaks, there's summer camps throughout the summer that could use 1713
something like this. There's private organizations. Most of these are very Palo Alto 1714 centric amazingly. There's more beyond Palo Alto, but I think this could serve a large 1715
fraction of Palo Alto need as I see it. 1716
1717
Commissioner Crommie: That's good. It seems like an acre is an awful lot of space for 1718
batting cages. I know they are used on much smaller footprints, probably in all the 1719
locations where they're used. I know this is only temporary, but I really believe in having 1720
batting cages there. I would support having batting cages, but the rub for me is there is 1721
an acre of land there. I just want to make sure that we envision the use of that acre 1722
openly and fully without presuming this Phase 2 process. I really am sympathetic to the 1723
need for the batting cages, and it has been put off for way too long. We're going to be 1724
done with our Master Plan in about a year's time, so the timing's a little bit odd right now. 1725
You've waited already 11 years, and now we're about to come to this huge final product 1726
of the Master Plan. I hate to say it, but do you think we should wait one more year? Can 1727
you just give me a little bit more of an argument for why now? 1728
1729
Mr. Anderson: My assessment is there are advantages to doing it now. You're right 1730
there's a lot of things up in the air as to what the best use of that's going to be. You're 1731
absolutely right that the Master Plan is the document to give us those answers, and it 1732
won't come until November. I also know that implementing that Master Plan will not be 1733 overnight. It's a very long-term process. They're going to identify priorities that are 1734 really unknown at this point. I'll give you a good example. Scott Park was one example 1735 where we had a CIP, and it took two years to implement a very simple CIP at Scott Park. 1736
My point there is only to say that when you have a plan that covers the entire city, to wait 1737
on something like this for fear that maybe there will be something come November 1st 1738
that should go right there is really unlikely. If you couple that with the benefit of this 1739
being so mobile, so flexible. It can be pulled out really in about a day and a half, I'm 1740
imaging since there's no foundation work. It's disassembling some pipes. I think the 1741
down side is very, very small for the city. I've had a really frank conversation with Babe 1742
Ruth to say there are going to be serious implications if we add 10 acres of recreation 1743
where the golf course is giving up that section, which would theoretically add who knows 1744
what. There's lots of different options. There may be need for that 1 acre. I don't know 1745
exactly how that will shake out. They understand that going into that, and they feel it's a 1746
worthwhile investment. Again, the things I highlighted, the benefits of what you can 1747
learn in that interim period will be valuable for us as we say, "Okay, if we don't have a 1748
batting cage accessible to anybody in Palo Alto except for these private groups where 1749
they're under lock and key and we do need one, which may come out in the Master Plan, 1750
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may not, then where are we going to put it and what should it be like?" This is our 1751
opportunity to get a free learning lesson on what those answers are. 1752
1753
Commissioner Crommie: That makes a lot of sense to me. To summarize, I support 1754
batting cages. I think it's needed for safety and efficiency for the sport. They're located 1755
in all other sites, and they need it here as well. I'm concerned about using the full acre for 1756 this whole complex program without vetting it a lot more thoroughly. I think the 1757
footprint of the batting cages is pretty small. Lastly, I always get a little bit concerned 1758
when I hear that things are under lock and key at the schools and why we don't have 1759
better relationships with figuring out how to have more of a shared use. I don't know that 1760
much about how the baseball works. Club soccer does sometimes get use of schools. In 1761
fact, schools seem to make money off of it sometimes. I just wish we could understand 1762
that better on our Commission. It's been a long-term concern of mine. 1763
1764
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Hetterly. 1765
1766
Commissioner Hetterly: I think it's a great idea to have batting cages that can support the 1767
baseball field and softball field at Baylands Athletic Center. I'm a little uneasy about this 1768
particularly because it almost feels like that acres is like the 7 acres at Foothill Park that 1769
we've never talked about before. We've never talked about any other use for it before. 1770
As far as I can tell, there's been no public outreach on this pilot proposal. I understand 1771
that it's temporary. I generally like the idea of pilots. I think that's a great way to go; 1772
however, just as we've talked about with the dog park pilot, often once you start a pilot 1773
it's hard to end it. I'm glad that it's temporary. I do think it makes sense, before 1774
promoting a PIO, to have at least one public outreach meeting to talk about the location 1775 and whether this is an appropriate location. It seems to be a different location than the 1776 2004 PIO. I don't know why there was a change and whose preference changed to make 1777 that location different. As Commissioner Crommie suggested, it's an acre of contiguous 1778
property and if you throw us a batting cage, though it's small, that precludes any other use 1779
of that space for other functions. I have no idea if there are other functions that would be 1780
beneficial there, never having thought about it before I saw this agenda item. If it were to 1781
move onto Phase 2, the other problem with building the batting cages in order to 1782
determine whether there is demonstrated need, that seemed a little strange to me. It 1783
sounds like you're saying you have a need, Babe Ruth has a need, Little League seems to 1784
have a need. I'm not sure what more we're going to learn from a pilot about that need, 1785
except that maybe if you build it, they will come and we'll have more and more people 1786
wanting to use it who maybe didn't before or maybe aren't from Palo Alto-based groups. 1787
That's something that can affect policy deliberations along the way. I have one more 1788
point. The Phase 2, adding a whole nother acre to the baseball/softball complex at 1789
Baylands Athletic Center seems to me an awful lot of space for a single dedicated use. 1790
We don't have any other use like that across the city where we have that much acreage 1791
dedicated to just one use. Even our synthetic turf fields are used for soccer, football, 1792
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lacrosse. That's not to say we shouldn't have it, but I think it's something that we should 1793
be thinking about. I think public discussion is a worthwhile pursuit. 1794
1795
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Lauing. 1796
1797
Commissioner Lauing: Yes, thanks. As most of my colleagues know, I was on the Babe 1798 Ruth board for five years before I came here. The batting cages were on the docket then. 1799
It's probably in the minutes somewhere of the meetings, but it's my recollection that it 1800
became very cost prohibitive when Babe Ruth looked at it because we got a lot of 1801
feedback from the city on the flood plains that we're still getting feedback from a lot of 1802
people on. It might not have been only the city, because of the kind of commentary that's 1803
coming back on the golf course. Which is why it became too cost prohibitive to do—I 1804
don't know if you had to have them 6 feet high or whatever it was—but that was the 1805
reason for that. There's no question there's a demonstrated need. To your point, I don't 1806
think we even need a pilot because there just aren't any. A lot of times Babe Ruth teams 1807
would go over to the Little League fields or, if they could get space on the weekends at 1808
the high school particularly Paly, they would go over there before games to warm-up in 1809
the batting cages. It's completely inconvenient. It's too bad that this isn't getting in in 1810
time for this season, but maybe it'll make the tournaments. Just a couple of questions. 1811
As this thing was getting back up, was there any debate about should we go back to first-1812
base line or is it just because this land was available here? As you look at Phase 2, if that 1813
were to happen notwithstanding comments of my colleague, the easements seem to be 1814
right smack in the middle of that so I don't know how you're going to be able to do that 1815
anyway. 1816
1817 Mr. Anderson: The first question you asked of why not the first place that was identified 1818 in 2004. It pertains to the JPA project where that levee adjacent to the batting cage in 1819 that diagram will be pushed up very, very close to that area, pinching it off so much so 1820
that the walkway is almost compromised. It's very tight there in the plans. It seemed to 1821
make sense to look at another option. That's why. 1822
1823
Commissioner Lauing: That's my guess. 1824
1825
Mr. Anderson: Your second question, could you repeat that one more time, the Phase 2? 1826
1827
Commissioner Lauing: If you were to look at Phase 2, how can you because it looks like 1828
it's right in the middle of the easements? 1829
1830
Mr. Anderson: We met with PG&E, showed them Phase 1 and Phase 2 to say, "Would 1831
you have a problem with this?" I guess it's predominantly because it's not anchored in the 1832
ground, it could be moved and would not interfere with their direct access to those things. 1833
They gave us the okay, and I have it in writing. 1834
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1835
Commissioner Lauing: Okay. To your question, Commissioner Crommie, the answer 1836
why you can't use the high schools is because the high school coaches are czars. They're 1837
totally in charge, and there's one key and that person has it. You can call it cultural, but 1838
they do use it an awful lot. Thanks. Very good presentation and preparation. 1839
1840 Commissioner Hetterly: I have one more quick question. 1841
1842
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Hetterly. 1843
1844
Commissioner Hetterly: Do you anticipate when you're using the batting cage that it will 1845
be the same folks who are using the field at the same time as part of your practice or 1846
would you expect that you would have an increase in usership because you may have 1847
teams practicing on the field and other folks using the batting cages simultaneously? 1848
Would you anticipate that being an issue for parking? 1849
1850
Mr. Lillios: Yes, when word gets out that there's a batting cage, there will be 1851
independent groups going just for batting practice. The teams that I've been involved 1852
with, we have two or three practices a week, and one of them is dedicated to just batting 1853
alone. We will either go to the cage facility up in Belmont, or there's other facilities you 1854
can rent out for a pretty penny. I can see this would be a perfect place for those kind of 1855
activities to happen. Generally people drop off their kids and take off. They don't sit 1856
around to watch batting practice, because it's not much of a spectator sport for the 1857
parents. There will be a little bit, but I don't expect it to be substantial. 1858
1859 Commissioner Hetterly: Thank you. 1860 1861 Commissioner Crommie: It just occurred to me as far as environmental impact, is it 1862
going to disturb birds in the area if there's just a constant popping of the bat against the 1863
ball? Have you talked to any groups about that, environmental groups, about impact? 1864
1865
Mr. Anderson: We have not. I think the use would be in keeping with the baseball that's 1866
happening there. It would be programmed by the same gentleman, Adam Howard from 1867
Recreation, who programs the field use. We have control over it, so it's not as if it would 1868
be 24/7. It's not open where you can check in at midnight and start swatting. It's unlit, so 1869
we don't have to worry about light impacts. Our belief is it's going to be in keeping with 1870
the use there and not a dramatic change. It's also in an area where there's no vegetation. 1871
We can certainly do more exploring to see if there are any concerns about that, but it's not 1872
one staff has right now. 1873
1874
Commissioner Crommie: Okay. Normally we vet with different stakeholders when we 1875
set up a new recreational facility. I was looking at it simplistically that it's the same kids 1876
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that are there that then just use the batting practice. When you start to talk about a 1877
regional draw, I actually do get quite concerned about the density of use. I don't know 1878
what to do about that. I don't know if we're making it known that we're concerned about 1879
that. Can you give us some kind of follow-up and let us know how that's going? 1880
1881
Mr. Anderson: Yes, in advance of that, at the next time we bring this back to you. Again 1882 it'll be in keeping with how we manage the existing fields. That baseball field at the 1883
Athletic Center is not just "come help yourself," "come play as many league games as 1884
you want," "come in from all the surrounding communities." It's all brokered and 1885
managed by our recreation team. We don't suffer that problem with the fields, and I don't 1886
anticipate suffering that same problem with the batting cages because it'll be managed the 1887
same way. 1888
1889
Commissioner Crommie: Okay. I'm very familiar with our field use for soccer, but I’m 1890
really not that familiar with looking at that policy for that facility. Maybe one day you 1891
can educate us on that. 1892
1893
Mr. Anderson: I'd be glad to bring a draft policy for the batting cages that's proposed. 1894
We've already got a draft going. It needs to be vetted a little more fully. We'll be glad to 1895
bring that back when we bring this issue to you again. 1896
1897
Chair Reckdahl: Like Ed, my son plays Babe Ruth, so we've spent many hours in a 1898
batting cage. Never down in the Baylands, but before games we'll go over to the Little 1899
League field and throw batting practice there and then drive over to the Baylands. It'll be 1900
nice to have that in one location, to be able to do batting practice before the games right 1901 at the place where the game is. On the far left of the picture, of the blue triangle, there 1902 right now is a fence. If we open that fence up, we would be connected over to the skin 1903 field that has Little League and also has Girls Softball. I would like to see that 1904
considered. Just say, "Can we put a gate in there?" Have the same lock on the gate as we 1905
have on the other gate, so that if 5070 plays their little league down there or the girls 1906
softball want to use that, they can access that directly instead of having to go all the way 1907
around. Certainly it's not that far to walk around, but it would be a much shorter shot to 1908
go through that little gate right at the far left. I would like to see that considered. After 1909
the golf course is reconfigured, knock on wood, there's a lot of decisions to be made. 1910
One question is the GreenWaste lease. Do you know the duration of that? Is that area 1911
going to be open for reconfiguration also or are we going to have to move around that? 1912
1913
Mr. Anderson: I don't have the answer to that, but I'd be glad to research it. 1914
1915
Chair Reckdahl: That I find irrelevant right now. This lot is going to be sitting empty for 1916
the next two or three years, because we're not going to put anything permanent on there 1917
while the golf course is being reconfigured. Either we can have a temporary batting cage 1918
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on there for the next two or three years or we have it sit empty for the next two or three 1919
years. I view this as a no-risk proposition. That is it. Any other questions? Do you 1920
know the path forward now or do you still have to do some work in figuring out what you 1921
want to do? 1922
1923
Mr. Anderson: An option for moving forward, I'd like to think about it and perhaps 1924 consult with my director. An option is hold a public meeting, come back with a PIO 1925
based on feedback we've gotten and with a design and see if the Commission approves 1926
and then go to Council afterward. 1927
1928
Chair Reckdahl: Typically if you were to schedule a public meeting, how much lead time 1929
do you want to have for that? Is that a couple of weeks? 1930
1931
Mr. Anderson: Yeah, 2 1/2. 1932
1933
Chair Reckdahl: Okay. Thank you. 1934
1935
5. Information Report on the Organics Facilities Plan and Use of the Measure E 1936
Site. 1937
1938
Chair Reckdahl: We do have one public speaker. Emily Renzel is going to be talking 1939
about the Measure E site. 1940
1941
Emily Renzel: At the risk of keeping poor Matt Krupp here for another 3 minutes. The 1942
Measure E has been studied quite a lot. I think with the last request for proposal that 1943 went out, staff had pretty much decided that much of the 10-acre site would not be 1944 excavated and used for composting, just the 3.8 acres of the 10 acres. There are basically 1945 two portions of the 10-acre site with greater and lesser likelihood of being used in the 1946
next six years or so, seven years, before 2021. I just want to be sure that you're planning 1947
for the Byxbee Hills Park, not working around that 10 acres in illogical ways. In other 1948
words, not necessarily putting anything on it, but looking at your trail systems and 1949
everything else to make them logical in the event that we can rededicate this land. The 1950
Measure E prevents the Council from rededicating the land, but Council could at some 1951
point, once it's determined that the site would not be used, put it to the voters sooner. 1952
That's always a possibility. I'm not advocating that at this point. I'm just suggesting that 1953
in your planning, you should look at the whole site, at least the part that doesn't include 1954
the flatter 3.8 acres, and do your best to have a forward idea of what will happen there. I 1955
just can't resist commenting that I think use of the 1-acre triangle for batting cages is 1956
great. It's reclaiming this parkland that's been parkland since 1965. It was allowed to be 1957
used by the garbage company, and they were supposed to restore it to baseball field when 1958
it was done. PASCO sold to Waste Management and then we went to GreenWaste, so it 1959
never happened. The triangle has been parkland since 1965. The GreenWaste acre was 1960
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exempted from the park dedication. Whoever asked the question about use of it, it 1961
wouldn't necessarily not be available for park should it be decided at some point. It is not 1962
currently park dedicated. Thank you. 1963
1964
Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. Matthew Krupp, you're talking about the Measure E area. 1965
Thank you. 1966 1967
Matthew Krupp: Hi, good evening, Commissioners. Matthew Krupp with Public Works 1968
Zero Waste. I'm Environmental Programs Manager for the Zero Waste Group. If you 1969
have any questions about recycling or composting later, I'll be happy to answer those as 1970
well. The reason I'm here today is to talk to you about the Measure E parcel and the 1971
RFPs, the process that came out of that. I was the project manager on both the Energy 1972
Compost Facility request for proposal and the subsequent Compost Facility request for 1973
proposal. I don't know if I can go off script, but I actually can answer a question that 1974
came from the last presentation from Commissioner Reckdahl about that parcel that 1975
GreenWaste uses right now. The GreenWaste and Palo Alto contract currently goes until 1976
2017. Staff is going to present to the Finance Committee just next week a proposal to 1977
extend the contract to 2021. Part of that contract extension is also looking at an 1978
opportunity for GreenWaste to locate its short-term corporation yard, which is what they 1979
use that facility as, in a location outside of Palo Alto. We currently require them to have 1980
a facility within Palo Alto, but a new contract amendment would allow them to have a 1981
facility outside of Palo Alto. Of course we have to look at the needs of servicing our 1982
refuse customers, the garbage and getting all the different carts out there. Again, that's 1983
something that we're looking at the opportunity to change should the use be desired to be 1984
changed by you guys and the Council. I wanted to address that question while I was 1985 here. Daren didn't have to come back and ask me later. 1986 1987 Chair Reckdahl: The purpose of having that site, is that for drop off? 1988
1989
Mr. Krupp: That site is the office for the local staff. We have the managers and the route 1990
supervisors who are located over there. Also our outreach staff is located there as well. 1991
We also have carts and bins for our residential and commercial customers that are located 1992
there, so we can provide very fast service. Let's say one of you called up and said, "Hey, 1993
my garbage cart is broken" or something like that. We can get it out to you a lot of times 1994
the same day if not the next day, which is a service that many other garbage companies 1995
can't provide. We are able to provide very speedy service. The larger GreenWaste 1996
corporation yard, where all the trucks are located, is actually in Santa Clara off of 1997
Lafayette Street. We can't get there quite as quickly ... 1998
1999
Chair Reckdahl: If we do not require them to have that local, would they want that 1 acre 2000
still? 2001
2002
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Mr. Krupp: That's something that we would have to work out with GreenWaste. About 2003
two years ago there was a question about whether that site was going to be needed for 2004
other park uses. GreenWaste investigated other sites around the community and found 2005
that there were basically none that could service them within the boundary of Palo Alto. 2006
That's why we looked at providing GreenWaste the opportunity to have a site that was 2007
located outside of the boundaries of Palo Alto. 2008 2009
Chair Reckdahl: Just from the last presentation, that little triangle is very hard to use 2010
with that 1 acre blocking it. When we look at the reconfiguration, it'd give us a lot more 2011
flexibility if we could convert that into parkland, even if that means moving that to 2012
somewhere else. 2013
2014
Mr. Krupp: Sure, sure. I think that's a good question. I haven't been involved in the 2015
Master Plan that was talked about earlier today. I would imagine that that parcel would 2016
be considered as part of a Master Plan parcel. I don't want to speak on something that I 2017
don't know enough about. As Emily Renzel said, it was parkland that's being used for 2018
another use right now. 2019
2020
Chair Reckdahl: Okay, thank you. 2021
2022
Mr. Krupp: Sorry to go off script there. Let's get back onto the story of the former Palo 2023
Alto landfill and garbage and wastewater. You'll all be experts by the end of this 2024
presentation I hope. We did have a lot of people helping with this whole project, and 2025
they're listed over there. Consultants ARI, CH2M Hill, and Jim Bender Consulting. This 2026
project was—at least the first part of it—the Energy Compost Facility was a joint project 2027 that was with the Zero Waste Group and Public Works and also the Regional Water 2028 Quality Control Plant, another division within Public Works. Before I go into the 2029 specifics of Measure E and that parcel, I want to talk to you about some of the goals that 2030
staff had in order to define the best possible project. We needed to do a number of things 2031
from the wastewater perspective and from the solid waste perspective. The most 2032
important thing actually is on the wastewater side, decommissioning our sewage sludge 2033
incinerator which is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions within the 2034
city. There are only two sewage sludge incinerators that operate within the Bay area. We 2035
are one of them. It was a Council priority to decommission and turnoff that incinerator. 2036
That's one of the priorities that we are looking to do from the wastewater side. On the 2037
solid waste side, we are looking at two things. The first thing was to find a new home for 2038
a composting operation. You might remember not that long ago we composted yard 2039
trimmings, your yard trimmings, over on top of the landfill. Once the landfill was closed 2040
and needed to be closed, that operation needed to stop. We had to end that operation. It 2041
was not compatible with the use of Byxbee Park to have a composting operation on top of 2042
it. That operation closed back a few years ago. We wanted to look at a new place to put 2043
composting and compost the yard trimmings. We also wanted to identify if there was an 2044
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opportunity to take our commercial food scraps, food that's not eaten at restaurants, and 2045
also residential food scraps and harness the energy in that material. We're trying to find 2046
all of that stuff. By doing all that, we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be 2047
able to handle all three of these wastes. Now one of the ideas that came out in the 2048
proposal in the Measure E ballot initiative, is that perhaps there's a technology that can do 2049
all these things together, can handle the biosolids, the sewage sludge, the yard trimmings 2050 and the food scraps together in one combined technology. That was a premise that was 2051
based early on. We are looking at all of these things to try to see if we can do them. 2052
Were we successful? The short answer is no, we weren't. I'll get to the rest of it in a 2053
second. How did we get to the point where we're at right now? We did a feasibility 2054
study back in 2011 to see if it even made sense to pursue this further. We looked at a 2055
number of different technologies including dry anaerobic digestion. That was the 2056
original technology that was proposed by the Palo Altans for Green Energy, the people 2057
who put together the Measure E initiative. We looked at that, and it proved that it could 2058
be feasible. A feasibility study is only the first step. What happened from there is that 2059
Council elected to put the Measure E item on the ballot. It was on the ballot in 2060
November 2011, passed with a two-thirds majority. A couple of things that are 2061
interesting about the Measure E ballot initiative. One is that it called for staff to 2062
investigate the opportunity for putting an Energy Compost Facility on this 10-acre 2063
Measure E site, which I'll talk about in a second. It also undedicated the 10 acres of 2064
Byxbee Park Hills until 2021. What Emily Renzel was saying is that after 2021, Council 2065
could elect to return that back into parkland. Until such time, it was available for use. It 2066
didn't mandate that the use had to be there, but it called for the investigation and the 2067
opportunity to put that Energy Compose Facility there. I just want to make that 2068
distinction quickly for you. In 2013 we released an RFP for an Energy Compost Facility, 2069 that called for a technology to handle all of these feed stocks, the three that we talked 2070 about before, biosolids, food scraps and yard trimmings, either in one facility or perhaps 2071 in multiple facilities with the opportunity to use an acre within the wastewater treatment 2072
plant and the 10 acres of the Measure E site. We did that. What we found is that nothing 2073
really worked the way we had hoped. We didn't get a proposal that would satisfy the 2074
needs of both our solid waste needs and our wastewater needs. What it did clarify though 2075
was that there was a certain technology that was appropriate for the wastewater side of 2076
the shop. I'll get to that in a second. That RFP was canceled. The Council elected to 2077
reject all the proposals at that point. They said, at that point, "Well, we don't want to use 2078
the entire Measure E site. 10 acres is not appropriate to build on, so we're going to 2079
restrict you to 3.8 acres."—I'll show you that in a second—"3.8 acres of that site which is 2080
fairly flat, and we want you to look at it right away to see if it's possible to put a 2081
Composting Facility to compost yard trimmings and possibly residential food scraps 2082
together on this 3.8-acre site." Right away we quickly turned around in, I would say, 2083
record speed for government a new RFP which was looking at just composting on that 2084
Measure E site. What did we find? Well, the Measure E site is complicated. Building 2085
something there was very expensive, much more expensive than composting outside. At 2086
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that point in time when we get to December just last year, a few months ago, Council 2087
said, "You know what? Maybe this isn't quite ready for prime time. We're going to hold 2088
off on this project, and we're going to continue essentially with the status quo." That's the 2089
lead. I want to give you a little bit more background about the site here. Now you know 2090
the ending, that nothing is happening over there for at least a little while. I want to talk 2091
about the site itself so you have some perspective. I know all of you spend a lot of time 2092 out on Byxbee Park. Daren gives me full reports back when he sees you all out there. 2093
Here's the park over here. Of course, we're going to be opening up a large portion of the 2094
last phase over in Earth Day. That'll be very exciting. We're going to be presenting next 2095
month to you about the Byxbee Park Hills concepts and the trails and all the great stuff 2096
we're doing over there. Right now if we look at the Measure E site, you can see this site 2097
is in blue. That's about 10 acres. The dark blue, over here, this is what we call the 2098
relatively flat area, the 3.8-acre area that was part of the Compost Facility RFP. Then the 2099
treatment plant is over here in yellow. One of the reasons that we weren't able to do 2100
anything right away on the Measure E site, and especially that 3.8-acre site, is that it has a 2101
number of constraints on the site. There is a habitat corridor, a set of trees pretty well 2102
established, that was serving as a barrier between the landfill and the waste water 2103
treatment plant right over here. That connects the Bay, over here, with Renzel Marsh. 2104
There's a lot of really great habitat in there, foxes and some other bunch of critters that 2105
are too numerous to name. Building on that site would involve the potential dislocation 2106
of that particular habitat corridor. That's one challenge. The second challenge is building 2107
anywhere on the Baylands is no easy feat. Underneath all that land is Bay mud, not 2108
really the most conducive neighborhood to build stuff in. In addition to that, right over 2109
here is a landfill, so you're building next to a landfill which is also not the easiest thing to 2110
build on. Add on to that a number of pipes that go underneath the site, real challenge. 2111 All of that drove up the cost and just made building even a simple compost facility very 2112 expensive. The last piece of making it expensive, you're like, "Why is it so expensive to 2113 build a compost facility? They seem like they should be pretty cheap." Well, you guys 2114
all have noses, right? Okay. Compost is smelly; it can be anyway. Because the use of 2115
Byxbee Park Hills is a park and people would be right here taking nice strolls and going 2116
by. They would smell what was coming off this facility, so we required the highest level 2117
of odor protection possible for that facility so that it would not smell offsite at all. Some 2118
people like the smell of compost. Me personally not so much. To have full odor control 2119
on that site again drove costs up. In turn, that is why we don't have a facility located on 2120
that site. What are we actually going to do? I'll try to wrap this up quickly for you. As 2121
part of the recommendation back in May 2014, we broke up our plans for dealing with 2122
organics, those three different organic streams, yard trimmings, food scraps and biosolids 2123
into four components. The first component, Number 1, is addressing biosolids 2124
specifically. That allows us to decommission the incinerator, so we can take those 2125
biosolids and send them off to either the Central Valley or over to the East Bay Municipal 2126
Utility District in Oakland to be processed there. That's a new truck offloading facility as 2127
part of Component 1. That project is underway right now. The first two components, by 2128
Draft Minutes 51
DRAFT
the way, are inside the treatment plant. Keep that in mind. Component 2 is anaerobic 2129
digestion. That's wet anaerobic digestion, building giant tanks that essentially eat the 2130
biosolids, the sewage sludge. That would also be located within the treatment plant. Part 2131
of that facility would be sending food scraps to those digesters, and that would all 2132
generate energy. All that energy would more than satisfy the energy needs of the 2133
wastewater treatment plant, which is one of the largest energy users in the entire city. It's 2134 a very green and sustainable effort. Essentially energy that you guys create through your 2135
trips to the bathroom—I apologize for being blunt—and the food that you eat or don't eat 2136
in this case. That's Components 1, 2 and 3. All of that would be located within the 2137
treatment plant's footprint. Component 4, that was what we were looking at with the 2138
Compost Facility RFP. That's the piece that we are currently, for lack of a better word, 2139
on hold and sending our organics outside of the community. I thought I had another slide 2140
at the end of there, but that's okay. My apologies. Here we are. Bear with me for one 2141
second here. We're experiencing technical difficulties. There we are. What happens? 2142
Again, we talked about in December 2014 the decision to go with the lower cost option, 2143
to use composting facilities for our yard trimmings and food scraps outside of Palo Alto. 2144
We are currently looking at a facility that's not very far, about 15 miles from our current 2145
location, in north San Jose, to do that. We're going to provide annual updates every 2146
December on the status of the composting technology to see if there are lower cost 2147
options to use on the Measure E site. Again, this site can be considered for 2148
energy/compost uses until 2021. At that time, in 2021 and beyond, the Council can elect 2149
to return it back to parkland. That is the close of my presentation. Thank you for 2150
listening. I'm happy to answer any questions. 2151
2152
Chair Reckdahl: Before we start the questions, can you give one clarification? 2153 Dedicated parkland versus undedicated, what's the ramifications of that? If something is 2154 undedicated, does that mean it can't be touched by the city or that the city can develop it 2155 just like you would any parkland? 2156
2157
Mr. Krupp: From my understanding, that parcel is not considered part of the park 2158
system. Those 10 acres are not parkland. Now the city can elect to do something else 2159
with it. 2160
2161
Chair Reckdahl: For example, making trails on it, finishing off the Byxbee Hills Park. 2162
Could they treat it just like they would any other parkland? By development I mean 2163
making trails or finishing off the park, make plantings, that type of thing. 2164
2165
Mr. Krupp: What I can do is I can address how we handled the 10 acres within the 2166
interim park concepts, which we're going to talk about next month. We didn't put any 2167
trails through there, because we didn't know what that use would be. We didn't want to 2168
put a trail in there and have to remove the trail that people were getting used to service. 2169
We have to cap that part of the landfill, so it has to be finished. It will be planted the 2170
Draft Minutes 52
DRAFT
same way as the rest of the landfill, so it won't look necessarily different from the rest of 2171
Byxbee Park Hills. At this point at time, until we're directed otherwise, we're not 2172
planning to put any trails through there. On the other hand, we're also not planning to 2173
fence it off. Daren, I don't know if you want to add anything to that. 2174
2175
Daren Anderson: No, I think you covered it. 2176 2177
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Crommie. 2178
2179
Commissioner Crommie: I want to thank you so much for this presentation. It's really 2180
important for our Commission to stay aware of what's going on with this acreage. So 2181
much has been happening, and you gave a really great timeline. I really appreciate your 2182
presentation. What's important to me is that we acknowledge that what was expected to 2183
happen with Measure E has not happened. The vote was shall 10 acres of existing 2184
parkland in Byxbee Park be undedicated for the exclusive purpose of building a 2185
processing facility for yard trimmings, food waste and other organic material. The idea 2186
behind this was to get green energy from anaerobic digestion. It's anaerobic digestion 2187
which is going to give us that green energy. You updated us quite well on the findings 2188
that so far that hasn't happened. The proponents of Measure E were very hopeful that it 2189
would. The opponents said, "We don't think the technology is there." We have six more 2190
years to figure it out. Because it's not looking like it is there, I'm just hoping that 2191
somehow our Commission can over time, through some kind of direction between staff 2192
helping us figure out how to do this, not lose sight of that parkland. This is to support 2193
what Emily Renzel said, that we have a lot of development going on in Byxbee Park. 2194
There's a lot of interest in our community to get those trails figured out, to make it a rich 2195 place for people to be. We've waited a long time. As we plan that, I think it's our 2196 responsibility on the Commission to not lose sight of that parkland. If you carve out the 2197 3.8 out of the 10, that's still leaving 6.2 acres to think about. I try to keep track of all this 2198
and I read a lot of the reports. Can you just say once again what that 3.8 would be carved 2199
out for provisionally? I know nothing is set, but can you just give a one sentence on that? 2200
2201
Mr. Krupp: Yeah, sure. The reason the 3.8 acres was carved out from the whole was that 2202
there was no fill underneath. There's no actual garbage underneath those 3.8 acres, and 2203
we wouldn't have to excavate the garbage and build a retaining wall, which was 2204
originally the possibility with using all the 10 acres. The 3.8 acres was what we always 2205
called "the relatively flat" portion of that land. 2206
2207
Commissioner Crommie: Now I understand. Should anything go there, the idea is it 2208
should really only go on the 3.8 if anything goes there at all. That is more of a rationale 2209
for us to really keep our eye on the 6.2 acres. I think that land is a really important 2210
gateway to Byxbee Park. When you look at the map, it just sits right there as people are 2211
going to enter the park. I just think we don't want to lose sight of that. I also want to 2212
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make a point that when this vote went forth, the idea was that 10 acres was to be used 2213
independently for the production of green energy. If we can't do that, I personally think 2214
we have to be very careful about setting that site up as some kind of support land for the 2215
processing plant. Just because it happens to be next to it doesn't mean that we have no 2216
mandate whatsoever to have this undedicated parkland to somehow be some auxiliary 2217
space to support what's going on at the regional—what did we call that? The sewage 2218 treatment center. I really would like us to separate this as we study this on the 2219
Commission. I really hope that you'll continue to come back to us. I also want to say I 2220
think the city is doing very good work totally independent of Measure E. I know it was a 2221
goal of the city to get rid of the incinerator. That's huge. I want to congratulate the 2222
powers behind that. To push forward with all of these incredibly sensible things that 2223
needed to take place which have really no bearing on our parkland and are going to 2224
proceed independently of that. Thank you. 2225
2226
Chair Reckdahl: Other questions. Nope. Thank you. 2227
2228
6. Council Recommendation on Next Steps for the 7.7 Acres at Foothills Park. 2229
2230
Chair Reckdahl: We do have one speaker, Jerry Hearn. 2231
2232
Jerry Hearn: Thank you very much. Members of the Commission, Jerry Hearn, resident 2233
of Portola Valley. In the interests of disclosure, I've been involved with the Acterra 2234
nursery and with Acterra both since their inception; however, tonight I'm speaking as a 2235
private citizen in regards to the recommendation in front of you tonight. There are three 2236
elements to it. I want to comment individually on each one of them. The first one 2237 regarding the hydrologic study, I think that's an excellent idea. It's in line with the natural 2238 environment element of the general plan. In my experience working with the Master 2239 Plan process for the parks, there's seems to be a great interest for water features, and this 2240
could turn out to be an interesting water feature. Thirdly, as mentioned in there, there is 2241
some potential for steelhead trout that do exist in the downstream end of Los Trancos 2242
Creek which this empties into. I think that's a good idea, and I fully support that. The 2243
second item is about the closure of the park temporarily until the hydrologic study is 2244
done. I think that makes perfect sense. If you've been out there, you know what the area 2245
looks like. The flat area, which is the only really accessible area, is pretty uninteresting 2246
at this point. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of interest to go out there; however, 2247
you might think about making it available for tours every once in a while as was done 2248
before, although those were not very well attended. It's not a bad idea if people want to 2249
go out there and take a look at it. The third part, which as to do with the nursery lease. 2250
When I first read about the idea of having it be on an annual basis, that kind of set me 2251
back a little bit because I thought back to when we were trying to find a place for the 2252
nursery, how long it took us to find it, how long it took us to put all the pieces together. 2253
The idea that in a year's time or half a year's time, depending on whatever happened, we 2254
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DRAFT
could be looking for a new place. That would be a real challenge. However, with the 2255
option that it's a four-year renewable lease with both parties agreeing to it and given the 2256
excellent relationship that we have established with staff over the many years, I think that 2257
we would be able to work with that. I'm sure that it would not be a surprise sprung on us, 2258
so we would have plenty of time to make a change if we needed to. In general, I just 2259
want to say that I support the recommendation. I appreciate all the work that staff has put 2260 into thinking about this. I look forward to seeing that 7.7 acres put to better use than it 2261
has been in the past with the exception, of course, of the Acterra nursery which is a 2262
fabulous use. Thank you very much. 2263
2264
Chair Reckdahl: Thank you. Daren, it's yours. 2265
2266
Daren Anderson: Good evening. I’m here tonight seeking your recommendation to 2267
Council on how to proceed with that 7.7-acre parcel of parkland at Foothills Park. A 2268
quick summary of where we left off. The Council had dedicated this land in August 2014 2269
and directed staff to work with the Commission to figure out the best use for the land. 2270
After the ranger-led tours and the public meeting, staff brought the issue to the 2271
Commission to discuss it on January 27th, last month. At the meeting, there was general 2272
consensus on how to move forward. The first general agreement was to fund and 2273
implement the hydrology study for Buckeye Creek. There was note that this should be 2274
completed before making any recommendations whatsoever on how to use the land for 2275
any other purpose. The second was to renew that Acterra nursery lease for a short-term 2276
basis so the city has flexibility to act on those recommendations that would come about 2277
through some hydrology study. I've recommended a year-to-year lease, as you saw in the 2278
staff report, with the option to renew for four additional years pending that mutual 2279 agreement and the city's approval. The third consensus was to keep that parcel closed to 2280 the public, which is status quo, until the hydrology study is complete. I would like to 2281 thank the Commission and the ad hoc committee for excellent guidance, really clear 2282
directions, and assistance with this process. That concludes my presentation. I'm 2283
available for any questions or comments. 2284
2285
Chair Reckdahl: Okay. Questions? 2286
2287
Chair Lauing: Do the ad hoc committee members want to add anything different or 2288
additional from last month? 2289
2290
Chair Reckdahl: Go ahead, Commissioner Hetterly. 2291
2292
Commissioner Hetterly: I was going to go ahead and move that we approve the 2293
recommendation. 2294
2295
Chair Reckdahl: Do we have a second? 2296
Draft Minutes 55
DRAFT
2297
Commissioner Lauing: Second. 2298
2299
Commissioner Knopper: Second. Oh, sorry. 2300
2301
STAFF RECOMMENDATION MOVED BY COMMISSIONER HETTERLY AND 2302
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER LAUING. 2303 2304
Chair Reckdahl: Commissioner Crommie. 2305
2306
Commissioner Crommie: I just had a question. Am I allowed to ask that? 2307
2308
Commissioner Hetterly: (inaudible) 2309
2310
Commissioner Lauing: Motion's on the table. 2311
2312
Commissioner Crommie: Thank you, Daren, for all your hard work on this as well as 2313
thank you to our ad hoc committee. I think this was a really good proposal. I wanted a 2314
sense of what you're thinking in terms of timeframe. The reason I'm asking this question 2315
is I know part of the proposal is to keep this land out of reach to the public. Any time we 2316
do have parkland, I think as a Commission we have to be very mindful of that. I take that 2317
very seriously as far as cutting off access. I know that in the past a couple of Council 2318
Members have asked if, while we're figuring this all out, we can have access. We've 2319
bantered that about. I think there are some good arguments in this proposal for why we 2320
cannot do that considering cost and safety, just to mention two of them. Can you just 2321 speak to this issue a little bit? We've been waiting decades for this, and I would just hate 2322 for it to go on and on. Can you give me some sense of what you're thinking in terms of 2323 the timeline? 2324
2325
Mr. Anderson: My hope for the timeline is that the capital improvement project is 2326
approved, and we are able to have access to the funds come July 1st. Once the funds are 2327
available, jump on this immediately. Go out to bid, see if we can find a good consultant 2328
to take on the hydrology study. The part of the timeframe that I’m uncertain about is how 2329
long it'll take to get the hydrology study completed. It would really be part of that pre-2330
bid proposal, where I'm hearing from consultants if they need to see it through a full rain 2331
cycle. In some preliminary outreach, we know that there are some contractors who have 2332
studied the hydrology in the general area. They might have a good enough understanding 2333
that could truncate that process a little bit, rather than having to see it over an extended 2334
period of time. That's an unknown at this point. I need more details to come through the 2335
outreach to these contractors and the people who study hydrology. That said, I could not 2336
foresee it going beyond a year. 2337
2338
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DRAFT
Commissioner Crommie: Just as far as how this is phrased here. It says, "Keep the 7.7-2339
acre parcel closed until after the hydrology study is completed." We know that once a 2340
study is completed, then we have to study the findings of the study, figure out where we 2341
want to go with that. I might try to make a friendly amendment to this or I wonder if we 2342
can have some kind of clarification about that. I wanted, I guess, more clarification on 2343
this statement. 2344 2345
Mr. Anderson: I understand what you mean. I think it bears elaboration. I think the 2346
right thing is after that study is complete, it comes back to the Commission and then we 2347
can look at all those options we vetted. Somewhere in there it could open early, because 2348
now you've got an understanding of the implications of the hydrology. It could remain 2349
closed. The reason I left it partially open is we know what the process will be after the 2350
hydrology study is complete. Somewhere in there it could open and maybe not. It would 2351
really be at the Commission's recommendation, which is what Council asked of you. We 2352
could add language or if you think that suffices, leave it as is. 2353
2354
Commissioner Crommie: As a Commission, I'd like a chance when it's on the table. It 2355
sounds like it's already on the table. I don't know the logistics of when I bring that up for 2356
discussion. I would like some guidance on having our Commission talk about the 2357
wording of Number 2. Is this the proper time to do that? I want to know if anyone else 2358
on the Commission ... 2359
2360
Commissioner Hetterly: Do you have a proposal for what (inaudible)? 2361
2362
Commissioner Crommie: What would I propose? 2363 2364 Commissioner Hetterly: Do you have a suggestion for what you would like? Do you 2365 have wording to propose? 2366
2367
Commissioner Crommie: Let me think a minute. Keep it closed until it's completed. 2368
Once it's completed, bring it back in a timely manner so we can reevaluate that. I don't 2369
know quite how to word that. I feel like it's just a little bit too open-ended. Does anyone 2370
else share my concern? 2371
2372
Commissioner Knopper: Actually no. It's not only with regard to the hydrologic study. 2373
Obviously you mentioned the safety issue with regard to the parcel. There's also a 2374
private residence, if you recall, that has three open sides. From a public-private 2375
perspective, we can't just open it to the public because then they'll end up trespassing. 2376
The other issue I want to bring up is after the hydrologic study and the conclusion of the 2377
Master Plan, having all of that data as well as the creek information, like structurally the 2378
creek issue, folding all that data together and then being able to systematically make 2379
decisions that are formed based on what this—because it's really 2.1 acres as we talked 2380
Draft Minutes 57
DRAFT
about that's buildable potentially. I think that's very clear. Keep the parcel closed until 2381
after the study and then we can deal with it at that point. I think the study is only one 2382
piece of it, because it's also about the Master Plan. 2383
2384
Chair Reckdahl: My concern would be that you could infer that first sentence says that 2385
once the study is complete, we will open it. That'd be my only concern about 2386 misinterpretation. If we want to say, "Shall remain closed at least until after the 2387
hydrology study is complete," that would say that we don't have any obligation to open it 2388
once the hydrological study is complete. 2389
2390
Commissioner Crommie: Okay. That's possible. Commissioner Knopper just said two 2391
things that I am not sure I personally agree with. I don't think it's really been established 2392
that only 2.1 acres of that are usable. We don't know that for certain. There are ways to 2393
build trails on—it's all predicated on flatness. We know that you can build trails in areas 2394
that are not flat. I don't agree with that. 2395
2396
Commissioner Lauing: What's wrong with leaving it open as it is? It seemed to me that 2397
the language you added didn't change the facts here, which is it's going to stay closed 2398
until the hydrologic study is complete. I'm not sure what your language does. It doesn't 2399
say it's going to open. It's just an extra sentence, just as I heard it anyway. All we're 2400
saying with the way it's written is that it's going to stay closed, if we approve this 2401
recommendation, until we get the results of the hydrologic study. After that we could 2402
make new recommendations the next day, I guess, technically the way this is written. 2403
2404
Commissioner Crommie: If that's the interpretation, that's fine with me. I like the idea 2405 once it's complete that it can come back to us immediately and we can try to open it. I 2406 wouldn't vote for something that's going to be closed indefinitely. I think the safety 2407 measures are workable. I personally believe that you can overcome that and open this up. 2408
There are ways to mitigate the dangers to the public. I think eventually our Commission 2409
is going to have to deal with this question of what we're doing next. I interpret this the 2410
way that, I guess, Commissioner Lauing just stated it; that as soon as it's complete, at any 2411
point it can come back to us and we can say we can open it. 2412
2413
Mr. Anderson: Would it be at all helpful if I added text to the staff report that goes to 2414
Council to just make that abundantly clear that this is the process that the Commission 2415
and staff intend to follow? Everything we just enumerated. That after this is done, 2416
immediately after, staff will bring this back to the Commission. One of the things that 2417
may result is opening it sooner rather than later, but we'll have the full breadth of 2418
information from the Master Plan and the hydrology study. We'll combine it to take the 2419
most prudent process forward. 2420
2421
Draft Minutes 58
DRAFT
Commissioner Crommie: I like that personally, because I’m not believing that it's 2422
impossible to open this land up. I actually believe it is possible, but I think the hydrology 2423
study takes precedence in my mind. That's why I would vote in favor of this. I do think 2424
it's possible to open up this land while we're studying it further. 2425
2426
Chair Reckdahl: Without an amendment, we go back to the Motion. We have a Motion 2427 and a second. All in favor say aye. Opposed. It passes. Thank you, Daren. 2428
2429
MOTION PASSES: 7-0 2430 2431
7. Other Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Updates. 2432 2433
Chair Reckdahl: Are there any ad hocs that have updates? 2434
2435
Commissioner Ashlund: Yeah. Commissioner Crommie and I met regarding the Lucy 2436
Evans Baylands Interpretive Center. We met with Daren Anderson regarding the site, 2437
and then with John Aikin to discuss the site and the CIPs that are available as well as 2438
future steps regarding programming. The three CIPs that are currently in process are a 2439
feasibility study to determine how to repair and replace the boardwalk. That RFP I 2440
assume went out; it was to go out last month. This study will complete in the fall and 2441
design can begin soon after pending Council approval. Cost of construction for the 2442
boardwalk will be determined during the study and further refined in the design stage. 2443
The second is the project for general improvements to the Interpretive Center. The scope 2444
of this project is decking, railing, structural framing as needed, exterior wood siding, 2445
flooring, cabinetry, and doors. That is interior as well as exterior, because the floor is 2446 continuous on the exterior of the building as well as inside. There's $100,000 budgeted 2447 for design in the current fiscal year and $405,000 scheduled for construction in fiscal year 2448 2016. This RFP did go out in January and design will begin this spring. Public Works 2449
had slated to do public input in the fall. We added that we should have Parks and Rec 2450
feedback prior to the public input phase on that process. The third one is improvements 2451
to the Interpretive Center exhibits, but this also includes the outdoor signage. That 2452
project is funded at $56,000 scheduled for fiscal year 2017. We discussed that that was 2453
insufficient budget for exhibits, but it's the starting point. We'll be going back after that. 2454
That is the current status. Commissioner Crommie, did you have anything to add? 2455
2456
Commissioner Crommie: Yes, thank you. The next step in this is to bring John Aikin to 2457
present to us on these CIPs with the main focus on the third one that Commissioner 2458
Ashlund just mentioned, which is the Interpretive Center exhibits. What we brought up 2459
in our meeting with John Aikin is that we're very interested in discussing programming 2460
and making sure that the facility is sustaining future programming. When we asked 2461
about that, he said that he thinks that the second CIP that Commissioner Ashlund 2462
mentioned will probably cover needs for reconfiguration, if any, in the interior space for 2463
Draft Minutes 59
DRAFT
programming. What was not covered is this concept of the exhibits. That's where John 2464
Aikin sees a deficit. He felt that we could actually be useful in examining that as a 2465
Commission. He said it broadly pertains to exhibits across the Baylands Open Space 2466
Preserve, if we want to look at this as an integrated endeavor. There's a lot of food for 2467
thought that he brought up in our meeting. I think our Commission would have some 2468
good input on that. Because we have members of our Commission that get involved in 2469 the CIP process, it'd be nice for us to get some of this information through a presentation 2470
and then decide if we want to try for any advocacy within the CIP process on this topic. 2471
The outcome of our meeting is I'm really hoping that we will bring this to the 2472
Commission as an agenda item. 2473
2474
Rob de Geus: That all makes sense to me. The sequencing of when to look at the exhibit 2475
CIP, I've talked to John Aikin about this as well. The boardwalk and knowing whether 2476
we're going to have a boardwalk or not or if it's going to change in some way and the 2477
facility and the walls and other things related to the second CIP that you spoke about, 2478
both of those will inform what we might do with the exhibit program. I want to be sure 2479
we get those going first and then integrate the exhibit CIP at the appropriate time. I agree 2480
that $56,000 is not enough really for what we would want to do there. To the point about 2481
exhibits, if you've been out there recently, there are four exhibits on the exterior but 2482
they're sitting on railing that's pretty old and falling apart. All the rails are rusted. Those 2483
things need to be understood in terms of what needs to be fixed before we can really 2484
design exhibits and how they might be installed as an example. 2485
2486
Commissioner Crommie: In that big picture concept, we'd want him to cover everything. 2487
2488 Mr. de Geus: Right, right, correct. 2489 2490 Chair Reckdahl: Any Lucy Evans improvements, is that all going to be funded through 2491
CIPs or could it be external funds? 2492
2493
Mr. de Geus: It could be external funds. These three CIPs are all within the CIP budget 2494
and the Infrastructure Reserve. We don't have any external funding. 2495
2496
Chair Reckdahl: Is there a Friends of the Baylands or is it just Friends of Parks? 2497
2498
Mr. de Geus: We don't have a Friends of the Baylands. 2499
2500
Commissioner Ashlund: We talked about the need for something like that too. There's 2501
not a Friends group associated with that facility at this point. 2502
2503
Mr. de Geus: Not specifically. We have Friends of Palo Alto Parks and we have the 2504
environmental volunteers of course that are out there. 2505
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DRAFT
2506
Chair Reckdahl: Let's talk offline and bring this up in a future meeting. 2507
2508
Commissioner Crommie: This has a lot of visibility right now, which is very important. 2509
Commissioner Ashlund and I, in talking to John Aikin, agreed that we need to act now 2510
with a vision because of the visibility and the momentum. This is the time to do it if we 2511 want to advocate for any kind of global envisioning, when it comes to something like 2512
exhibits. 2513
2514
Chair Reckdahl: Any other ad hocs? Okay. 2515
2516
V. COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 2517 2518
Chair Reckdahl: Rob, did you have any announcements? 2519
2520
Rob de Geus: It's late so I'll be quick. We do have our summer camp and aquatics 2521
registration coming up. We did have a fair over the weekend at Mitchell Park, which was 2522
a lot of fun. A lot of parents and children attended that and met some of the staff. By 2523
5:00 p.m. this Friday, submissions need to be in so we can process the summer camp 2524
program. I wanted to give an update on the CIP program. Generally the Commission 2525
worked with staff in defining priorities. That's moving through the process. We still 2526
have Buckeye Creek, of course a high priority, Bol Park. The Baylands Comprehensive 2527
Conservation Plan is in there as well. Hopefully that will get approved, which actually 2528
could inform exhibits. Also Cubberley is also now coming into play, because we have an 2529
agreement with the school district that defines specific funding to support the Cubberley 2530 campus. There's a few things that I'd love to see fixed there; the tennis courts as an 2531 example. They're really in bad shape. There's a number of other things that we'd just like 2532 to get fixed up at Cubberley as well as starting the Master Planning process for the future 2533
of Cubberley. 2534
2535
Commissioner Lauing: What about that fire hazard at Foothills? Was that put in the 2536
CIPs from a different group? 2537
2538
Mr. de Geus: No. That's an interesting question. It was requested that it wouldn't be put 2539
in the capital budget, but rather be put forward as an operating budget request between 2540
Public Works, Community Services and Fire. We're submitting it that way. It's in the 2541
mix, so we'll see if it gets approved. That's it. 2542
2543
Chair Reckdahl: What's the status on El Camino Park? 2544
2545
Mr. de Geus: The status on El Camino Park is it's moving forward. I believe something 2546
had begun on site. I don't know that they had a specific groundbreaking, that I’m aware 2547
Draft Minutes 61
DRAFT
of at least. We've been moving forward and hope to have it completed by the end of the 2548
calendar year with an open facility. A long time coming. 2549
2550
Chair Reckdahl: How about the Mayfield turf? I think we'd said that we were looking at 2551
a February timeframe to start the turf. I think that's been pushed back. 2552
2553 Mr. de Geus: I think it's on schedule. We're a bit behind, I should say first of all. The 2554
most recent schedule, we're sticking with that. Both fields need to be replaced in terms of 2555
the turf. 2556
2557
Chair Reckdahl: They're doing it sequentially, so we only lose one field at a time? 2558
2559
Mr. de Geus: That's correct. 2560
2561
Commissioner Ashlund: Can I request an update on Magical Bridge next time if 2562
possible? I know there's been a lot of progress there, so any word you have on the 2563
opening. 2564
2565
Mr. de Geus: Yeah, that'll be good timing. By the end of March I think it's intended to 2566
be open if all goes according to plan. 2567
2568
Chair Reckdahl: How about Scott Park? 2569
2570
Mr. de Geus: I'll have to get back to you on Scott Park. I'm not sure what the status is on 2571
that. 2572 2573
VI. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR MARCH 24, 2015 MEETING 2574 2575
Chair Reckdahl: Maybe you should talk about the retreat first. 2576
2577
Rob de Geus: The retreat we have scheduled for March 20th from noon to 3:00 at 2578
Mitchell Park Community Center. 2579
2580
Chair Reckdahl: We're not doing Foothills. 2581
2582
Mr. de Geus: Not this time. Was it not available or we just went with Mitchell? 2583
2584
Catherine Bourquin: Sorry, it was more convenient for me to reserve Mitchell this time. 2585
2586
Mr. de Geus: It was more convenience for Catherine, so we're at Mitchell. 2587
2588
Draft Minutes 62
DRAFT
Commissioner Knopper: Are we in the library or are we actually in the Community 2589
Center? 2590
2591
Vice Chair Markevitch: Probably the community center. 2592
2593
Mr. de Geus: If there's a desire for the Commission to be somewhere else, we can do 2594 that. Mitchell's a nice change. 2595
2596
Chair Reckdahl: It's a new facility. In some ways it's nice to use the new facility. 2597
2598
Mr. de Geus: Yeah, I agree. 2599
2600
Chair Reckdahl: If anything's wrong with it, we can complain. 2601
2602
Mr. de Geus: It keeps Catherine happy too, so that's always good. The question will be, 2603
what do we do at that retreat? I think there's two possibilities. One is a typical retreat 2604
that we do, where we take some time to really reflect on the year past and the year ahead 2605
and try to plan out the year in priorities and see if we can set the agenda to some degree 2606
for the next several months. The alternative is to focus on the Parks Master Plan. That 2607
really depends on how far MIG can get with staff in preparing the matrix and the data and 2608
the binders, so that we can have a productive meeting. We'll have to see. We have a 2609
little bit of time; I guess about a month to prepare for that. I suspect we're not going to be 2610
ready by March 20th to do that deep dive in the matrix and the Summary of Needs, 2611
because there's just so much information. I don't want to go forward with it unless it's 2612
really ready and well thought through. 2613 2614 Chair Reckdahl: I am concerned that if we wait too long and they fill it out the wrong 2615 way too much, then they'll say, "Well, we put so much into this, you can't change it now." 2616
2617
Mr. de Geus: That's a fair point too. That's something that perhaps we can talk about 2618
over the next month to see where things are at. We can also talk with MIG and make the 2619
call as we get a little closer. Everybody's got it on their calendar? Either way it'll be ... 2620
2621
Chair Reckdahl: We will have a retreat on the 20th. We will set the content, and then 2622
Rob will send something out by email depending on what the content is. We'll prepare 2623
for the regular retreat. I think the highest priority is Master Plan. If we're anywhere close 2624
to having something, we should do the Master Plan. 2625
2626
Commissioner Lauing: If that happens, then we're going to put the retreat content into 2627
one of our subsequent meetings, correct? As opposed to setting another retreat to do the 2628
real retreat. 2629
2630
Draft Minutes 63
DRAFT
Chair Reckdahl: I guess we can talk about that at the retreat. 2631
2632
Commissioner Lauing: Unless the retreat is the 20th, right? 2633
2634
Chair Reckdahl: Yes. On the 20th, if we're discussing the Master Plan, then as part of 2635
that we can talk about when we want the regular retreat content. 2636 2637
Commissioner Lauing: Right, but it's not going to be on the 20th if that happens. We 2638
can't squeeze in both the retreat agenda and essentially a study session on the Master 2639
Plan. 2640
2641
Mr. de Geus: We can add that to the agenda. Assuming the Master Plan is ready, we can 2642
add to the agenda on the 24th of March what we want to do with a future retreat, I 2643
suppose. 2644
2645
Chair Reckdahl: Or even on the 20th too we could talk about it. Either way. 2646
2647
Commissioner Lauing: You're going to have two agendas ready for the 20th? Like two 2648
game plans and then whatever one ... 2649
2650
Chair Reckdahl: Yeah. Pat and I will get input from people on the path forward for the 2651
Commission. We'll put that on the shelf if the Master Plan comes in. Does that seem 2652
reasonable? 2653
2654
Commissioner Lauing: Yeah. 2655 2656 Commissioner Hetterly: In terms of putting things on the table for the retreat if it were to 2657 be the planning the year retreat on the 20th, I'm not sure how the Brown Act weighs in on 2658
that. If more than two Commissioners have thoughts about it, then they need to send it to 2659
you not to ... 2660
2661
Mr. de Geus: Send it to staff, yeah. 2662
2663
Commissioner Hetterly: Everybody should do that, send your comments or suggestions 2664
for the retreat to Rob and not to Keith. 2665
2666
Commissioner Crommie: Can you frame that a little bit more when you say suggestions? 2667
What do you mean exactly? Are we going to base it on past retreats? I'm a little 2668
confused. 2669
2670
Chair Reckdahl: Yeah. In past retreats, we've talked about what ad hocs we would have 2671
and what priorities we would have. If there's other paths forward or any guidance that 2672
Draft Minutes 64
DRAFT
you want to give, that you want to talk about, give it to Rob or come prepared to talk 2673
about it. If it's just your two cents, you can give that at the retreat. 2674
2675
Commissioner Crommie: Right. I've thought that when we're actually at the retreat, we 2676
discuss quite a few things as a group as far as we traditionally form subcommittees. 2677
We'll decide which ones to carry forward and whether we need any more. 2678 2679
Chair Reckdahl: I think the only exception is if it's anything where Rob has to gather 2680
data or one of us has to gather data. We want to know about that before the meeting, so 2681
we can get any supporting material. 2682
2683
Commissioner Crommie: Can you just give an example of what you mean? 2684
2685
Chair Reckdahl: If we're talking about, say, summer camps, and you want some 2686
information about the summer camps so that we can talk about making different types of 2687
summer camps or marketing them better, then you would want some information from 2688
Rob about how well the summer camps went this year, how the sign-ups went, what was 2689
popular, what was not popular. If we get over to Mitchell Park and we're inside and you 2690
want to talk about the summer camps, then we don't have the data. The only reason that 2691
you would want to send stuff to Rob is if some preparation has to go into that before the 2692
retreat. 2693
2694
Mr. de Geus: I think that's fair; although, I would add that we don't really want to work 2695
any issue at the retreat necessarily. We're trying to put things on the table that 2696
Commissioners or staff think have a policy implication of some type that we might weigh 2697 in on as a Commission and to advise Council on. If you have those kinds of ... 2698 2699 Commissioner Lauing: Or if someone has format changes compared to the default of 2700
previous years, that would be fair game to also forward to you. 2701
2702
Mr. de Geus: Absolutely, sure. 2703
2704
Commissioner Lauing: I think, Commissioner Crommie, what we're saying is that we 2705
would just go with the normal default as we've usually done unless someone has a great 2706
idea that the Chair and the Vice decide we should make this shift. 2707
2708
Commissioner Crommie: Right. I was just hoping people could bring those great ideas 2709
up right now at our meeting. That's traditionally what we've done. I guess I’m a little bit 2710
confused in this outsourcing proposal. I feel like this is the time for people to bring up 2711
ideas. 2712
2713
Draft Minutes 65
DRAFT
Commissioner Hetterly: Sorry. I think I complicated the issue by raising it. We don't 2714
have it on the agenda today to discuss the retreat. We don't even know when we're going 2715
hold the retreat. Since we're in this Plan A/Plan B scenario for the 20th, I just wanted to 2716
remind everyone that if we do end up having the retreat on the 20th, be cautious of the 2717
Brown Act. 2718
2719 Commissioner Crommie: Now I understand where you're coming from. Just to clarify, I 2720
thought we had a date and a time. Is that not true? 2721
2722
Mr. de Geus: Yeah, we do. March 20th, noon to 3:00. We'll provide lunch. 2723
2724
Chair Reckdahl: March 20th, we will have a retreat. The only issue is the content of the 2725
retreat. Is it the traditional content or is it just the Master Plan? We might do 3 hours on 2726
the Master Plan. 2727
2728
Commissioner Crommie: We're going to have to notice this? 2729
2730
Mr. de Geus: Oh, yeah. 2731
2732
Chair Reckdahl: Oh, yeah. 2733
2734
Commissioner Crommie: Maybe we've just neglected to put it on the agenda. In the past 2735
we've often discussed it at our meeting prior to the retreat. 2736
2737
Mr. de Geus: I think we have. I think that's right. 2738 2739 Commissioner Crommie: I was just a little bit ... 2740 2741
Mr. de Geus: Retreat planning I think, yeah. 2742
2743
Commissioner Crommie: Right. That's okay. 2744
2745
Chair Reckdahl: Agenda items for next month, for the 24th. 2746
2747
Mr. de Geus: We have a Byxbee Park plan. 2748
2749
Commissioner Crommie: I just wanted to comment that Daren is working very hard on 2750
that. We have an ad hoc subcommittee that needs to meet before we present that. We 2751
were almost ready to meet. Now we're probably going to meet really soon. That's 2752
Commissioner Reckdahl and myself. 2753
2754
Chair Reckdahl: He has the feedback from the consultant now, so we can talk about it. 2755
Draft Minutes 66
DRAFT
2756
Commissioner Crommie: Right. I think we're ready to set our meeting. He's ready. 2757
2758
Chair Reckdahl: I assume Master Plan is going to come up. 2759
2760
Mr. de Geus: Yeah, Parks Master Plan will be back. 2761 2762
Commissioner Crommie: Can we invite John Aikin to come and speak about the 2763
Baylands CIP? If we have room in the meeting. 2764
2765
Mr. de Geus: I don't think he'll have a whole lot of information by next month, is my 2766
sense. This is related to the exhibits specifically? 2767
2768
Commissioner Crommie: Yeah. When Commissioner Ashlund and I spoke with him, he 2769
made it sound like he was ready to come as soon we were able to have him. 2770
2771
Mr. de Geus: Okay, I'll check with him. 2772
2773
Commissioner Crommie: If you could just talk to him about that. 2774
2775
Mr. de Geus: Okay. 2776
2777
Chair Reckdahl: What is the schedule for determining CIPs? 2778
2779
Mr. de Geus: We're in the process of getting the new five-year plan approved. We run 2780 on a fiscal year from July 1 to June 30th. Now we're doing the 2016-2020 five-year plan 2781 and trying to get the first year, 2016, the actual budget approved. The other four years 2782 are just a plan. 2783
2784
Chair Reckdahl: We submitted a bunch for this coming fiscal year. 2785
2786
Mr. de Geus: Right. We're still in the process of getting those approved. 2787
2788
Chair Reckdahl: That goes up one level, and then they throw some out and keep some. 2789
Then they submit that to a higher level, to the Council. 2790
2791
Mr. de Geus: Right. It goes up several levels. So far all of our priorities remain in there, 2792
which is good news. 2793
2794
Chair Reckdahl: It's made it through the first cut, and now it's going to Council. 2795
2796
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Mr. de Geus: Correct. After July 1, after the budget has been approved, we can start 2797
over in evaluating the next round. 2798
2799
Chair Reckdahl: What is the date for the Council to approve it? 2800
2801
Mr. de Geus: I saw the schedule this week. I'll have to send it out. I know the 2802 Community Services budget is scheduled to go to the Finance Committee—are you on 2803
the Finance Committee, Council Member? Yeah. I think it's May 5th for the CSD 2804
operating budget. The capital budget goes on a different schedule. I'll have to send that 2805
calendar out to you all. 2806
2807
Chair Reckdahl: So we will not have any news about CIPs next month? 2808
2809
Mr. de Geus: No. 2810
2811
Vice Chair Markevitch: We only have two agenda items so far for next month. 2812
2813
Mr. de Geus: I'll have to check with Daren and with Peter to see if there are any park 2814
projects that need to come forward. 2815
2816
Chair Reckdahl: The other option is if the agenda's looking thin next month, we could do 2817
the Master Plan that evening on the 24th at our regular meeting or have a two-hour chunk 2818
out of it, some big chunk of the evening meeting. Then just have a retreat on the 20th, 2819
our normal retreat. 2820
2821 Mr. de Geus: We could do that. It feels to me like that's a really big discussion, and 2822 something that might lend itself to not being in this format and not going late into the 2823 evening. 2824
2825
Commissioner Crommie: When do we get the revenue report? Is that part of the Master 2826
Plan? That's an important piece that we haven't seen yet. 2827
2828
Mr. de Geus: The cost and prices. I haven't seen that either. I think they're working on 2829
that. We received today the survey results, a summary of the survey results. I haven't 2830
read it yet. That's the latest I've gotten from MIG. 2831
2832
Commissioner Crommie: As far as the next time we talk about the Master Plan, do we 2833
have a topic that we're expecting to talk about? Would we be talking about those survey 2834
results? That's a pretty meaty topic. 2835
2836
Mr. de Geus: On the 24th? 2837
2838
Draft Minutes 68
DRAFT
Commissioner Crommie: Yeah. 2839
2840
Mr. de Geus: The survey results would be in there. That alone could be enough of a 2841
topic for the Master Plan. 2842
2843
Chair Reckdahl: Do you have any more comments? Okay. 2844 2845
VII. ADJOURNMENT 2846 2847
Meeting adjourned on motion by Commissioner Hetterly and second by Commissioner 2848
Ashlund at 10:52 p.m. 2849
Draft Minutes 69
TO: PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
FROM: COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS
DATE: MARCH 24, 2015 SUBJECT: PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE, AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
No action to be taken.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto has 36 parks and open space preserves covering approximately
4,165 acres of land, which includes Foothills Park, Pearson Arastradero Preserve, and the Baylands Nature Preserve. A Capital Improvement Project for a Parks, Trails, Open
Space, and Recreation Master Plan (Parks Master Plan) was adopted by Council for
the 2013 fiscal year. The purpose of this project is to provide the necessary analysis
and review of Palo Alto’s parks and recreation system for the preparation of a Parks
Master Plan. The Parks Master Plan will provide the City with clear guidance regarding future renovations and capital improvement projects aimed at meeting current and
future demands for our recreational, programming, environmental, and maintenance
needs. It will establish a prioritized schedule of future park renovations and facility
improvements.
Currently, MIG (the consultant creating the Parks Master Plan) is in the analysis phase
of the project. As part of this first phase, MIG is reviewing and analyzing the many
components that make up Palo Alto’s parks and recreation system. These components
include: each park location; demographic information; sustainability; recreational
programming; community input from intercept groups, community/stakeholder workshops, community surveys; and feedback from boards, commissions, and staff.
DISCUSSION
The consultant will review and request input on the following items with the Parks and
Recreation Commission:
• Community Survey Summary: The consultants have provided a memo (attached) highlighting items to be reviewed and discussed by the commission
during the meeting. A survey summary (attached) is provided to review the
results of the survey with the commission.
• Existing Conditions Maps: Plans provided in the project binders for commissioners to review and provide feedback.
NEXT STEPS
Parks and Recreation Commission Study Session Workshop (Late April)
Community/Stakeholder Priority Workshops (Spring 2015)
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The proposed CIP recommendations are consistent with Policy C-26 of the Community
Services element of the Comprehensive Plan that encourages maintaining park
facilities as safe and healthy community assets; and Policy C-22 that encourages new
community facilities to have flexible functions to ensure adaptability to the changing needs of the community.
ATTACHMENTS
• Community Survey Memo
• Community Survey Summary
• Existing Conditions Maps – Distributed in project binder
PREPARED BY
Peter Jensen Landscape Architect City of Palo Alto
To: Palo Alto Park and Recreation Commission, Peter Jensen, Rob DeGeus
From: Ryan Mottau and Ellie Fiore, MIG
Re: Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan Initial Survey Summary
Date: March 17, 2015
Initial Summary
Per the original scope, MIG developed a Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation
Master Plan Survey to be administered using the City’s subscription to the Vovici
internet survey tool. The survey instrument was developed with extensive input
from the survey ad hoc committee and the full Park and Recreation Commission
prior to release in November 2014. The survey was distributed broadly to citizens,
employees and visitors in Palo Alto through December 9. The open, online access
provided by Vovici allows for the broadest possible reach and collects the largest
set of responses. Thanks to the efforts of the City and the PRC in getting the word
out, this survey ended with 1164 responses. For comparison purposes, a similarly-
scaled phone survey would have collected approximately 400 responses and
would not have covered as many topics or provided as many opportunities for
open-ended responses. Typical questions expressed about online surveys include
data quality control and representation, both of which are addressed in this
memo.
The attached summary is provided for preliminary review of the initial summary of
responses. This memo highlights the quality control practices, the quota sampling
criteria for balancing representation in the results and options for further analysis.
Total Response and Quality Control
The results presented in the attached summary include the full set of 1,164
responses which have been checked for duplicates and evidence of any
intentional multiple responses using the time/date stamp and originating IP
address. With the exception of a limited number of duplicate entries (probably
created by pressing the submit button more than once) which were removed,
there was no evidence of any multiple entries.
Proposed Quota Sampling
Early on in the process, as we determined the distribution methods for advertising
a Vovici-based survey of the community, MIG indicated that with enough
responses, a representative sample could be derived from within the response set
using quota sampling. This methodology allows a sample to be drawn from the
available data that is proportional to the population. The key is to use known,
mutually exclusive categories of respondents (such as age, race or the presence
of children in the household) to determine a set of quotas for responses. These
quotas can be applied to a sampling process (working within the universe of
available responses) to balance the results for critical perspectives.
The selection of the criteria for quota sampling needs to balance the available
results as well as the perspectives that are most important to ensure
representation in the sample. The MIG team proposes the following criteria for
quota sampling, aligning with ACS:
65% White/Caucasian
2.7% African American
26% Asian/Pacific Islander
8% Hispanic
35% households with children under 18;
65% without children under 18
A quota based sample of 400 responses from the available data will be able to
closely match the overall Palo Alto population on these key features.
Due to the low number of respondents in age groups under 35, MIG recommends
addressing age representation separately with a combination of additional (focus
group based) outreach to younger residents. This outreach will identify ideas and
issues unique to the younger population to supplement the information in this
survey.
Request from the PRC
At the March PRC meeting, MIG will be presenting the key findings identified from
this complete set of results and requests the following:
• Identification of key findings from your perspective
• Feedback on proposed quota based sampling process
1
COMMUNITY SURVEY INITIAL SUMMARY
As part of the Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan’s
multi-layered community engagement strategy, the planning team
developed and distributed an online survey in November 2014. The survey
instrument (attached to this summary) was refined in collaboration with the
Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC). The 43-question survey was
designed to gain insight into the community’s priorities for its park and
recreation system. The question design allowed the respondents to select
the approaches they felt were most important or most appropriate for Palo
Alto. The options were generated from prior analysis of the system and
community outreach. City staff and the PRC’s effective distribution of the
survey resulted in 1,164 survey participants— an excellent response rate
for an online survey. Nearly three times as many participants responded to
this survey as participate in a typical phone survey.
Following is a summary of the survey organized by the sections of the
survey: Preserves, Natural Features and Sustainability, Parks and Facilities,
Recreation Center and Programs, Use of Limited Resources, Meeting
Community Needs, Interpretation and Communications. The table of
contents for this document is presented below.
Section Page
Survey Respondents At-a-Glance .............................................. 2
Overall Themes ............................................................................ 4
Preserves, Natural Features and Sustainability ......................... 5
Parks and Facilities ...................................................................... 8
Recreation Center and Programs ............................................... 12
Using Limited Resources ............................................................ 16
Meeting Community Needs ......................................................... 19
Interpretation and Communications ........................................... 20
Open Ended Responses .............................................................. 24
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 2
Survey Respondents At-a-Glance
Respondents included a mix of Palo Alto residents, employees, business
owners and visitors (see Table 1), with nearly all respondents indicating
that they live in Palo Alto (see Graph 1). Compared to citywide
demographics, as reported in the 2009-2013 American Community Survey1
5-Year estimates, the survey was able to capture results from all major
race/ethnicity categories (see Table 2). The demographic makeup of the
complete set of results does not match the race/ethnicity profile of the
community. However, a proposed quota based sampling method could
balance the representation in a sub-sample of these results. Other
identifying responses such as gender (Table 3), children in the household
(Tables 4 and 5), age (Table 6) and area of the city (Table 7) can also be
used to explore differences in the responses to specific questions.
Table 1: Do you live or work in Palo Alto? (Select all that apply)
Answer Count Percentage
Live in Palo Alto 978 84%
Work in Palo Alto 313 27%
Live in a nearby community 132 11%
Own a business in Palo Alto 70 6%
Visitor 21 2%
Total Respondents 1164
Graph 1: Respondents indicating they live in Palo Alto
1 The American Community Survey, or ACS, is a Census Bureau survey conducted with a smaller
sample size and set of questions than the decennial Census. The ACS provides more frequent
data to communities.
Live in
Palo Alto
86%
Live
nearby
12%
Visitor
2%
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 3
Table 2: Race/Ethnicity
Answer
Survey
Count
Survey
Percentage
ACS
2009-13
White/Caucasian 886 76% 65%
Asian/Pacific Islander 180 15% 26%
Hispanic/Latino 24 2% 8%*
American Indian or Alaska Native 6 1% 0.1%
African American 5 0.4% 2.7%
Other (please specify) 39 3% 6.3%
Total Respondents 1164
Note: respondents were allowed to select all that apply for responses to where they live/work and
their ethnicity.
*Hispanic identity is asked separately in the American Community Survey
Table 3: Gender
Answer Count Percentage
Female 733 63%
Male 411 35%
No Answer 20 2%
Total Respondents 1164 100%
Table 4: Do you have children/youth in your household? Select all that apply
Answer Count Percentage
Yes, ages 0-5 146 13%
Yes, ages 6-12 438 38%
Yes, ages 13-18 317 27%
Yes, ages 19 and up 163 14%
No 394 34%
Total Respondents 1164 100%
Table 5: Presence of children/youth in the household
Answer Count
Survey
Percentage
ACS
2009-13
Yes (any age group) 770 66% 35%
No 394 34% 65%
Total Respondents 1164 100%
Table 6: What is your age?
Answer Count Percentage
ACS 2009-
13
Under 18 8 1% 23%
18-24 8 1% 6%
25-34 39 3% 13%
35-44 234 20% 14%
45-54 381 33% 16%
55-64 244 21% 12%
65-74 167 14% 8.6%
Above 75 65 6% 8.3%
Total Respondents 1164 100%
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 4
Table 7: If you live in Palo Alto, which neighborhood do you reside in? Results
summarized by location north or south of Oregon Expressway.
Summary Category Count Percentage
Respondents in Neighborhoods North
of Oregon Expressway 435 45%
Respondents in Neighborhoods South
of Oregon Expressway 490 50%
Not Sure/No Answer 53 5%
Total Respondents 978 100%
Themes & Key Findings
The following represents the highest level summary of themes (which
emerged across multiple questions) as well as key findings which provide
actionable data on topics that are important to the planning process.
Respondents value, support and appreciate their parks system. They
recognize that it is a high-quality system and they have ideas for how it
could be even better. Overall, they expressed support for:
• Integrating nature throughout the park and recreation system,
supported by responses to all questions in the Preserves, Natural
Features and Sustainability section of the survey.
• Opportunities for fitness and health in parks (providing opportunities
such as loop trails and paths) and programming (including fitness
classes, sports, and senior wellness), see Graphs 7, 9 and 10.
• Priority for local needs and access, see Graphs 13, 14, 16.
• Expanding and improving the bicycle and pedestrian network to and
within parks, see Graphs 7 and 15.
• Improvements to the existing park and recreation system with
enhancements to neighborhood parks throughout the city (the top
ranked choice of 5 major directions in Graph 16 with over 70%
ranking it #1 or #2).
• Enhancing sustainability in the Parks system, see Graph 2, 4 and 22.
• Centralized and electronic communications from the City, supported
by the final set of questions in Graph 23.
The following emerged as strong findings on key issues:
• Water conservation and recycling measures are seen as very
appropriate, including: expanding recycled water use (73%),
removing grass turf where not needed for sports (61%) and
installing stormwater absorbing features (77%).
• There is strong support for improved and additional restrooms in the
parks. 81% of respondents indicated that restrooms are important-
very important additions or improvements to existing parks.
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 5
• Other comfort and convenience features are also important. 72% of
respondents indicated drinking fountains and faucets are important
to add/enhance, along with places to sit (62%), shade (61%).
• Respondents agree that improvements to dog facilities are needed;
preferences for how this is done vary largely based on dog
ownership. Improving existing dog parks was indicated as most
appropriate with 59%; additionally 43% of respondents think it is not
appropriate to do nothing (add no additional dog parks in Palo Alto).
• Preference for natural turf over artificial turf athletic fields. 43%
indicate it is not appropriate to use artificial turf to reduce water use
and expand playing time; 50% indicate it is very appropriate to avoid
artificial turf in favor of natural grass.
• Extending hours for sports fields was strongly supported (54%
support, 19% oppose) as a management strategy, along with
confirmation of many of the elements of the existing policy.
• Gym based sports were the most important recreation program
addition or enhancement with 50% indicating it is important or very
important.
• All existing types of activities/users at the Cubberley Community
Center are seen as important by at least 30% of the respondents
(with the highest, outdoor sports, at 60%). Accommodating the
variety of activities will require greater flexibility in the facility.
Preserves, Natural Features and Sustainability
This section of the survey invited survey participants to indicate their
preferences for enhancing the ecological functions and sustainable
management of Palo Alto’s parks.
Key Findings
Wildlife Habitat Enhancement
Respondents strongly value wildlife habitat enhancement, above all other
options for protecting the City's natural areas, such as parks and open
space preserves (see Graph 2). Respondents indicated that the three most
important options for achieving the goal of protecting natural areas are:
1. Plant more ecologically appropriate trees in parks that support
habitat (74% indicated as important or very important)
2. Support wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity (70% indicated as
important or very important)
3. Incorporate bird- and butterfly-friendly plants in our neighborhood
parks and streetscapes (66% indicated as important or very
important)
Less than 5% of respondents indicated the above approaches to habitat
enhancements are not important.
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 6
Connecting People With Nature
Respondents indicated that the three most appropriate options for
connecting people with nature are:
1. Natural paths (82% indicated as appropriate or very appropriate).
This preference aligns with a general support for trails shown
throughout the survey.
2. Nature play (65% indicated as appropriate or very appropriate)
3. Environmental and educational opportunities such as signage or
enhanced interpretive centers (55% indicated as appropriate or very
appropriate)
Environmentally Sustainable Policies and Practices
Water recycling and stormwater management systems were most favored
by respondents. Respondents indicated that the three most important
options for creating a more environmentally sustainable park system in
Palo Alto are:
1. Features that allow soils to absorb rain and reduce stormwater
runoff (77% indicated appropriate or very appropriate)
2. Expand the use of recycled water for irrigation (73% indicated it is
appropriate or very appropriate)
3. Removing grass turf where not needed for sports to reduce water
use and replacing with other features including native plants (61%
consider appropriate or very appropriate)
Other
Other notable findings from the Preserves, Natural Features and
Sustainability section of the survey include the following:
• Edible plants
Respondents are more supportive of community gardens than they
are of incorporating edible plants and herbs into the landscape.
o 47% indicated it was appropriate or very appropriate to
designate more space for community gardens (see Graph 4)
o 11% indicated incorporating edible plants is important and
30% believed it is not important (see Graph 2)
• Artificial Turf
o Survey respondents were not generally in favor of using
artificial turf sports fields as a water conservation strategy in
Palo Alto’s park system (see Graph 4)
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 7
Graph 2: How important are these options for achieving the goal of protecting
City's natural areas such as parks and open space preserves?
Graph 3: How appropriate are these ideas for connecting people to nature at one
of Palo Alto's open spaces?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Incorporating bird- and butterfly-friendly …
Re-naturalizing creek banks in parks
Planting more ecologically appropriate trees …
Replacing manicured spaces, such as mowed …
Incorporating edible plants such as fruit and …
Supporting wildlife corridors and habitat …
Removing invasive plant species
Other (please specify below)
1- Not important
2
3
4
5- Very important
No answer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Event pavilion or large covered picnic areas
Paved paths (e.g. asphalt, concrete)
Natural paths (e.g. dirt, decomposed granite,
base rock)
Nature play (e.g. spaces for kids to dig in dirt,
climb logs and play in water)
Open space for large group activities such as
Frisbee or other pickup games
Environmental and educational opportunities
such as signage or enhanced interpretive …
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 8
Graph 4: How appropriate are these policies and practices to create a more
environmentally sustainable park system in Palo Alto?
Parks and Facilities
The Parks and Facilities section of the survey asked participants to rank
new or additional features to Palo Alto’s park system. The results reveal
some clear preferences for among respondents.
Key Findings
Re-Imagining Parks and Recreation Facilities
Respondents did not voice remarkably strong support for any one option
as being especially appropriate for re-imagining parks and recreation
facilities in Palo Alto (see Graph 5).
Respondents indicated the most support for:
1. Small-scale features that add new activities to parks such as
badminton courts, ping pong courts/tables or bocce ball (43%
indicated small as appropriate or very appropriate)
More than 250 survey participants also included their own ideas for new
features. Respondents used this opportunity to express support for many
features that are also addressed elsewhere in this survey, from restrooms
to off-leash areas for dogs. Respondents also indicated support for
additional skate park facilities. While these individual comments are useful
in generating ideas, they are not numerous enough to set direction by.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Expanding use of recycled water for irrigation
of turf and landscaped areas
Using artificial turf on sports fields to reduce
water use and expand playing time
Avoiding artificial turf in favor of natural grass
turf that absorbs water and doesn’t use …
Removing grass turf where not needed for
sports to reduce water use and replacing …
Designating more space for community
gardens and spaces for urban agriculture
Installing features that allow soil to absorb rain
and reducing storm water runoff
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 9
Make Parks More Comfortable And Convenient
There were clear preferences for additions and improvements to make
parks more comfortable and convenient (see Graph 6). Respondents
indicated that the three most important additions and improvements are:
1. Restrooms (81% indicated as important or very important, with 61%
of those respondents indicating restrooms are very important)
2. Drinking fountains (62% indicated as important or very important)
3. More benches and places to sit (62% indicated as important or very
important)
Respondents did not think Wi-Fi in the parks was especially important, with
45% of respondents indicating that it was not important to making the
parks more comfortable and convenient (see Graph 6).
Enhancing Health and Well-Being Of Community Members
Responses revealed a preference for paths over exercise equipment and
classes (see Graph 7). Respondents indicated that the three most
important additions or improvements are:
1. Bicycle and pedestrian connections to parks (80% indicated as
important or very important)
2. Loop paths (75% indicated as important or very important)
3. Quiet areas for relaxation (69% indicated as important or very
important)
Exercise-specific programming, including exercise equipment and classes,
did not receive as much support; with about 35% of respondents indicating
they were not appropriate or somewhat appropriate (see Graph 7).
Other
Other notable findings from the Parks and Facilities section of the survey
include the following:
• Public Transit
Public transit was ranked as important or very important by 40% of
respondents. It is important to note that some of the 15% of
respondents who indicated that public transit is very important may
rely on public transit to access parks.
• Dog Parks
More non-dog owners (662) than dog owners (421) participated in
the survey. Both dog owners and non-dog owners agree there is a
need to improve existing dog parks however they do not agree on
what those improvements should look like (see Graph 8).
o Dog owners were very supportive of all ideas to expand
recreation with dogs.
o The only option generally agreed upon by both dog owners
and non-dog owners is to improve the existing dog parks.
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 10
o Additional dedicated off-leash dog areas are supported by
dog owners (66% indicated they are appropriate or very
appropriate) while only 30% of non-dog owners indicated
additional off-leash dog areas are appropriate or very
appropriate.
o Sharing other spaces for off-leash dog recreation was slightly
negatively viewed, (48% negative and 35% positive for non
fenced areas and 44% negative to 36% positive in existing
fenced areas)
• Concessions
The majority of respondents indicated that the addition of food and
beverage services to Palo Alto’s parks is not appropriate as a new
park feature, nor is food important to making the parks more
comfortable and convenient (see Graphs 5 and 6).
Graph 5: How appropriate are the following features in Palo Alto, given the
opportunity by the long-range Master Plan to re-imagine parks and recreation
facilities?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Food and beverage services at high traffic
parks
Small scale features that add new activities to
parks such as badminton courts, ping pong
courts/tables or bocce ball
Bike skills area/pump track – a small looped
dirt track that can be used by mountain bikes,
BMX bikes or kids bikes
Other (please specify below)
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 11
Graph 6: How important are these additions/improvements to existing park
facilities to make park visits more comfortable and convenient?
Graph 7: How appropriate are these additions/improvements to existing park and
recreation system in Palo Alto to achieve the goal of enhancing health and well-
being of community members?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Restrooms
More benches and places to sit
Water (drinking fountains, water faucets)
Access to public transit
More shade for seating and resting
Access to WiFi
Opportunities to purchase food or drinks
1- Not important
2
3
4
5- Very important
No answer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Multi-generational play areas designed to …
Bicycle and pedestrian connections to parks …
Loop paths and trails within a park
Quiet areas in parks for connection to …
More recreation and exercise classes in …
Outdoor exercise equipment
Nature orientated activities
Dog Park
Other (please specify below)
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 12
Graph 8: How should the City accommodate the dog owning community in Palo
Alto parks?
Recreation Centers and Programs
Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of various categories
of recreation programs and features for Palo Alto.
Key Findings
Enhancement and addition of recreation programs
Recreation program questions addressed specific needs and desires from
the community and as a result there is not broad support for any one type
of programming (See graph 9). Respondents indicated the three most
important enhancements or improvements are:
1. Gym-based sports (50% indicated important or very important)
2. Social events and spaces (40% indicated are important or very
important)
3. Fitness classes and yoga classes (40% indicated important or very
important)
There is a low level of support for fitness equipment/weight rooms.
• Only 25% of respondents indicated that fitness equipment/weight
rooms are very or extremely appropriate. This response aligns with
participants’ low level of support for outdoor exercise equipment
(see graph 7).
Cubberley Community Center
The survey asked people to specifically consider the services offered at
Cubberley Community Center (see Graph 10). Responses indicate that
people consider Cubberley to primarily be a sports and wellness center.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Improve existing dog parks
Designated times when dogs can be off-leash
in certain parks in a partially or non-fenced …
Sharing existing fenced-in spaces, such as
baseball fields, during limited hours that …
Additional dedicated (fenced) off-leash areas
within parks
No additional dog parks in Palo Alto
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 13
Respondents indicated the three most important activities provided at the
Cubberley Community Center are:
1. Outdoor sports at Cubberley (59% indicated as important or very
important)
2. Indoor sports and health programs (51% indicated as important or
very important)
3. Rooms and available to rent and Senior Wellness including Stroke
and Cardiovascular Programs (49% indicated both of these services
as important or very important)
Events
Fifty percent of respondents indicated that the City should strike a balance
between large and small events, rather than focusing on one scale or the
other. There was also notable support (20%) for more frequent, smaller
events, rotating around neighborhood and downtown parks (see Graph 11).
Aquatic Enhancements
Respondents were asked to rate the importance of various enhancements
for Palo Alto’s aquatic options (see Graph 12). Respondents indicated that
the three most important enhancements to Palo Alto’s aquatic options are:
1. More opportunities for recreational swimming (50% indicated
important or very important)
2. Improvements to existing Rinconada pools and supporting facilities
(47% indicated important or very important)
3. An additional public pool elsewhere in Palo Alto (43% indicated
important or very important)
Enhanced competitive swimming received the least support with only 16%
of respondents indicating that it is important or very important.
Serving A Variety Of Populations
The survey asked respondents to share their ideas for activities or
programs that would better serve a variety of populations in the
community, including a range of age groups, lower income residents,
people with disabilities, or specific ethnic or linguistic groups. The list of
ideas is attached for reference.
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 14
Graph 9: How important is the enhancement/ addition of the following recreation
programs and features in Palo Alto
Graph 10: How important are the following types of activities to you that the
Cubberley Community Center provides?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Gym-based sports and activities
(basketball, volleyball, badminton
etc.)
Fitness classes (yoga, zumba,
crossfit, etc.)
Social events/spaces (community
meals, dances, game rooms, etc.)
Martial arts
Clubs and classes organized around
particular interests (robotics, book
clubs, etc.)
Fitness equipment/weight room
Other (please specify below)
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Outdoor Sports
Indoor Sports and Health Programs
Senior Wellness including Stroke and
Cardiovascular Programs
Rooms available to rent for other activities
Dance Studios
Child Care
Cubberley Artist Studio Program
Education - Private Schools and Special
Interest Classes
Other (please specify below)
1- Not important
2
3
4
5- Very important
No answer
Not important
Very important
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 15
Graph 11: Select the choice that best represents the balance the City should strike
between large and small events.
Graph 12: How important are the following enhancements to Palo Alto’s aquatic
options?
50.3
20.4
11.8 7.6 6.2 3.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage of people
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Additional lessons and aquatics programming
Enhanced competitive swimming (e.g. more
time available, better spectator seating, etc.)
More opportunities for recreational
swimming (less competitive, suitable for …
Improvements to existing Rinconada pools
and supporting facilities (changing rooms …
Improved social, gathering and observation
space around the existing pool
An additional public pool elsewhere in Palo
Alto
Water play (splash pad or interactive
fountain) at more parks in the system
1- Not important
2
3
4
5- Very important
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 16
Using Limited Resources
Palo Alto’s parks system includes a limited number of meeting rooms,
campsites and other facilities available for rental or reservation. As a result,
many users are competing for time and space.
Key Findings
Prioritizing Use Of Rentable And Reservable Facilities, Including
Fields
The majority of respondents agree with the current policy of prioritizing
facility availability for Palo Alto residents (see Graphs 13 and 14).
Respondents were nearly evenly split in supporting or not supporting the
current policy of prioritizing youth activities over adult activities. There was
strong support for:
• Prioritizing the availability of meeting rooms, camp sites and other
facilities available for rental or reservation for residents (80% of
respondents support)
• The current policy of maximizing all fields for local Palo Alto based
organized sports leagues (70% of respondents support)
There were low levels of support for:
• Equal availability of facilities for residents, corporate events, and
local employees (18% support)
• Allowing more access for competitive teams from the entire region
(13% support)
Enhancing Palo Alto’s Park System Within Geographical Constraints
Respondents were asked to consider various approaches to enhancing
Palo Alto’s Park system given geographical limitations (see Graph 15).
Respondents indicated that the three most appropriate enhancements are:
1. Enhancing the walking and biking experience as a way to enhance
the parks and recreation system (74% indicated as appropriate or
very appropriate). This preference for better pedestrian and bicycle
facilities reinforces respondents’ strong support for bicycle and
pedestrian connections to parks (see Graph 7).
2. Use right-of-ways, easements and other small publicly-owned
properties for trails, parks or community gardens (66% indicated as
appropriate or very appropriate)
3. Create multi-use spaces that enhance the opportunity for different
activities on different days and times (56% indicated as appropriate
or very appropriate)
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 17
Prioritizing Facilities/Park Spaces For Major Improvements
Respondents were asked to prioritize funding and staffing related to a
variety of improvements and additions to Palo Alto’s park system (see
Graph 16). The facilities/spaces that received the strongest support for
investment and enhancement are:
• Enhancing neighborhood parks throughout the city (61% ranked as
the first or second priority)
• Renovations to the Cubberley Community Center (37% ranked as
the first or second priority)
Programming 10.5 Acres Near The Baylands Athletic Center
Survey participants responded to the facilities and spaces that they felt
would be most appropriate for the additional land near Baylands (see
Graph 17). The most popular responses were:
1. Natural area for hiking and bird watching (64% indicated as
appropriate or very appropriate)
2. Sports field area (60% indicated as appropriate or very appropriate)
Forty-six percent of respondents indicated that community gardens or
orchards are appropriate or very appropriate for the available Baylands
land. This was a much higher level of support than the idea of incorporating
fruits and herbs into open spaces (see Graph 2). This may indicate that
respondents are not receptive to incorporating edibles into existing
preserve spaces but are more receptive to incorporating them into newly
designated parks spaces.
Graph 13: Given the limited meeting rooms, campsites and other facilities available
for rental or reservation in Palo Alto, indicate whether you support the following
strategies for prioritizing use of these facilities
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Priority availability for residents
Available on a first-come first-serve basis
More picnic areas and facilities in more of …
Available to residents and non-profit …
Prioritized for youth activities over adult …
Equal availability for residents, corporate …
Don't support
Support
Not sure
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 18
Graph 14: Indicate whether you support, don’t support or are not sure about the
statements below regarding how our sports fields should be managed.
Graph 15: How well do you think the following would work to enhance the park
system in Palo Alto, given the geography constraints?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Maximize all fields for local Palo Alto based
organized sports leagues (current policy)
Include SOME unreserved field time for other
uses including pick-up games, classes or …
Create ways for new sports and informal
groups to reserve field time
Allow more access for competitive teams from
the entire region
Open for longer hours through additional
lighting
Don't support
Support
Not sure
No answer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Use right-of-ways, easements and other small …
Actively pursue opportunities to acquire land …
Create multi-use spaces that enhance the …
Create plazas and public spaces on the …
Enhance the walking and biking experience …
Concentrate organized sports play at select …
Other (please specify below)
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 19
Graph 16: Which major improvements, facilities and additions to parks (all of which
will require significant funding and staff time) should the City prioritize? Rank the
types of projects below in order 1-6, with 1 being highest priority and 6 being
lowest priority.
Graph 17: What facilities or spaces would be appropriate for the additional 10.5
acres of land near the Baylands Athletic Center (designated for future recreational
use)?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Invest in enhancing and improving neighborhood
parks across the city
Expansion/renovation of the Rinconada Pool and
facilities.
Improvements to the Lucie Evans Baylands
Interpretative Center and boardwalk.
Improvements and renovation to the 7.7 acres
recently added to Foothills Park (near Oak Grove …
Renovations to the Cubberley Community Center
Other (please specify below)
Ranked 1
2
3
4
5
Ranked 6
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Additional sports fields
Dog park
Gymnasium
Pool
Skatepark
Community gardens or orchards
Natural Area for hiking and bird …
Other (please specify below)
1- Not appropriate
2
3
4
5- Very appropriate
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 20
Meeting Community Needs
Respondents were asked if the Palo Alto parks and recreation system is
meeting their needs and what barriers to program participation and facility
access exist.
Key Findings
Meeting User Needs
Respondents indicated that most of their needs are met (see Graph 18).
Areas in which respondents indicated their needs are not as well met
include:
• Community service volunteer opportunities (34% indicated all or
most needs are met)
• Classes that offer diverse cultural perspectives (44% indicated that
all or most needs are met)
Barriers To Participation In Programs, Classes And Use Of
Recreation Facilities
Respondents also indicated that they do not face many limitations to their
participation in programs and classes or use of recreation facilities (see
Graph 19). The factors that respondents indicted are the most limiting are:
• The time of day classes are offered and facilities (38% of
respondents indicated this makes it difficult or very difficult to
participate)
• Overcrowded classes (19% indicated this makes it difficult or very
difficult to participate)
Importance Of Universal Accessibility
Survey participants were asked how important it is that Palo Alto exceeds
the legal minimums and strive for universal accessibility (see Graph 20).
• 43% indicated that it is very or extremely important
• 19% indicated it is not important or not very important.
Additional Funding For Facility Maintenance
Participants were asked to rate the importance of finding funding for
maintenance and small repairs on a variety of facilities (see Graph 21).
There was support for funding repairs of all of the listed facilities, with the
most support for:
1. Playgrounds (61% indicated important or very important)
2. Trails and natural areas (56% indicated important or very important)
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 21
Graph 18: How well do you feel that the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation system
(all of the parks, facilities, trails, preserves etc.) meets your needs in the
following areas?
Graph 19: What limits your participation in programs and classes or your use of
recreation facilities?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Physical (facilities are accessible and offer
activities that you are able to participate in …
Language (information, signage and classes
are offered in your native language)
Education (activities, facilities and classes
that stimulate and enhance your …
Cultural (facilities and classes offer diverse
cultural perspectives)
Age (there are facilities and recreation
opportunities that are appropriate for you …
Proximity to parks and recreation facilities
close to where you spend your time …
Community Service/Volunteer
Other (please specify below)
1-needs not met
2
3
4
5-all needs are met
No answer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Cost of activity or class
Time and days at which the activity is …
Classes are full or over-crowded
Travel distance is too great
Walking and biking does not feel safe
Public transit is unavailable or inconvenient
The facilities or classes do not meet my …
There is nothing offered in which I am …
1-not a challenge
2
3
4
5-very difficult
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 22
Graph 20: How important is it that Palo Alto exceed the legal minimums and strive
for universal accessibility?
Graph 21: How important are additional dollars for the maintenance (cleaning,
small repairs, etc.) to improve the following facilities?
Interpretation and Communications
Respondents were asked about the topics they are most interested in
learning more about and their preferences for communications from the
City.
Key Findings
Educational interpretation in the parks
Survey participants indicated the topics that are most important to learn
about while visiting Palo Alto’s parks (see Graph 22). The following topics
are considered the most important topics:
16%
26.7% 24.1%
11.7% 8.2%
13.3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Extremely
important
Very
important
Moderately
important
Slightly
important
Not at all
important
No opinion
Percentage
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Playgrounds
Sports fields
Tennis courts
Recreation centers and other indoor facilities
Trails and natural areas
Other (please specify below)
1-not important
2
3
4
5-very important
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 23
1. Natural habitats and how preservation, including restricted access
in some cases, may benefit species (65% responded as important or
very important)
2. Sustainable practices being used in parks such as water
conservation, reduced waste and energy efficiency (58% responded
as important or very important)
City Communications
Survey participants indicated their preferences for how they would like the
City to communicate about parks, recreational, educational and cultural
experiences. Respondents showed a clear preference for consolidated,
electronic information (see Graph 23). The top three preferred forms of
communication are:
1. One website that hosts all information about events, classes, camps
and park news for all services in the City (77% prefer or very much
prefer)
2. An e-catalog emailed with all seasonal events, classes, camps and
park news (53% prefer of very much prefer)
3. One monthly newsletter with all recreational, educational and
cultural experiences including updates and offerings (hard copy or
email) (46% prefer or very much prefer)
Graph 22: How important are the following topics for you to learn about when
visiting parks in Palo Alto?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Sustainable practices being used in
parks such as water conservation,
reduced waste and energy …
Natural habitats and how
preservation, including restricted
access in some cases, may benefit …
Names and characteristics of
species (flora and fauna) in the
area
Activities in which people can
participate in the park (city-
organized and self-directed …
History including conservation of
the area and the park
Other (please specify below)
1- Not important
2
3
4
5- Very important
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 24
Graph 23: How would you like to receive information about the variety of parks,
recreational, educational and cultural experiences that the City of Palo Alto offers?
Open-Ended Reponses
Survey participants were given an opportunity to provide additional
comments about the Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master
Plan. Nearly 400 individuals provided comments to this open-ended
question. Responses were coded in order to identify trends and potential
areas where participants might have ideas or concerns. Since many of the
responses touched on multiple aspects of the Master Plan, the coding
process generated 659 total observations. From these, 46 tags were
identified based on multiple mentions (from 2 to 64) of a similar topic.
These tags were summarized into eight categories that captured broader
directions and included a larger number of responses. Graph 24 includes
the full set of these categories and the percentage of responses included in
each. Attached to this summary for reference are the counts of comments
tagged and then categorized.
• Participants who expressed interest in improved opportunities for
sports and activities such as increased pool hours and continued or
enhanced support for existing sports leagues,
• Participants who supported expansion of or improvement to
recreation and activity facilities, such as development of social
gathering spaces (especially for youth and teens) and expansion of
gardens, trails, dog parks and natural areas,
• Participants who commented on the exclusivity of Palo Alto parks,
the 25 comments were basically split between those in favor of and
those opposed to allowing more open access to non-residents,
particularly at Foothills,
• Participants who preferred maintenance or reduction of existing
amenities rather than expansion,
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
One website that hosts all information about …
Separate websites for different types of …
A catalog mailed to you with all seasonal …
An e-catalog emailed to you with all seasonal …
One monthly newsletter with all …
Separate monthly newsletters for each …
1-not preferred
2
3
4
5-very preferred
No answer
COMMUNITY SURVEY SUMMARY 25
• Participants who sought improved amenities in existing spaces,
such as provision of seating, bathrooms, art, shade and security
measures,
• Participants who expressed general satisfaction with the City and
parks or who were thankful for the opportunity to take part in the
survey, and
• Participants who provided general suggestions and comments that
did not fit in other categories.
• The comments largely reinforce the findings of the survey questions.
The comments also include some constructive and specific ideas for
improvements and additions to the system, which will be
incorporated into the Plan’s program analysis and plan
recommendation development. The following table and figure
describe the prevalence of responses in each of the eight
categories.
• Comments about the quality of the survey
Graph 24: Prevalence of open-ended responses by category
Sports and
activities
14%
Recreation
facilities
22%
Exclusivity of
parks
4%
Quality of survey
5%
Maintenance or
reduction rather
than expansion
9%
Improved
amenities
14%
General
satisfaction
12%
General
suggestions and
comments
20%
Continued ...
1) Gender
___ Female
___ Male
2) What is your age
___ Under 18
___ 18-24
___ 25-34
___ 35-44
___ 45-54
___ 55-64
___ 65-74
___ 75+
3) Do you have children or youth in your household?
(Check all that apply)
___ Yes, ages 0-5
___ Yes, ages 6-12
___ Yes, ages 13-18
___ Yes, ages 19 and up
___ No
The City of Palo Alto is preparing a Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan, which will guide
city investments in parks and recreation for the next 10-20 years. This plan will consider spaces ranging from
our neighborhood parks and community centers to our open space preserves, the ways we get to and from
these places, and what we do when we’re there, whether it’s soccer practice, hiking, classes and camps or
family picnics. This survey is part of the second phase of public input for this planning process. You may have
already provided some ideas through our online map-based survey, in person at parks or farmers markets, or by
attending a community workshop. We’ve collected a lot of great ideas over the past six months. Now we’d like
your input, whether or not we’ve heard from you before. Your input will help prioritize potential improvements to
the system and will indicate the programs, events and park features that are most important to the community.
This survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. Please answer these questions as they relate to you, and
share with your friends and family members so they can provide their own input.
Your input will help the City prioritize potential improvements to the parks and recreation system by indicating
what is most important to you. Thank you for your participation!
Si desea completar esta encuesta en Español, favor de llamar al 650-496-6918 o enviar su solicitud por correo
electronic: peter.jensen@cityofpaloalto.org.
4) Do you live or work in Palo Alto? (Check all that apply)
___ Work in Palo Alto
___ Own a business in Palo Alto
___ Visitor
___ Live in a nearby community
___ Live in Palo Alto
5) If you live in Palo Alto, in which neighborhood
do you reside?
6) How do you describe yourself? (Check all that apply)
___ White/Caucasian
___ African American
___ Hispanic/Latino
___ Asian/Pacific Islander
___ American Indian or Alaska Native
___ Other (please specify)
Demographics
The following optional questions will help us understand who we are hearing from during this planning process.
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
7) We have heard from the Palo Alto community that one of the most important functions of the City’s
parks and open space preserves is to protect natural resources and habitat. How important are the
following options for achieving this goal in Palo Alto? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1
being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Incorporating bird- and butterfly-friendly plants in our neigh-
borhood parks and streetscapes
Re-naturalizing creek banks in parks
Planting more ecologically appropriate trees in parks that sup-
port habitat
Replacing manicured spaces, such as mowed lawns, with native
species and drought tolerant plantings
Incorporating edible plants such as fruit and herbs into the
landscape
Supporting wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity
Removing invasive plant species
Other (please specify)
8) How appropriate are the following ideas for connecting people to nature at one or more of Palo Alto’s
open space preserves (Baylands, Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and Esther Clark Preserve)? Rate each
answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 indicating the feature is not appropriate and 5 indicating that it is
very appropriate?
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Event pavilion or large covered picnic areas
Paved paths (e.g. asphalt, concrete)
Natural paths (e.g. dirt, decomposed granite, base rock)
Nature play (e.g. spaces for kids to dig in dirt, climb logs and
play in water)
Open space for large group activities such as Frisbee or other
pickup games
Environmental and educational opportunities such as signage
or enhanced interpretive centers
Preserves, Natural Features and Sustainability
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
9) How appropriate are the following policies and practices to help create a more environmentally sustainable
park system in Palo Alto? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 indicating the policy is not
appropriate and 5 indicating that it is very appropriate.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Expanding use of recycled water for irrigation of turf and land-
scaped areas (Note this will require transition to different plant
varieties that can thrive in recycled water)
Using artificial turf on sports fields to reduce water use and
expand playing time
Avoiding artificial turf in favor of natural grass turf that absorbs
water and doesn’t use plastics
Removing grass turf where not needed for sports to reduce
water use and replacing with other features including native
plants
Designating more space for community gardens and spaces
for urban agriculture
Installing permeable paving, rain gardens or other features
that allow soil to absorb rain and reducing storm water runoff
Parks and Facilities
10) This long-range master plan provides us with an opportunity to reimagine the types of features and
activities that can take place in Palo Alto’s parks and recreation facilities. How appropriate would the
following features be in Palo Alto? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 indicating the feature is
not appropriate and 5 indicating that it is very appropriate.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Food and beverage services at high traffic parks
Small scale features that add new activities to parks such as
badminton courts, ping pong courts/tables or bocce ball
Bike skills area/pump track – a small looped dirt track that can
be used by mountain bikes, BMX bikes or kids bikes
Other (please specify)
Please elaborate on any answer here
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
11) As additions or improvements are made to existing park facilities, how important are the following
amenities to making park visits more comfortable and convenient? Rate each answer choice on a scale of
1-5 with 1 being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Restrooms
More benches and places to sit
Water (drinking fountains, water faucets)
Access to public transit
More shade for seating and resting
Access to WiFi
Opportunities to purchase food or drinks
12) We heard from Palo Alto community members that enhancing health and well-being is one of the most
important functions of parks. Of the facilities listed below, which are appropriate for Palo Alto to improve
or add to its system to achieve this function? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not
appropriate and 5 being very appropriate.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Multi-generational play areas designed to maximize creativity,
brain development and motor skills
Bicycle and pedestrian connections to parks and recreation
Loop paths and trails within a park
Quiet areas in parks for connection to nature and relaxation
More recreation and exercise classes in parks, such as boot
camps or yoga classes
Outdoor exercise equipment
Nature orientated activities
Dog Park
Other (please specify)
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
13) How should the City accommodate the dog owning community in Palo Alto parks? Rate each answer choice
on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not appropriate and 5 being very appropriate in Palo Alto’s parks.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Improve existing dog parks
Designated times when dogs can be off-leash in certain parks in
a partially or non-fenced area (would require a change to current
city ordinance).
Sharing existing fenced-in spaces, such as baseball fields, during
limited hours that don’t interfere with organized sports play
Additional dedicated (fenced) off-leash areas within parks
No additional dog parks in Palo Alto
14) Are you a dog owner?
___ Yes
___ No
Recreation Centers and Programs
15) How important is the enhancement or addition of the following recreation programs or features in Palo
Alto? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Gym-based sports and activities (basketball, volleyball,
badminton etc.)
Fitness classes (yoga, zumba, crossfit, etc.)
Social events/spaces (community meals, dances, game rooms,
etc.)
Martial arts
Clubs and classes organized around particular interests (robot-
ics, book clubs, etc.)
Fitness equipment/weight room
Other (please specify)
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
16) The Cubberley Community Center plays a unique role in Palo Alto, providing space for community providers
of a wide range of activities and services, listed here. How important are the following types of activities to
you? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Child Care
Cubberley Artist Studio Program
Dance Studios
Outdoor Sports
Indoor Sports and Health Programs
Senior Wellness including Stroke & Cardiovascular Programs
Education - Private Schools and Special Interest Classes
Rooms available to rent for other activities
Other (please specify)
17) Please share ideas you have for activities or programs that would better serve any of the following populations
in our community. Feel free to indicate that there is a need even if you don’t have a particular idea.
Please share ideas you have for activities or programs, specifying which population the idea would benefit.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
18) How important are the following enhancements to Palo Alto’s aquatic options? Rate each of the following
improvements on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not important and 5 being very important for Palo Alto.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Additional lessons and aquatics programming
Enhanced competitive swimming (e.g. more time available, better
spectator seating, etc.)
More opportunities for recreational swimming (less competitive,
suitable for beginner and intermediate swimmers)
Improvements to existing Rinconada pools and supporting
facilities (changing rooms etc.)
Improved social, gathering and observation space around the
existing pool
An additional public pool elsewhere in Palo Alto
Water play (splash pad or interactive fountain) at more parks in the
system
___ Lower income residents
___ Ethnic/cultural or linguistic groups (please specify group)
___ People with disabilities
___ Pre-school children (0-5)
___ Elementary aged youth (6-11)
___ Middle school age youth (12-14)
___ High school age youth (15-18)
___ Young adults (19-25)
___ Families
___ Seniors
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
19) The City of Palo Alto has offered various types of events in parks, including major community festivals,
concerts and movies. How should the City structure and plan its events? Select the choice that best
represents the balance the City should strike between large and small events.
___ More frequent, smaller events, rotating around neighborhood and downtown parks
___ Mostly smaller events
___ Balanced between smaller and larger events
___ Mostly larger events
___ Less frequent, larger events, such as an annual festival or seasonal walks/runs
Use of Limited Resources
20) The City of Palo Alto has limited meeting rooms, picnic areas, campsites and canoes available for rental or
reservation. Indicate whether you support, don’t support or are not sure about the following strategies for
prioritizing use of these facilities.
Don’t support Support Not sure
Available on a first-come first-serve basis
Priority availability for residents
Equal availability for residents, corporate events, and local employees
Available to residents and non-profit organizations but not businesses
Prioritized for youth activities over adult activities
More picnic areas and facilities in more of our parks available for reservation
21) Palo Alto’s sports fields are a limited resource, used by a range of users, with priority given to youth
organizations. Indicate whether you support, don’t support or are not sure about the statements below
regarding how our sports fields should be managed.
Don’t support Support Not sure
Maximize all fields for local Palo Alto based organized sports leagues (current
policy)
Include SOME unreserved field time for other uses including pick-up games,
classes or special events in the parks
Create ways for new sports and informal groups to reserve field time
Allow more access for competitive teams from the entire region
Open for longer hours through additional lighting
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
22) Palo Alto is geographically surrounded by other cities and the Bay, limiting the new land that can be added
to the parks and recreation system. How well do you think the following would work to enhance the park
system in Palo Alto? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not appropriate and 5 being very
appropriate.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Use right-of-ways, easements and other small publicly owned
properties for trails, parks or community gardens
Actively pursue opportunities to acquire land for new or expand-
ed neighborhood parks
Create multi-use spaces that enhance the opportunity for dif-
ferent activities on different days and times (e.g. flexible sport
courts or fields with multiple sets of lines/equipment)
Create plazas and public spaces on the grounds of other public
buildings
Enhance the walking and biking experience (e.g. better side-
walks, separated bikeways etc.) on routes to existing parks
Concentrate organized sports play at select sites to allow more
diverse use of neighborhood parks
Other (please specify)
23) Which major improvements, facilities and additions to parks (all of which will require significant funding and
staff time) should the City prioritize? Rank the types of projects below in order 1-6, with 1 being highest
priority and 6 being lowest priority.
Ranking
Invest in enhancing and improving neighborhood parks across the city
Expansion/renovation of the Rinconada Pool and facilities.
Improvements to the Lucie Evans Baylands Interpretative Center and boardwalk.
Improvements and renovation to the 7.7 acres recently added to Foothills Park (near Oak Grove picnic area)
Renovations to the Cubberley Community Center
Other (please specify)
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
24) The renovation of the golf course has resulted in an additional 10.5 acres of land near the Baylands Athletic
Center that has been designated for future recreational use. What facilities or spaces would be appropriate
for this site? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not appropriate and 5 being very
appropriate.
1not appropriate 2 3 4 5very appropriate
Additional sports fields
Dog park
Gymnasium
Pool
Skatepark
Community gardens or orchards
Natural Area for hiking and bird watching
Other (please specify)
Meeting Community Needs
25) How well do you feel that the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation system (all of the parks, facilities, trails,
preserves etc.) meets your needs in the following areas? Rate each response on a scale of 1-5, with 1
indicating your needs are not being met and 5 indicating all of your needs are being met in this area.
1needs not met 2 3 4 5all needs are met
Physical (facilities are accessible and offer activities that you are
able to participate in and enjoy)
Language (information, signage and classes are offered in your
native language)
Education (activities, facilities and classes that stimulate and
enhance your knowledge and interests)
Cultural (facilities and classes offer diverse cultural perspectives)
Age (there are facilities and recreation opportunities that are
appropriate for you and your family members’ ages).
Proximity to parks and recreation facilities close to where you
spend your time (home, school or work)
Community Service/Volunteer
Other (please specify)
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
26) What limits your participation in programs and classes or your use of recreation facilities? Rate each option
on a scale of 1-5, with 1 indicating that the answer choice is not a challenge for you and 5 indicating that the
answer choice makes it very difficult for you to access parks and/or activities.
1
not a
challenge
2 3 4 5very difficult
Cost of activity or class
Time and days at which the activity is offered or facility is open
Classes are full or over-crowded
Travel distance is too great
Walking and biking does not feel safe
Public transit is unavailable or inconvenient
The facilities or classes do not meet my physical needs
There is nothing offered in which I am interested
27) Public facilities and programs are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide access for
and usability by people with disabilities. Park sites and programs can be designed beyond this standard to be
universally accessible, to accommodate everyone regardless of age or ability. How important is it that Palo
Alto exceed the legal minimums and strive for universal accessibility? Put a check or “x” next to your answer
choice.
28) The City strives to strike the appropriate balance in using limited maintenance resources to provide the best
possible service. How important are additional dollars for the maintenance (cleaning, small repairs, etc.) to
improve the following facilities? Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not important and 5
being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Playgrounds
Sports fields
Tennis courts
Recreation centers and other indoor facilities
Trails and natural areas
Other (please specify)
___ Extremely important
___ Very important
___ Moderately important
___ Slightly important
___ Not at all important
___ No opinion
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
Interpretation and Communications
29) Providing information in parks, on trails, in recreation facilities and at preserves is an important opportunity
in the system. How important are the following topics for you to learn about when visiting parks in Palo Alto?
Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
Sustainable practices being used in parks such as water conserva-
tion, reduced waste and energy efficiency
Natural habitats and how preservation, including restricted access
in some cases, may benefit species
Names and characteristics of species (flora and fauna) in the area
Activities in which people can participate in the park (city-orga-
nized and self-directed activities)
History including conservation of the area and the park
Other (please specify)
30) Providing information in parks, on trails, in recreation facilities and at preserves is an important opportunity
in the system. How important are the following topics for you to learn about when visiting parks in Palo Alto?
Rate each answer choice on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not important and 5 being very important.
1not important 2 3 4 5very important
One website that hosts all information about events, classes,
camps and park news for all services in the City.
Separate websites for different types of programs
(arts, recreation, etc.)
A catalog mailed to you with all seasonal events, classes, camps
and park news
An e-catalog emailed to you with all seasonal events, classes,
camps and park news
One monthly newsletter with all recreational, educational and
cultural experiences including updates and offerings (hard copy or
email)
Separate monthly newsletters for each different area of interest
PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN SURVEY
Other Comments
31) Do you have any other comments you would like to make about the Parks, Trails, Open Space and
Recreation Master Plan?
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. To learn more about the Parks, Trails,
Open Space and Recreation Master Plan visit: www.paloaltoparksplan.org/ or call 650-617-3183.
1
Palo Alto Parks, Trail, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan
Ideas for activities or programs (Question 17)
1. - Lower income: Places where Hispanic families can park several cars and listen to music in
large family groups. - Pre-school: Places where seniors can sit in the shade of a memorial
grove to reflect - and watch their grandchildren play.
2. 1. Consider DOG PARKS as the huge SOCIAL and cross-generational entertainment resource
that they are ! ! ! ! 2. Class and event fees that seem low to most Palo Altans seem OUT OF
REACH to many lower income & senior folks. We'd participate more if there were many free
or nearly-free concerts, classes such as tai chi and yoga, etc.
3. 60 minutes a day of exercise per child...... Soccer, lacrosse and other field sports continue to
grow and fields are harder and harder to come by.
4. A free day two or three times a year for anyone in high school or older to bring a few pieces of
their art and share with others, then receive feedback.
5. A goal for me would be for Palo Alto to provide as much for the non-wealthy residents as for
those who are wealthy. This especially for spanish speaking laborers who seem to be the first
to kick out of the benefits of living in Palo Alto. I am speaking specifically of those recently
being relocated out of the mobile home park in Barron Park but also for many other renters,
children who attend school here and seniors on fixed incomes. Palo alto is a wonderland for
the wealthy. Share the wealth of recreation activities with those who clean the park
bathrooms and cook the food in the restaurants, etc.
6. A large number of Palo Alto families have pets, the current infrastructure and ordinances only
support small breed dogs.
7. A multi sport complex in PA would allow the space for youth through adult competitive to
recreational sports to be played in PA year round. Our current fields our overloaded with
youth and adults wanting to play organized sports year round. We have the weather for year
round outdoor sports in PA. Let's give our community the opportunity to stay health and
active year round.
8. a program for all K-12 children/young adults to have a presentation by people in different
types of jobs with no distinction between jobs appropriate for males vs females
9. Ability to join community gardens.
10. Access to technology and a maker-space that is connected to public transit
11. Activities/events for single adults older than 25. Recreational sports teams/classes/activities
for teens. For teens that wish to play recreational sports or try a new one, there are
essentially no opportunities. Sports classes for a variety of sports for adults. Clubs/interest
groups for adults.
12. Addition of ping pong tables to the park system
13. addition of ping pong tables to the park system
14. Adult English Language Classes and Health Classes Provided in Other Languages
15. After hours "nightclub" or coffee shop setting where teens can hang out after 9pm.
2
16. After school activities for JLS and Gunn kids. Giving them a place. I would ask them what they
would like.
17. After-school center for low income residents - activities, homework help.
18. Aging at home.
19. any
20. Any activity that gets people outdoors and exercise is good. Everyone benefits.
21. Any out reach programs to the above populations that would promote physical activity.
School aged children have P.E. All others should also be getting some form of exercise in
order to improve health and stave off hypokinetic diseases.
22. Any programs that are possible to include the handicapped should be possible. There is very
little available for the handicapped. Trail and paths for wheelchairs and walkers are always
appreciated.
23. Any programs that get kids outside interacting with their parents would be healthy for our
community.
24. Art printed activities for differing ages and abilities
25. Art program for kids and adults
26. arts, dance, music, Martial arts, indoor and outdoor sports
27. As I have said, more safe outdoor activities for teens, and an additional city pool.
28. As I said above (and yes, my child is affected), you have pushed out girls' softball practice from
convenient schools and parks to Cubberley, making it more cumbersome to working parents.
This is a gentler social team sport.
29. Baseball Playing Fields needed severely
30. Baseball programs for players who are not able to make a team in the Babe Ruth League or
their high school team.
31. basketball courts for pickup games.
32. Be nice if Palo Alto promotes a pluralistic community, where people of different cultures,
socio-economic levels. disabilities can all come together to celebrate our diversity and our
common bond, that we are all citizens of Palo Alto. Perhaps monthly or quarterly social or
educational events can be sponsored by the city celebrating the assets of diverse groups.
33. Better access to middle school sports programs. Programs do not have sufficient facilities and/
or instructors to support demand from students.
34. bocci, ping pong, giant sized "board" games e.g. chess & checkers
35. book clubs at the new mitchell park library
36. Build dirt park for bikes and include smaller skate park areas, e.g. Hopkins Creekside Park to
give middle school and high school students opportunities to hang out together. Also ping
pong tables.-- Re Hopkins Creekside, this would at the same time address the issue of
homeless people and dealers hanging out in those areas.
37. Cafe near Rinconada. It is a one mile walk in any direction to get to a cafe. Coffee cart would
be fine. Also, I agree that older kids need something to do at the parks, such as climbing walls,
ping pong or paved bike paths. Let's get these kids unplugged!
38. Chess games or more sports
3
39. City sponsored preschool for all residents. Could kickstart the most important value to society
- the value of education!
40. City-sponsored nature play / dirt play program (or pre-school?) for kids to connect them with
nature. Programs that foster imagination and creativity, such as the Live Action Role Play
programs.
41. Class fees are prohibitively high for low income residents. For seniors, increase public transit
to parks and community centers.
42. Classes and services that help "level the playing field" and create equal opportunity and access
to resources
43. Clubs with activities or sports (biking, badminton, ping pong for instance) for young adults
with disabilities.
44. coffee shops, music venue/open milk
45. Community based ESL classes and tutoring
46. Community centers other than Mitchell Library and Cubberley. We will need Cubberly as a
high school again for all of the kids coming to Palo Alto.
47. Community Gardens can satisfy a large cross section of people. More food for lower income is
needed. Learning to grow your own is important.
48. computer literacy, programming, and robotics - kids need places to learn and play and not all
the schools have time or inclination to offer these kinds of activities, so would be great to get
this through the city programs.
49. Concerned there is little teen space in Palo Alto. Current fields are over subscribed and some
teams (AYSO) reserve and do not show up, leaving the space unoccupied. This happens year
after year
50. concrete ping pong tables
51. concrete ping-pong tables
52. connect after school care with palo alto enjoy activities- kids can have variety of activities, and
working parents don't have to shuttle them to and from activities
53. Connecting elderly seniors with their neighbors. Several live near me and they are very
isolated. I stop in to check on them but getting them more visible to neighbors would help
make them be part of our community.
54. Connecting people across generations is essential for everyone's well being - it promotes
understanding and appreciation of one another's needs and values. Art and music programs
can accomplish that. We are so fortunate to live in a community full of talented seniors and
youth. Why not bring them together? Teaching and learning opportunities abound when we
share our passions with other generations. Events where young and old work together to
create art and music, teach each other, listen and appreciate what everyone has to offer.
55. Context appropriate contemporary public art (including event and interaction based cross-
disciplinary temporary) projects for very inclusive groups of people.
56. cooking classes during the day for non-working parents and seniors--I conducted one for
disabled patients at Services for Brain Injuried.
57. Daycare and young child activities are critical for all income groups as they provide essential
early life enrichment and opportunities for parents who don't have large financial resources to
4
work while their youngster is in care. Junior high and high school kids need to have
recreational activities and safe places to go to get through their afternoon without getting into
trouble, as well as study rooms for the same purpose and for education support. Seniors need
social stimulation and support with transportation and food acquisition and preparation.
58. destressing activities, social clubs
59. Do we have 'scholarship programs' to cover costs for low income families? I support pre-
school and middle school activities.
60. Dog Parks
61. Dog training and socialization activities. There are Many dogs in the city and many of the
owners need to work more with their dogs to both enhance the experience but also to make
their dogs safer in and for the community. Making it easy because it is local would mean more
families would participate. Offer dog first aid, caring for the aging dog, and other topics
beyond training.
62. Drop in basketball in evenings and over summer
63. Educational programs about nature, growing vegetables, etc.
64. Encouraging groups like scouting to help kids get outdoors by providing facilities and course
Volunteer opportunities for kids especially on PAUSD holiday days (e.g. veterans day - there
was NOTHING organised)
65. Enhanced habitat value of parks so they can interact with nature close to home.
66. ENJOY CLASSES NEED IMPROVEMENTS. TEACHERS THAT ALLOWED TO TEACH THE CLASSES
SHOULD PROVIDE QUALITY CLASSES, AND NOT ALLOW TO CHARGE FEES IN ADDITION TO THE
FEE POSTED ON THE CATALOG. ENJOY SHOULD REQUIRE MANDITORY SURVEY/COMMENT
CARD TO BE FILLED OUT BY STUDENTS/PARENTS AFTER EACH CLASS SECTION TO MONITOR
THE QUALITY OF CLASSES PROVIDED BY THOSE TEACHERS/ORGANIZATION. THERE ARE NOT
VERY MUCH MUSIC CLASSES OFFERED THROUGH ENJOY, NOR SPORT/GYMNASTIC CLASSES.
PLEASE ALLOW/INVITE MORE TEACHERS OR ORANIZATIONS TO COME AND TEACH IN PALO
ALTO. EXISITING TEACHERS CANCEL OR NO SHOW FOR CLASSES OFTEN WITHOUT NOTIFY
ATTENDEES. PLEASE DEMAND ACCOUNTIBILITY OF THOSE TEACHERS. MORE VARIETY OF
CLASSES WILL BENEFIT BABIES THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN, SO THEY MAY EXPLORE
THEIR INTEREST IN LIFE PRIOR TO FOCUSING THEIR ACADEMIC WORK IN HIGH SCHOOL.
67. ESL classes, parenting classes, job training classes
68. Even more classes
69. Events that bring seniors and younger kids together to share time/experiences. Kids can earn
volunteer time
70. expand maker space hours and opportunities for youth; create opportunities for students to
connect with professionals at Cubberley
71. Fitness, technology, educational, nature programs all have merit. Programs oriented towards
racial/ethnic/religious exclusivity should be avoided.
72. Foothill offers several exercise classes for seniors. We will lose them when Foothill leaves the
campus. Is there a way that the city can continue them?
73. For every demographic, community gardens w/hands on in-the-garden classes. eGadget repair
(less waste)
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74. for kids: more summer camps and ongoing enrichment classes (via partners, potentially)
75. For youth ages 12-25 we need many of the activities listed in Q15 above. In particular, we
need to support our teens who need more places to go and things do in their neighborhoods--
ping pong, open gym, play music, etc.. They also need to be connected with their communities
via internships, small jobs, and through interest groups. The German youth center model is an
excellent one.
76. Free Social Meeting Places for young adults to meet, connect, find support and engage in
activities together
77. From time to time there are "family" programs that use community spaces, open or
otherwise, however these don't go very far to recognize that families take many forms. The
type of hike that a family of middle or high schoolers would be interested in is not one that
preschoolers would share. Same for art etc. And not all middle and high schoolers want to be
dropped off to do these things without others in their family. It would be fantastic to see
more stratification of such programs, building on activities and skills introduced to younger
aged families. It would also be nice to see more opportunities for middle and high school
youth to engage in service to their community - maintaining trails etc
78. full commitment to maintaining playing fields in best possible condition to improve safety of
players
79. Fun nature talks and walks for families. Family art times. Middle school activities after school.
Service activity for high schoolers.
80. Gathering places, study places.
81. GED tutoring that leads to the GED test in Palo Alto, so young adults/adults can graduate from
high school.
82. get people to meet and to make friends. Make a friendly open-minded community
83. Get togethers of folks with certain skills, a knitters group, a carpenters group etc. Would love
a shop where seniors could sell their homemade items.
84. Getting everyone disconnected from their devices and being outdoors is critical. All ways to
engage people with nature need thoughtful attention and financial resources.
85. given middle school athletic low capacity, supplementing impacted sports (basketball, football
etc) woudl be helpful.
86. Good places to blow off steam and manage/minimize stress!
87. Greater opportunity for ping pong and badminton indoors
88. Habitat-friendly plantings and reducing excess lawns in time of drought are good ideas, but
PLEASE KEEP the vast lawns of Rinconada Park-- they are a defining feature of the open space
there, so beautiful, and fun to run around on. Please do NOT litter the beauty of Rinconada
Park with distracting art installations. Not everone wants to look at someone else's scupture
when in a green space.
89. Have a tennis program for kids
90. Have parks available with disability access. Improve the soccer fields - they are terrible
91. Have pool open some hours more oh the year or year round during weekdays, even if just a
couple of days per week! Currently the pool is often even closed the hottest part of the
summer, late Aug and sept
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92. Have regular walks in nature with young children to get them to appreciate nature and get
away from their cellphones.
93. Health and wellness including brain exercises
94. I always marvelled at City of Los Altos Family Movie nights in summer when the downtown
area closes to traffic and families come to watch movies. Also a dog parade in downtown
would be a great idea.
95. I checked "paved paths" earlier because of friends who use wheelchairs.
96. I don't have specific ideas, but I have indicated two groups that I am guessing are neglected in
terms of city activities.
97. I don't know specifically if there is a need but it feels that low income families and middle
school kids would benefit from outdoors activities.
98. I don't see older kids using parks other than in organized sports. We need to have
infrastructure that will attract them to the parks and engage them in the parks like ping pong
tables, skateboarding tracks, badminton courts etc.
99. I enjoy bird watching and would be neat to see more and larger quiet natural areas for this
and overall get away from urban life
100. I feel like there was a downtown "club" atmosphere type place for teenagers when we first
moved here. That was before I had kids but it seemed like a good idea. "clean fun" weekend
night activities
101. I like the events based around bringing families into our parks by some of the summertime
programs- music, parades, community sport days (volley ball or badmittin, ping pong, etc)
events, dance events, etc. I encourage finding ways to get Palo Altan's to use and enjoy our
great neighborhood parks, etc.
102. I like the idea of ping pong tables, tournaments etc. There are not enough activities for teens
in the parks.
103. I think parks should be nature preserves rather than all things for all people.
104. I think that the City should not get involved with such activities or programs on an on-going
basis. A few, selected events per year might be appropriate.
105. I think the parks are pretty good as they are now.
106. I would like to see more of an effort to utilize indoor facilities such as Cubberley for sports like
volleyball or badminton. The only options for those sports are club teams that are incredibly
expensive. There should be leagues run by Parks & Rec for sports such as these in the winter
months especially.
107. I would love an open art studio for adults, where anyone can come in and paint. Perhaps with
rentable lockers for storing art supplies.
108. I'd like to see more mid-day classes for people with flexible work schedules who prefer to be
home in the evening or for "stay-at-home" parents whose kids are in school. Weight training
circuits, yoga, Pilates, etc. Or how about a late afternoon cooking class and you take your new
meal home with your dinner.
109. If there was a way to have an interactive screen in rooms whether it was a lecture program, a
fitness class, a concert, or some other class that a house bound senior, disabled, sick/home
bound or home bound person/child/caregiver could watch and or participate from home,
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much like 2 individuals on iPads or iPhones having face time or skyping would do. It would
allow those who could not be there to be there through this method. In some cases it might
be one screen that all could watch on and not interact. Maybe like a webinar format. In other
cases someone could sign up for a class or discussion they want to be interactive with and an
individual could attend for them with an iPad and hold it and move it so the pets on at home
could see everything and interact with what is going on in the room.
110. Importance of nature in our lives
111. Improve and better maintain that fields that are used for youth soccer. It would benefit the
many many youth soccer players.
112. Inclusive, nature events at open space parks to introduce families and young children to
nature. Nature is accessible, fun and educational for children with disabilities and low-income
families, but when it's not a priority (when facing several jobs or endless therapies), it's easy
to forget to expose young children to nature. Community events, invitations for inclusive
family events, and natural play spaces in our open parks will engage all Palo Alto children with
nature.
113. Increase city support of tennis activities
114. increase tennis activities
115. Increase tennis activities.
116. Increase tennis activities. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized
for kids and seniors. USTA NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and must be
taken advantage; local corporations has large tennis-playing community. Meeting their
demands will open more corporate-community outreach initiatives!
117. Increase tennis activities. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized
for kids and seniors. USTA NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and must be
taken advantage; local corporations has large tennis-playing community. Meeting their
demands will open more corporate-community outreach initiatives!
118. Increase tennis activities. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized
for kids and seniors. USTA NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and must be
taken advantage; local corporations has large tennis-playing community. Meeting their
demands will open more corporate-community outreach initiatives!
119. Increase tennis activities. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized
for kids and seniors. USTA NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and must be
taken advantage; local corporations has large tennis-playing community. Meeting their
demands will open more corporate-community outreach initiatives!--Fits all groups
120. Increase tennis activities. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized
for kids and seniors. USTA NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and we
must take advantage of this. Local corporations also have a large tennis-playing community.
Meeting their demands will open more corporate-community outreach initiatives!
121. increased access to community gardens
122. Instituting concrete ping pong tables in the palo alto park system would benefit everyone
123. intergenertional programming
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124. It is important to have activities for all ages to keep them active and interacting with other
people.
125. It would be great to see the return of the boat harbor next to the airport.
126. It would be helpful to have more programs aimed at single working adults. There are good
programs for seniors, teens, and children, but fewer for adults in general. Especially helpful,
would be programs offered after work hours and on the weekends. For example, I've always
wanted to try your water aerobics class, but it is only offered at times seniors or other non-
working adults could attend.
127. It would be nice to be able to walk to a local park or somewhere like Cubberley, be able to buy
a coffee and play with kids and socialise with other neighbours and families (like we could in
Sydney!). Palo Alto doesn't seem to be designed that way at the moment - I guess it's more of
an urban family lifestyle type of thing.
128. Its very challenging to keep our youth fit with the increase in homework that abounds in the
bay area. No data supports the high volume of homework as a positive trend but lots of data
supports the lack of exercise as a bad trend. Parks and open spaces are key tools for me as a
mom to try and keep my family healthy physically and mentally -- so drop the rules and
restrictions. Focus on keeping the parks welcoming and open. I want to live in a community
that gets along with one another, that makes way for one another, not one that assumes the
worst of each neighbor and spends hours generating laws based on fear and assumption and
ignorance. Don't let the nature-extremists or the animal-fearing fanatics kick the families
(dogs, kids, grandparents) out. We are raising the next generation of hikers and bikers -- we
want them to be welcoming and kind and polite and respectful. Lets show them how its done
by trusting one another a little more and only dealing harshly with the outliers.
129. Kids need GOOD and HEALTHY things to do
130. learn to swim programs in public schools at the pools in palo alto
131. Lets focus on the families who have worked very hard to live here.
132. Look at Magical Bridge for ideas whenever new or replacement playground equipment is
planned.
133. Low income residents would benefit from places to exercise such as jogging, or weight
equipment, low cost/free yoga at the parks. Private gym memberships are beyond the reach
of low income and seniors but we want these populations to be healthy and fit.
134. lower economic: food cooking and healthy choices, diabetic and sugar awareness. people with
disabilities: take of CAR warm swimming pool Have afterschool athletic programs other than
soccer such as basketball or tennis clinics for children 6-11
135. Lower income- I'm not aware that much now exists for this group. Teens- workshops/classes
in areas of expertise of interest to them. For example, Art classes (or art parties, workshops,
portfolio reviews)-- current city arts programming focuses on kids under 12.
136. Middle and High school students have little to do in the community since the schools have
cancelled summer school. I'd like to see the city step up and offer classes or programs ( a fee
can be charged to cover the cost) to keep these students engaged over the summer.
137. Middle school dances Teen drop-in center
138. mindfulness classes for families, yoga. It would benefit all age groups.
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139. Mini parks where neighbors can gather that are close enough to walk between.
140. Money management & financial independence - how to manage money, avoid scams and be
independent for youth and adults.
141. More access to people/children with special needs Better quality playing fields for youth
sports like soccer
142. More activities for youth to keep them out of trouble
143. More after school options for children in elementary school.
144. More after school sports programs.
145. more and varied play structures- such as large "spider web" climbing structures, large rock
walls, varied slides, etc; with as much shade as possible to protect against sun exposure.
146. More athletic fields
147. More community gardens
148. More community spaces for families to grow fruits and vegetables
149. More diversity of play structures/challenges between the different parks would be fantastic
for kids. Right now many of the parks an interchangeable and going to the park quickly
becomes repetitive. More kinds of climbing structures, challenges with balance, places to
hide, rope structure shapes, etc.
150. More field science activities and education in an outdoor setting.
151. More music, language, and art programs for seniors and stay-at-home parents in the
mornings. Currently, the Palo Alto Adult School offerings are mostly at night when it is difficult
for many adults to make use of them.
152. more naturalist programs, better mapping within parks including latin names and common
names of plants and animals, more guided walks/talks to bird watch, how to draw flowers,
how to watercolor or oil paints nature...art classes don't have to be within the parks, but bring
about an appreciation of how to better look at nature, etc.
153. more nature and ecology based outdoor education
154. More places for Teens to host activities. Bowling as an example is no longer available. Make
sure the Sports activities are supported by nice surroundings for generations to come.
155. More priority fields for softball, less for soccer
156. More recreation opportunities for high schoolers
157. more senior activities
158. More Soccer fields
159. More social sports leagues. Let an organization like 4 Sheets Sports use our parks for things
like social kickball leagues.
160. More spaces in middle and high school sports so that they don't become "cut sports" in
middle school! All MS and HS kids who want to should be able to play sports.
161. More tennis courts will benefit children, young adults and older adults
162. nature centered activities that educate and require people to be outdoors and use their
imagination, unstructured play, creativity, unplugged.
163. Need a thriving teen center as a resource for local teens especially in light of Gunn Suicide
rates and prevalence of teen depression.
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164. Need to have a community center similar to the ones in Vancouver, Canada where an indoor
pool encourage family gathering. Inexpensive membership also help in explain why it's
popular with the community. The center is always full and I would strongly suggest looking at
how they build their facilities.
165. no specific ideas but we need to be sure all of those categories are considered when setting
up activities.
166. Not listed, but what about designated outdoor spaces for adults (no children)? Often when I
try to use the park, little kids run into the area of play and interrupt. Kids are nice, but a space
without having to worry about kids underfoot can be nice, too. It also seems to me that we
could do more to make our parks accessible to people with disabilities, though I'm not sure of
anything specific to do.
167. Off leash dog areas. Off leash areas provide safe social opportunities for all ages especially
seniors. Research shows dogs improve health and well being of individuals of all ages and
families.
168. Once kids outgrow the playground, they are often involved in organized sports - even if only
on a casual basis. The city has enough playgrounds at the schools and parks for free play time
but an abysmal number of playing fields available for the youth (through adult!) leagues who
are active in soccer/basketball/baseball/etc clubs... and that's especially true when compared
to surrounding communities' athletic facilities. The open spaces are nice to look at and
occasionally visit for a walk, but this is a town where people of all ages/ethnicities are in
organized sports - it's just that there's not enough room for all the teams to practice regularly,
let alone have room for casual pickup games. This leads to crazy practice schedules and
insane traffic jams just getting across town to the one field with 10 teams sharing the same
small space.
169. Open studio opportunities to work with artists at Cubberley--for people of all ages.
170. Open up Foothills park to neighboring LAH and other communities.
171. Opportunities for these demographic groups to interact with each other. There is too much
segregation of demographic groups.
172. opportunity for casual baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. (as opposed to competitive
leagues)
173. organized birthday parties--for all ages. kite flying events--all ages
174. Organized games in a regular place for healthy seniors who just need more social outlets.
175. organized sports, yoga, weight training, physical therapy (core training), book reviews/clubs
176. Organized tai chi
177. Outdoor activity/interest clubs as listed above (especially hiking and camping and backpacking
trip opportunities - Foothill Park awareness).
178. Outdoor movie nights. In Tahoe they have movie nights every weekend. They have an
inflatable screen that they bring in. It is fun to have a picnic and watch a movie under the
stars.
179. PA already does a lot for all of the above. They are used seasonally and to date no huge
outcry has been made demanding more than we do now.
180. PAGS Softball is very important
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181. Palo Alto is "notoriously unaffordable" and the debate over the Mobile Home community
makes that plain. All our community needs to feel welcome, not only the latest generation of
tech billionaires.
182. Palo Alto needs to do everything possible to support lower-income residents' access to the
community.
183. parks and outdoor places where patients from the VA might enjoy a break from a hospital
room
184. Parks, etc. are of particular interest to lower income people.
185. Partnerships with local students and faculty to bring K-12 kids to study nature in the parks.
Make positive, real life connections, especially for low income residents.
186. People needs to spend more time outdoors with nature and less time with screens and
processed food. Don't put WiFi and Food Vendors in the Parks.
187. Perhaps community centers where middle/high school kids might go for clubs or classes, but
also for informal, drop-in activities (e.g., a game room with pool, fusball, pin-pong, board
games, etc.).
188. Pickleball--all ages. Indoor pool--people with disabilities, seniors, families
189. Pilates for the elderly to help with balance issues to cut down on fallng and broken bones and
injuries.
190. Place ping pong tables in the parks and community centers. Place badminton courts in the
parks and gyms. Both ping pong and badminton give a good work out, and serve many levels
of fitness and many ages, especially teens, yet there are no places, or very few places, to play
these sports in Palo Alto.
191. Place to fly RC electric planes. car race track
192. places for the kids to play that are not required to be schuduled
193. places to hang out safelty
194. Places where seniors can gather with their dogs and both can hike and exercise together.
Family nature experiences that include their dogs.
195. Plant identification, hikes, water source and management
196. Play areas for pre-school kids, programs and activities for families & seniors.
197. Play areas where they can dig, construct things with materials like wood similar to the one in
Berkeley - with places for the adults to sit. I would bring my 4 grandchildren.
198. play ground built to be fun and challenging to this age group with water or climbing type
equipment
199. Please add water features to more parks. The one at Mitchell is nice but it would be great to
have one at rinconada or somewhere else in the northern part of the city. It would also take
pressure off expanding capacity at the rinconada pool.
200. Please consider: When you form a survey, its important to allow more often for "no opinion"
or "insufficient knowledge" or you will get meaningless answers to some questions.
201. Please have more open swim times at Rinconada for children, year-round - take a look at what
Menlo Park is doing with their very well run pool!!!!
202. pool facilities to replace Betty Wright aquatics
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203. Poorly managed dogs are a serious detriment to the enjoyment of public spaces. Even a
moderately dense community such as Palo Alto should not devote large areas to dogs. We are
bothered by exuberant animals: physically, noise and waste
204. Pre school opportunities in Palo Alto are weak. Suicides prove that middle and high school
students are really at risk here. We should scan and adopt best practices from around the
world.
205. Preserve all tennis courts
206. Programs that connect kids with the environment, particularly underserved kids (of all ages).
Programs that keep seniors active (mind and body). Programs that families can do together
that engage the outdoors and wellness.
207. Programs to educate about nature, such as the Audubon's nature walk.
208. Provide day programs for individuals with dementia, a service that helps families care for their
loved ones.
209. Provide more age-targeted activities and you don't need to provide ethnic ones--everyone
welcome
210. public outdoor ping pong tables are great for all ages
211. Recreational sports, subsidized with low fees. Soccer, wiffle ball, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball,
others.
212. Reduced cost space for ethnic dance troupes
213. Rinconada pool recreational use should be reserved for Palo Alto residents and their guests,
much like access to Foothills park.
214. Russian speaking community
215. Sanskrit Lingustic group to retain and rejuvenate the ancient language. More organized & free
n safe play options for middle & high school students in this highly stressed community. More
opportunities and facilities for neighbors to get together.
216. Schedule weekly bike rides of differing levels of difficulty for seniors to join. For example, bike
palo alto baylands trail to Stevens Creek trail, then back through foothill parkway every Friday.
Another day bike into Los Altos Hills and back, etc. Another route: to the Water Temple and
back via Woodside.
217. See www.challengesuccess.org for great progamming ideas I believe our community needs
desperately. We have a wonderful community but, through no fault of one individual or
group but the aggregate effect of our community, our youth are stressed out. Suicide and
depression rates are out of bracket. We have an opportunity to lead through thoughtful
education and experience programs to help and to adjust our culture to a more healthy norm.
218. senior activities need to be located near/in their residences;youth activities AT the school site
is best for safety and parents;dropin/pick up sports/clubs for kids;Retirees free tutoring for
kids?;Start catalog of online courses development/recordings;
219. Senior 'play' parks such as are being built in Brazil
220. Senior Wellness Center to replace PageMIll Y and Betty Wright Swim Center
221. Service projects to learn about and maintain ecological properties. Could also apply to scout
troops
222. Singles
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223. skate boarding lessons, robotics/coding
224. skate parks, frisbee golf
225. skateboard ramps, newer playstructures with climbing walls and more interesting play ideas
226. Small community garden beds at schools to be assigned to individual families of children
attending that school. regular school gardens put too much work on the teacher, and miss
prime gardening time in summer
227. soccer is extremely popular in Palo Alto. We need more and better soccer fields. Cubberley
fields are a great location, but the fields are of low quality
228. Social skills classes
229. Solutions to the high cost of housing (for low income residents)
230. Some Accessible trails and easy reached nature immersion
231. Some indoor play facilities for rainy weather
232. Spanish for gringos.
233. special needs communities - classes, trainings, education, vocational training, independent
living skills classes ..... anything would be needed, better yet - not just classes for high
functioning special needs group, but please have something for lower functioning populations
- both adults and youth and children - and include them.
234. Special Olympics type of sports.
235. Table tennis tournaments and drop in sessions that are mutigenerational
236. Tai chi
237. Tai chi in parks for seniors. Would like to see more programs for low income residents and
people with disabilities, although I don't have specific ideas.
238. Teach gardening, nutrition, simple budgeting
239. teach small business skills
240. Teen center! Recreate, read, gather--minimum supervision (college-aged?) afterschool and
weekend time.
241. Teen offerings
242. tennis courts service all these communities, esp with new markings for youth-based activities.
243. Tennis engages all age groups, courts are in steady demand
244. Tennis is an inclusive sport for all ages. Tennis has been right-sized for kids and seniors. USTA
NorCal is an active supporter of community initaiatives and must be taken advantage; local
corporations has large tennis-playing community. Meeting their demands will open more
corporate-community outreach initiatives!
245. The city should certainly at least help fund a new warm-water indoor pool for people with
arthritis and other such ailments.
246. The community would benefit by providing more areas for dogs and their owners to enjoy
outdoor time and allow dogs to roam off-leash which greatly improves their overall happiness
and physical well-being. Other communities around the bay area have many areas including
open spaces, preserves and community parks for dogs to come with leash and off-leash.
247. the cops in other city told their homeless to come to Palo Alto. we are asking for trouble since
we have the reputation to take care of the homeless.
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248. The teens in this community have too much pressure and not enough leisure and recreation.
There are few options for teens to find places to be active in a non- stress/ competitive way.
The middle school after school athletic programs fill too quickly, so many that would like to
participate, can not. Also, for high school students, if they are not top athletes, there are few
city sponsored programs to support informal recreation and fitness in a setting that welcomes
and supports them. (And for those that do exist, they are located in South Palo Alto at
Cubberly without great transportation by shuttle. Teens are left to fend for themselves, and
fall through the cracks if they are not "exceptional" at so many things!
249. The youth in the south end of PA have limited space they can call their own. A place to "hang."
The north end has University Ave, which acts as a place to meet and a place to "feel"
unsupervised. Nothing like that in the south end. There seems to me to be a need.
250. There are a lot of old, Chinese people who seem to love Tai Chi and mah jong- would be nice
for them to have groups or classes.
251. There are definitely not enough activities for low-income or senior residents. Providing those
will provide an opportunity to connect them with other services as well. Always good to
provide teenagers and young adults with ways to disperse their energy, before it gets
channeled into the wrong activities
252. There are lots of programs to support elementary school aged kids in exercise. But the
options are more limited as kids get older. This is an area of opportunity.
253. There's a need for more activities/programs geared toward ages 12-18.
254. There's not much to do in Palo Alto if you're a teen or young adult.
255. These age groups needs cool, constructive places to connect with each other.
256. too much focus on kids
257. Transportation to parks and open spaces.
258. Ultimate Frisbee or Soccer Class with a drop-in fee like the Zumba and Fitness classes. The
idea is that the city would provide an organizer and a place for pickup games to occur.
Participants could show up on any given scheduled day and take part in a pickup game. The
cost per game/session could be around $10 and participants could use a punch card or pay per
session (like other city exercise classes). The key to success for this idea would be to start with
a core group of people who are committed to attending and to have the pickup games be at
convenient times (say start between 8 and 9 on a weeknight or even try Friday or Saturday
evenings). I (Daria Walsh) would be willing to try to get a core group of adults to start this sort
of class./activity. A class like this would benefit adult working Palo Altans.
259. Volunteer opportunities
260. Warm water pool
261. water activities/fountains for children and low income kids in the summer. Food truck night
where many trucks come at once to draw families to the park. More seating for picnics and
eating. Free wifi with tables with electrical outlets to draw teens and adults to the park. Yoga
and Tai Chi classes for seniors. Other cultural festivals and/or exhibits
262. We could always do more, but it seems to me there is something available for all of the above
groups.
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263. We have great activities in Palo Alto. We are very lucky! I don't think this is our issue. Making
our public park areas better: healthy snacks for sale, cleaner bathrooms, expanding Little
League Field and keeping dogs outside of public parks would be my priority.
264. We need places for kids to play and hang out. Some of the boys here want to build places to
jump their bikes, but the city keeps plowing them down. Same with the "tree" fort they built.
Where can boys be boys? This happened in Bol Park. Kids need places for unstructured play
outside. This should happen within Palo Alto neighborhoods, and not just at places too far
away like Foothill Park.
265. We really need better & longer after-school sports. I'd like to see middle schools offer 12
week programs, not 8 weeks. And programs should NOT be limited to 20 kids! they were sold
out by 8:03am. That's CRAZY. Any kid that wants to play after school sports should be able
to!!
266. Wellness and exercise
267. Wildlife education programs for city kids.
268. Would like to see space made available for acoustic music jams. For families and seniors.
269. Would love to see activities for local singles - a demographic that is often overlooked...
270. Your survey does a good job incorporating the questions you need input on to make a strong,
community-oriented master plan. Parks/rec should be easily accessible to all, especially the
disabled.
Survey Summary Attachment: Tags and Categories of Open Ended Responses
less sports 5 more general sports 10
less dog space / more dog rspn 13 more bike things (trails, racks, etc)14 thanks 42
less lighting 1 expand / improve pool / pool hour 18 I <3 parks 23
fewer / fewer paved trails 2 more programming 8 I liked the plans 3
don't build / add things 8 ping pong 8 I <3 PA 11
maintain / fix what we have 28 more soccer 4 79
57 maintain / improve tennis 12
support little league / baseball 19 survey too long 25
more security / safety 14 camping 2 survey not good 4
shade 4 95 survey is good 5
seating 6 34
more lighting 14 social gatherings / venues 13
make it cleaner 10 sports complex / rec facilities 6
better grass / turf 7 teen / youth / playground space 18
better scheduling / permits 5 more dog space / amenities 50
art 2 more / maintain natural areas 41
bathroom 14 more / better gardens 8
parking / transit / access 13 more / improved / accessible trails 9
89 145
general suggestions 54
misc.64 keep foothills / P&R exclusive 12
coordinate w/ schools / MV / et 9 allow non-res at foothills 13
none 3 25
130
maintain or
reduce what
we already
have
Improving
existing
spaces
General support /
loveMore /
improved
athletics
and
activities
comments
re:
exclusivity
More /
improved
venues
comments re: survey
Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan Revised October 15, 2014
To: Palo Alto PRC, Peter Jensen and Elizabeth Ames
From: Ryan Mottau and Ellie Fiore, MIG
Re: New MIG Work Products March 2015
Date: March 13, 2015
This memo is to introduce new work products being delivered to the PRC in March 2015
for inclusion in your data sources binder and to inform the needs summary matrix and
discussion at the April work session with MIG.
1. Survey Initial Summary (Insert into binder section #14)
MIG has completed an initial summary of the results from the November/December
survey effort which was completed using the City’s Vovici web survey service and
distributed broadly to citizens, employees and visitors to Palo Alto.
This summary is provided for preliminary review of the full set of 1,164 responses so
that staff and Park and Recreation Commissioners can determine the level of further
analysis needed to satisfy the data needs of the project. The cover memo highlights
quality control practices, quota sampling criteria (for balancing representation in the
results) and options for further analysis.
Survey results and analysis will be the focus of the presentation by MIG at the March
meeting. The two main topics are the key and general findings from the full set of
results and the approach to quota based sampling to balance representation.
2. Existing Conditions Maps (Binder section #9)
MIG has developed maps to document existing conditions, issues and opportunities for
each park, open space preserve and community center in Palo Alto. These have been
reviewed by Palo Alto staff and include:
• site maps based on aerial photography
• illustrations and photos of key features;
• diagrams of circulation patterns and access points;
• context map;
1 | Page
Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan Revised October 15, 2014
• basic site information;
• narrative summary (bullet list) of existing conditions;
• list of essential park activities present;
• list of other key park features (if relevant);
• opportunities and constraints; and
• site-specific public input.
The data sources for these maps include City and County GIS data, observations from
site tours and visits, notes and discussions with City staff, Parks of Palo Alto (a history by
the Palo Alto Historical Association), and public comments collected using the online
Mapita tool. These maps provide the opportunity to point out issues, ideas and
conditions on a site-by-site basis. As the planning process moves forward, site based
recommendations will be integrated into the final document.
3. Program Analysis - Update
The project team is collecting registration information about Palo Alto programs,
activities and classes to inform several key columns of the data and needs matrix. The
summary of this information will supplement the draft Program Analysis already
included in your binder. Of particular interest in the examination of this data so far is the
capacity within existing programs.
4. Additional Information Development
The project team has been reaching out throughout the planning process to enhance
our understanding of general and specific park and recreation issues in Palo Alto. As a
part of the regular updates the project team will provide a listing of the additional
meetings (outside of those with independent summaries) with Palo Alto staff and
external stakeholders with a brief explanation of the topics discussed. This list is
intended to bring you up to the current date and future updates will include meetings
that follow this update.
Date Contact Organization Topics
10/3/2014 Karen Kienzle Art Center Existing program
areas, Opportunities
10/1/2014 John Aikin Junior Museum and Zoo Existing program
areas, Opportunities
10/3/2014 Judge Luckey Children’s Theatre Existing program
areas, Opportunities
10/10/2014 Jenny Jordan Children’s Library Existing program
areas, Opportunities
2 | Page
Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan Revised October 15, 2014
12/2/14 Elise DeMarzo Public Art Program Public Art Master Plan
2/9/15 Adam Howard
Erwin Gonzales
John Aikin
Judge Luckey
Karen Kienzle
Lacee Kortsen
Chase Harmann
Sharon Eva
Palo Alto Recreation
Program Staff
Programming
opportunities,
challenges
2/24/15 John Aikin Junior Museum and Zoo Programming
opportunities follow-
up
2/24/15 Palo Alto Dog Owners Stakeholder interview:
issues and ideas
2/24/15 Avenidas Senior services
perspective on trends
and needs
3 | Page
ADA-accessible viewing box
Connect grandstand with paving instead of gravel to make It fully accessible
Space between levy and field could be adapted for additional programming
PALO ALTO GOLF COURSE
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baseball field
parking
TOM SARGE CASEY FIELD
softball field
picnicarea
restrooms
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D
B
A | Viewing box and picnic table
B | No ADA access to bleachers
C | Multi-use trail
D | San Francisquito Creek and levy
N
BAYLANDSATHLETIC CENTER
Location: 1900 Geng RoadOwner: City of Palo Alto Size: 10 acres Year: N/A
HISTORY The Baylands Athletic Center complex was completed in 1969. Facilities for field and team sports include a lighted baseball diamond with a 500-seat grandstand, a lighted softball field with bleachers, snack facility and parking lots. In 1970, the baseball field was named Tom Casey Field in honor of a longtime Palo Alto sports figure.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Baylands Athletic Center is part of the Baylands Nature Preserve and serves as a gateway to the Baylands trail system.• The park is a B-class, six-acre facility with one baseball field, which is in great condition with full features, stands, dugouts, concessions, and fencing• A nice grandstand provides shaded viewing• A second field is for softball (good condition)• Fields are scheduled for organized league play in the spring and fall and are open for casual public use at other times• Parking lot is adequately sized for games but not other special events• Bathroom building is simple but functional• Field lighting is relatively new and efficient• Special events, including organized runs, start at this location
• Site is popular with community members for running and cycling• Field needs regrading due to material decomposing from it being a former landfill; large dips visible in the outfield• Irrigation is fed to the site from the golf course's system
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Grandstands• Concessions
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The site will be threatened with inundation by sea level rise in the next 100 years• The parking lot is in very bad condition, has no drainage and is poorly designed for circulation. • Currently people park vehicles between creek and path• The center is not transit-accessible • The snack shack/maintenance equipment building is very simple and limits opportunities for full range of food and beverages• The sound system and scoreboard are outdated• Access to the softball field is somewhat confusing• Community members report difficulty accessing the park by bike when crossing at Oregon/101 overcrossing• The site is former landfill, there is settling in the outfield. At some point the settling will need to be addressed.• There is only one picnic table, and it is not ADA accessible• There have been incidents of copper theft from the field lighting• The additional 10.5 acres from the golf course could provide new uses• Batting cages used by the Babe Ruth Little League may be a compatible new use on the undeveloped southern parcel of the former Pasco site (2000 Geng Rd).• The concession stand could be expanded to support special events and full catering services• The land between the softball field and International School is underutilized• The current bathroom facility has storage area for small maintenace equipment; leagues also use it for storing smaller equipment
• At this time, site does not use 100% recycled water; future plans for 100%• The use of recycled water limits plant selection• There is potential to be an actual sports complex with reconstruction of adjacent golf course• The site would benefit from improved player warm up areas, practice areas, bleachers, wifi and concession stands
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
MATAD
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Opportunity for interpretive signage at water’s edge
Raised planting beds boy scoutproject
Heritage oaks
Leaning fence and agricultural remnants
Path is not ADA accessible
Failed nativepantings
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youth soccer field
open lawn area
open lawn area
play area
picnicarea
A
C
D
B
A | Dogs off-leash in the open turf area
B | Agricultural remnants
C | Access to creek
D | Tree canopy above trail along creek
N
BOL PARK
Location: Laguna Avenue along the Bol Park Bike PathOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 13.8 acres Year: N/A
HISTORY This former donkey pasture was named after Cornelis Bol, a native of Holland, a Stanford physicist and the inventor of the high-intensity mercury vapor lamp.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Located in Barron Park, a residential area near Gunn High School, the park is a linear parcel alongside a Class 1 bike path and Matadero Creek• Adjacent path provides a bicycle connections to larger open spaces• Park includes a children’s play area, heritage oak trees, and a multi-use trail• Upper meadow remains undeveloped, as per the neighbors’ wishes • Redwoods and oaks provide shade at park's outer edges• A native plant garden is located at the corner of Matadero Creek and Laguna Ave• Park has a rustic character, some agricultural tools, and aging fencing remaining from the days when it was a pasture for donkeys• Adjacent to the park is a private corral where two donkeys still reside. The donkeys are taken to Bol Park each Sunday morning to graze on the lawn and be visited by children. • Play equipment is 12-14 years old and in good condition
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Heritage oak trees
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The park has ADA limitations, partially due to topography• The play area equipment is outdated• Native plantings appear to have failed; Acterra working on native plant restoration• There are opportunities for better creek access and habitat enhancement• There are opportunities for interpretive graphics and signage about watershed, history, wildlife and native plants • The City has replaced wooden swings and tire swing with metal posts after a series of replacement wood posts rotted and cracked due to weather and moisture in the ground• A small turf area at Laguna and Matadero could be converted to a small dog run• Creek access could be improved by highlighting it and providing a gathering place
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
Opportunity to expandpark in vacant lot
The path around the park cuts across the basketball court
RVs and busesparked here
Channelized creek
Good shade at play areas
Paved path
M
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Well
Vans, trailers and buses parked along Ash StASH
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A
N
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basketballcourts
play area
play area
open lawn
picnicarea
A
C
D
B
A | Lighting and path along play area
B | Basketball court
C | Shaded picnic area
D | Nearby adjacent vacant lot
N
BOULWARE PARK
Location: 39 Fernando AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.5 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYJohn Wesley Boulware lived in Mayfield from 1861 to 1894. On his 160-acre ranch in Santa Clara Valley, he grew a variety of crops, including wheat and berries. He was a Mayfield school board trustee and served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. As a supervisor, Boulware was involved in laying out the route of Embarcadero Road. Boulware Park was initially called South Palo Alto Neighborhood Park.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A small neighborhood park in a middle-class neighborhood adjacent to Matadero Creek channel• The park features two children’s playgrounds, a basketball court, two picnic areas with barbecues, benches and a perimeter path• The park serves a large neighborhood with limited park land
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• This is a popular site for teens and transients to “hang out” and/or camp in the northwest corner of the park near the creek. • Vans, trailers and buses may be homeless people camping on Ash St• The playgrounds for different age groups are far apart• The playgrounds are in poor condition/outdated
• Amenities in the park were recently renovated• Parking is limited to on-street parking• There are very limited picnic facilities with barbecues and no restroom for washing hands or clean-up• There is a vacant parcel across the street owned by AT&T, which may present an opportunity for future park expansion• Planned improvements (in CIP for FY 2017-18) will improve the existing playground, lighting, and site amenities, including drinking fountains, benches, and trash receptacles. Accessibility improvements have not yet been identified but may be incorporated into the project.
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Restricted parking on edges of park• Off-leash dog area• Updated play equipment• Increased maintenance to keep park cleaner• Restrooms• Make it safer
CALIFORNIA AVENUE CALTRAIN STATION
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OREGON AVE
fenced play area
open air shelterw/ benches and picnic tables
open lawn area
Exposed pedestrian sidewalk along six-lane road
Formal, rectilinear ornamental plant and seating areas along decomposed granite perimeter path with bench seating
Parallel parking all along High Street
Parallel parking all along NE edge of park
open lawn/buffer
public art sculpture grassy mound
ADAramp
public art sculpture
rail stationentrance/exit
Picnic area w/ (3) small chess tables and fixed chairs
Pedestrian-bike connection
benches
benches
A
C D
B
A | Children's playground
B | Rustic open air shelter*
C | Boxwood hedges create u-shaped areas*
D | Open lawn area framed by trees and ornamental plants*
* Image source: The Cultural Landscape Foundation
N
BOWDEN PARK
Location: Between High and Alma Streets at North California AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 2.0 acres Year: 1952
HISTORYEstablished in 1952, the park is named for Jerry Bowden, a two-term plus City Councilman who supported city parks and lived on nearby Nevada Street. The park was almost converted to a parking lot for Caltrain commuters. After its preservation in 1961, the grassy area was redesigned as a "visual" space by San Francisco landscape architect Robert Royston and renamed for Bowden.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Situated across the street from the North California Avenue commuter rail station• Includes a small playground, intimate seating areas, ornamental plantings, a central lawn area and public art sculptures • Redesigned by modernist landscape architect Robert Royston in 1960• Structured primarily as a stroll garden that connects to the station via an underground tunnel• Rustic log shelter at the northwest entrance creates a shaded seating area with concrete tables and seats recycled from capped sewer pipes• Cultural resources are well preserved and intact
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Historic modernist landscape design • Public art
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The park is difficult to access by bike from California Ave, especially when crossing Alma and El Camino by tunnel• Cyclist and pedestrian conflicts exist along the California Ave side of the park• The children’s play area is well-used• The park does not have restrooms• The log shelter is in need of repair• Cracks are visible in concrete retaining wall and ramp at play area• There is no interpretive signage to explain park's place in history• Issue with Cal Train users cutting through the play area and leaving gates unlatched while children are using the area• Reconfiguration of landscape can make better use of the field/open space• Sidewalk along Alma St would keep pedestrians on a solid path
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Off-leash dog area• Restrooms• Play structures for older children• More picnic areas
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open lawn arealawn bowling green
shaded grassy area
BOWLING GREENPARK
KELLOGG PARK
CLUBHOUSE
bench
bench
bench
bench
AC
D
B
A | Fenced lawn bowling green
B | Open lawn
C | Benches with shade structures
D | Shaded grassy area
N
BOWLING GREEN + KELLOGGPARKS
Location: 474 Embarcadero RoadOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.9 acres (Bowling Green Park),0.25 acre (Kellogg Park)Year: 1933
HISTORYConstructed in 1933-34 by the Civil Works Administration, Bowling Green Park sits on the site of the old Peninsula Hospital (built in 1910 and razed in 1931). On opening day, which was March 10, 1935, ceremonial bowls were rolled by Virginia Arnott, club president; Earl C. Thomas, mayor of Palo Alto; and John McLaren, superintendent of Golden Gate Park who aided in the planning of Palo Alto’s green.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Bowling Green Park is a unique facility that is maintained by the Palo Alto Lawn Bowl Club (who maintains the City-owned club house)• Facility is well-kept• Newly renovated restrooms serve the needs of the lawn bowlers• Turf area outside of the fenced lawn bowling facility is used for soccer practice• Parking area for the lawn bowling club is shared with the adjacent Gamble Garden• Most visitors use on-street parking in the neighborhood near the park• Palo Alto Lawn Bowl Club hosts competition matches during the spring and summer attracting players from all over the state and west coast• Club members provide free instruction and welcome visitors and new members of all ages• Kellogg Park is an adjacent small green space with mature trees
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The fenced-off lawn bowl area makes most of this park “exclusive” for the lawn bowlers, so the facility cannot be used by bocce or pétanque players• The club house can only be used by special reservation• Bowling green requires intense maintenance and quite a bit of herbicide to keep a healthy playing surface• Issue with young adults jumping fence after hours and vandalizing property (broken glass, garbage)• Make the green more visible from Embarcadero Rd• Consider synthetic turf with a canopy to provide shade and reduction of maintenance and herbicide usage
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
Rustic bridge across swale
Shade structure over toddler play area
Play area very bright/hot
Closed to through-traffic
No s
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BRIONESSCHOOL
Gateway structure
FIRE STATION5
MAYBELL ORCHARDSITE
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basketball courts
rock climbing wall
game tables in redwood grove
youth soccer field
play area
play area
swale
picnicarea
A
C
D
B
A | Seating near playground
B | Heavily shaded picnic area in grove
C | Bridge element, framing pine
D | Rock climbing wall
N
BRIONES PARK
Location: Arastradero Road at Clemo StreetOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 4.1 acresYear: 1890
HISTORYOriginally named Arastradero Road Park, the park name was changed to honor Juana Briones in 1967. Briones was a single parent, a property owner, and a business woman who bought the 4400-acre Rancho la Purisima Concepcion from two Mission Indians and moved down the peninsula with her eight children. Her house, an example of earthen material encased in a wooden frame, still stands on Old Adobe Road. Juana Briones died in Mayfield in 1889.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• The park is located in a residential neighborhood and is near Briones School• Park includes two children’s play areas (with a “train station” and climbing rock), basketball court, picnic tables, benches, a large unprogrammed E-class field, and a restroom • On the Maybell Ave side of the park, next to the play area, is a 4-foot cross-section of an oak tree that once shaded the playground. Rings are keyed to dates in Juana Briones’ life and California history. • Park land used to be an apricot orchard• Apricot trees were planted to honor the park's history during a 2005 renovation project• Consistent wet areas by bridge due to slope of area, shade and soil conditions
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Rock climbing wall
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The shaded playground is unique for Palo Alto park playgrounds• Parking is limited to on-street parking• There is not much of a connection to the adjacent fire station facility• Access to the park is an issue since there are no sidewalks and visitors with strollers and young children have to walk in the street• Maybell Orchard is located across the street from the park and is the site of a future affordable housing project, purchased by Golden Gate Homes, LLC in 2014• The large field could be used as an alternate soccer field• Sidewalks should have ADA ramps at intersections at at other sidewalk entry points
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Off-leash dog area• Splash pad• More picnic areas• Expand the park by purchasing Maybell Orchard (across the street)• Grass is overwatered• Marijuana use has been witnessed at shaded picnic table
Turf in poor condition
Poor screening between park and residences
WE
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open lawn
open lawn
open lawn
play area
picnicareaA
C
D
B
A | Shaded picnic area
B | ADA access into play area
C | Tree shading play area
D | Poor perimeter screening
N
CAMERON PARK
Location: 2101 Wellesley StreetOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.1 acresYear: 1880
HISTORYCameron is one of four small parks planned together in Mayfield that dates back to 1888. Originally named Berkeley Park, in 1968 it was renamed for Donaldina M. Cameron who directed the Presbyterian Mission Home for Chinese Women in San Francisco. After she retired, Cameron lived at 1020 in College Terrace until her death.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A small neighborhood park with a large green open space, playground, and picnic area (good condition)• One of four small parks in the College Terrace neighborhood that function as a set of parks (the others are Mayfield, Werry, and Weisshaar)
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• This park is very similar to nearby Werry Park• The playground is very small• There are very few park amenities and few activities for adults to do here• There is no on-street parking• Field use is restricted to quiet practice games because the fields are small and the park is surrounded by residences • Planned improvements for the FY 2018 CIP will upgrade and renovate safety and accessibility of the playground and other features• The wooden play structure requires increased maintenance - continual need to replace rotten posts, cracked posts and boards• No connection path through park to keep pedestrians off the turf when walking along Wellesley St
• Consider installing basketball or tennis courts• Potential for more picnic tables• Park drainage is a concern to adjacent neighbors
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Off-leash dog area• Updated play equipment• Play structure for older kids• Paved walkway around the park
SENIORCENTER
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open lawn
decomposed granite plaza
picnic area with moveable tables and chairs
benches
benches
benches
wide path w/seating
bench
Memorial Redwood Grove
wooded area w/ mature redwood, oak and magnoliatrees
drought tolerant plantingarea
parking
A
C
D
B
A | Plaza with various seating options
B | Lunchtime gatherings
C | Bench overlooking lawn area
D | Shady, wooded corner with seating
N
COGSWELL PLAZA
Location: 264 Lytton Avenue between Ramona and Bryant StreetsOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.5 acres Year: 1955
HISTORYCogswell Plaza opened in 1924 as City Hall Park. With the increased traffic in the early 1950s came a proposal to turn the park into a parking lot, but it did not happen. In 1955 City Hall Park was redesigned by San Francisco landscape architect Douglas Baylis and was renamed in honor of Elinor Cogswell, the editor of the Palo Alto Times from 1938 to 1954 and a strong proponent of retaining the plaza as park space.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A downtown plaza with a wide, bisecting path, a variety of seating areas, an open lawn area, and a canopied tree area for shady relaxation• Very popular with workers and shoppers, especially at lunchtime• Renovated in 2013• This is the City’s only public park with free wi-fi access
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• A community event space, which includes a summer concert series
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• There is an opportunity to program more frequent, small community events• There is an opportunity to provide outdoor programs with the Senior Center• There is an opportunity to use the site for rotating public art installations
• Fill in open mulch areas with low-profile, drought-tolerant groundcovers• Issue with people staying overnight in the park between sunset and sunrise (in violation of closure times specified in Title 22 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code)• A 2013 project helped to improve visibility in landscaped areas of the park
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
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To San Francisquito Creek
PALO ALTO AVE
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SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A | TBD
B | TBD
C |TBD
D | TBD
N
EL CAMINO PARK
Location: 1 El Camino RealOwner: Stanford University, leased to the City of Palo Alto through 2046Size: 12.2 acresYear: Currently under construction
HISTORY El Camino Park was establised in 1914 as an effort to create a pleasant entry to the City off El Camino Real. The park, leased to the City from Stanford University in June 1915, included land located between the highway and the railroad northwest of the depot. The park was originally called Highway or Community Park, and has been called "Palo Alto's first playground."
In 1925 a clubhouse was built; landscaping was provided in 1928 that included screen trees along El Camino and a 30-foot border of shrubs along the fence marking the railroad's right-of-way.
Over the years, sports recreation facilities were added for rugby, baseball and soccer. The park was also a site of rock concerts and mass gatherings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A softball field was added in the mid-1970s with bleachers and lighting.
On the south side of the park stands Olympic Redwood Grove, where several trees were planted in the late 1980s to honor Palo Alto's Olympic medalists.
In 1999 Palo Alto and Stanford University amended their lease agreement for $1 per year, which extends to 2033.
As of February 2015, the park is undergoing a renovation to increase community and sports activities. The improvements are slated to be complete in Fall 2015.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A significant-sized park with playfields, many mature trees, a picnic area, and a restroom• The distance from residential uses allows adult sports with minimal conflicts• Currently under renovation• The new design transitions the park from being an athletic park to having more neighborhood park features and picnic spaces• New lighted artificial turf soccer field will help City meet demand for fields• Other planned improvements include an expanded parking lot, a new restroom, a lighted perimeter path, passive recreation areas and drought tolerant plantings
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES N/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• There is unused park land at both the north (creek side) and south end of the park• In the past, this park has been a magnet for the homeless because of its downtown location and public restrooms• Stanford may have long-term plans for the north undeveloped area as a mitigation site• There is a poor and uninviting connection between the train station/bus depot and Stanford Shopping Center• There is a required 100-ft setback from the creek• A shallow root zone (only 13" of soil on top of the reservoir) limits this site's potential uses• Even after the renovation, the parking may not meet demand• The sidewalk condition near Alma is difficult to navigate with a stroller• Possibility of using vacant lots for storage areas for different types of venues; access will be needed to and from these locations
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Bicyclists describe difficulties safely navigating nearby crossings, especially from the train station
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Soccer net storage
Low water demonstration garden
No shadeat play area
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community gardens
community gardens
youth soccer fields
new picnic tables
multipurposeconcrete bowl
play area
heritage oaks
new toddlerplay area
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B | No accessible paths to picnic tables
C | Practicing tai chi in the bowl
D | Drought tolerant plantings
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ELEANOR PARDEE PARK
Location: 851 Center Drive at Channing AvenueOwner: City of Palo Alto Size: 9.6 acresYear: 1957
HISTORYEmily Eliot Pardee Karns Dixon deeded her 10-acre property and house to the City of Palo Alto in 1920. Emily also gifted the city with real estate property in San Francisco in exchange for converting the 10-acre homestead into a park. She wanted the park to be named Eleanora Parque in memory of her daughter who died of typhoid fever at age 15. In 1957, the southern half of the property was developed, in the early 1970s the run-down house was razed, and in the early 1980s most of the remaining five acres were turned into community gardens.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Larger park with popular playing fields often used for soccer and Little League• Two up-to-date children play areas• Amenities include a large picnic area with barbecues, multipurpose concrete bowl, jogging/walking path, community vegetable gardens, UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Demonstration Garden and Memorial Grove (on the Center Street side of the park)
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Multi-purpose concrete bowl• Community garden
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• There is no ADA access to the picnic area or community gardens• Parking is limited• The bowl feature is outdated with cracks and poor drainage and is rarely used• More restrooms are needed for the level of use of this park, but were opposed by neighbors who stopped a capital improvement program• The community garden is poorly organized with a variety of plot sizes• The garden needs a new mainline and updated fencing• The play structures are located far away from each other• The playground for ages 5-12 is now in full sun after the removal of several large trees• Most Community members are unaware of the 9/11 memorial• Dogs often run off-leash in the picnic area, large turf area and into west play area• Dog bites to children have occured in play areas, both off-leash and on-leash• The lack of restrooms leads to problems with people urinating in the park• Restrooms should be installed to accommodate the use of fields• Community members have complained about illegal activity in the park• Recent construction added new trails, a new play area (tot lot) on the southern end of the park, a new irrigation system, and new amenities• Neighbors have also opposed adding lighting, restrooms, and a dog run
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Off-leash dog area• Restrooms• More shade/more trees• More habitat for birds• Slow down traffic
Bridge across creek
EL PALO ALTO PARK
EL CAMINO PARK
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train tracks
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A | Park entrance from Palo Alto Avenue
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EL PALO ALTO PARK
Location: 117 Palo Alto Avenue (between El Camino Real and Alma Street)Owner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.5 acres Year: N/A
HISTORYEl Palo Alto is the historic redwood tree after which the City of Palo Alto is named. “The Old Tree” has been a local landmark for hundreds of years. In the mid-1800s, the tree was a survey point for a road which was to become El Camino Real. Early drawings show El Palo Alto with two trunks. One of the trunks may have been lost during a very wet winter or it may have been felled when the railroad trestle was built. El Palo Alto is over a thousand years old, stands at 110.8 feet tall and is California Heritage Landmark #2.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• This small park is home to the historic El Palo Alto tree• A trail runs through site• The park is adjacent to San Francisquito Creek
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Historic El Palo Alto tree
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The park has native plantings and good lighting• The trail provides pathway connections between downtown and Menlo Park bike and pedestrian paths• There are many informal paths that pedestrians use to cut through the park to reach other destinations• To reach the park, pedestrians have to walk in the street because there are no sidewalks nearby
• The park is cluttered with many interpretive signs that are not easy to read because there is too much text• Some homeless camp in or near this park
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Improved and widened paving near the train tracks to connect more easily to Stanford
Electrical towers and power lines
Service access road
Electrical utilities
Adjacent open space
EMERSON SCHOOL
BAYLANDSNATURE PRESERVE
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baseball field
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softball field
softball field
soccer field
soccer field
soccer field
(2) soccer fields
parking
play area
basketballcourts
low-use turf area
skate park
waterwise plantings
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A | View of freeway from park
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C | Picnic area garbage cans
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GREER PARK
Location: 1098 Armarillo AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 22 acresYear: 1967
HISTORY Greer Park has grown from a 5-acre neighborhood park to a 22-acre multiuse area. The original five acres were acquired in 1963 and dedicated as Amarillo Park in September of 1965. Originally created as a neighborhood park, it has been expanded to serve as a regional park for a growing population.
It was renamed John Lucas Greer Park in 1967, in keeping with the policy of honoring Palo Alto historical figures. Captain John Lucas Greer, an Irish seafarer, was born in 1808 and came to the San Francisco Bay in 1849. He sailed up San Francisquito Creek, decided to settle in the area, and leased some acreage for farming. Greer became a successful rancher, founded the Woodside Library, and was a trustee of the Woodside School. The family moved to Palo Alto in the 1860s.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Located just south of Highway 101 • Features several athletic fields, a small dog park and the City’s only skate park• A blend of recycled and potable water is used at this site• Has numerous picnic areas, including the newly added Scott Meadows with many benches• Children's playground built in 2010 is accessible to users of many different abilities• The fields are often used for large baseball/soccer tournaments and have very good drainage• The bathroom building is adequate in size and efficient for cleaning and safety• Parking is adequate both in the lot and on adjacent streets• Five athletic fields in one location allow the park to serve as a sports, tournament, and special event facility
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Dog play area• Skate park
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTSAccess• The gate between the day care and businesses between the park and the freeway is locked
Facilities• Basketball courts are in poor condition• There is a very small, dated dog exercise area that only serves a small number of dog owners• Users sometimes run their dogs on the Little League field. The field could be enclosed with fencing and used as a shared dog exercise area during certain hours of the day and playing fields at other hours. • Dog bites to children have occured, both off-leash and on-leash• The skate bowl is outdated. The bowl is designed for skaters but is often used by BMX bikers despite the existing rules stating that it is for skateboarders only. The mix of uses may be dangerous for users. • The skate bowl is also uneven and potentially unsafe, and the fencing is in very poor condition• Skate area could be relocated to northwest side of the park at low-use turf area; could be expanded to a multi-use facility• The upcoming CIP will replace fencing and repair skate bowl surfacing, but does not include additional skate park amenities needs• Par course stations are out-of-date and seldom used, but there is potential for an outdoor workout facility/gym
Planting• The use of recycled water has a detrimental effect on some of the landscaping• A “Got Space” report suggested one synthetic field for the north, south, east and west areas of Palo Alto and Greek Park could serve as the east location
Furnishings• Park lighting is fairly old• The picnic area near the parking lot is surrounded with an overabundance of plastic garbage cans
Etiquette/Behavior• There are instances of offensive graffiti, which needs to be cleaned up• The parking lot is often used for illegal drug activity in the evening
Expansion• There is a turf area associated with a utility substation across the street from Scotts Meadow that could be acquired and possibly used as a dog park
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• A gate prevents bike trailers and tandem bikes from passing over the Oregon Expressway/101 bicycle pedestrian overcrossing, which respondents indicate is a barrier to accessing the park.• The dog park has a bad odor• Picnickers leave behind a lot of garbage and there is a lot of smoke from barbeques
ROTH BUILDING(FUTURE PALO ALTO HISTORY MUSEUM)
HERITAGE PARK
SCOTTPARK
PALO ALTO REHABILITATION CENTER
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HERITAGE PARK
Location: 300 Homer AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 2.01 acresYear: 2006
HISTORYPalo Alto’s newest park sits on the former site of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The Foundation moved in 1999; negotiations between the new property owners (Summerhill Homes), the City of Palo Alto, the Medical Foundation and the neighbors led to several acres being set aside for a park. In 2000, the City purchased the Roth Building that was previously owned by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The 1932 building was designed by architect Birge Clark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Plans for the building have evolved to include a local history museum. In 2003, the city approved plans for an interim park; groundbreaking took place in 2004, and Heritage Park had its grand opening in March of 2006.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Park is the result of a unique public-private partnership that allowed the park to be designed and built on a relatively quick timeline• Features open lawn with a cluster of trees in the middle to prevent sports play, a picnic area and a popular children’s playground with unique features like a train and a climbing wall. There are also a few benches,• Park has limited amenities, since it came online shortly before the recession and resulting budget cut
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES
• Climbing wall
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The Roth Building adjacent to the park remains unused today - fundraising efforts for the planned museum are ongoing• Aside from museum uses, the Roth Building could also serve as a location for recreation programs, educational displays or staff offices• There are drainage issues associated with site conditions. When the site became a park, soil was placed on top of the asphalt that had previously been at the site. Stormwater sometimes flows into the condominium parking lot because the site is sloped towards its driveway. • Trees on the site are not doing well• In the playground, the sand mixes into the wood fiber safety surfacing• When the park was established there was an agreement with the neighbors that the park would not be programmed for special events that would bring in large groups and noise• People play soccer on the turf area between the playground and Waverly St. To discourage the games from becoming too boisterous and loud, trees were planted to break the field into to smaller sections. • There is an unused portion of grass in southeast corner which could accommodate new uses• Dog bites to children have occured, both off-leash and on-leash• Large tree in center could serve as a natural tree for holiday tree lighting ceremony• Large turf area between proposed museum building and condominiums could be used for other purposes
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• More seating and benches• More shade• Movie projection• Off-leash dog area• Restrooms• Spigots for dog walkers• Review the play equipment to make sure it is up to safety code• Paved perimeter trail for children to ride their bikes• Flashing lights at nearby pedestrian crossings
Observed use ofballfield by dogs
Low use turf area
Seating area with failing pavement and overgrown planting
ADA accessible picnic table
Dry watercourse
KEYS SCHOOL
APARTMENT COMPLEX
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basketball courts
tennis courts
handball court
baseball field
youth soccer field
play area
play area
picnicarea
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A | Wall and benches at play area
B | Redwood grove and sculptures
C | Seating area in need of repair
D | Dog run area
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HOOVER PARK
Location: 2901 Cowper Street, between Colorado and Loma Verde AvenuesOwnership: City of Palo AltoSize: 4.2 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYThis park is named for President Herbert Hoover, who had close ties to Stanford University. The site became park land in the mid 1950’s when a bond funded new recreational space south of Oregon. When the park was developed, it was adjacent to Herbert Hoover Elementary School, which was relocated in 1982. Herbert Hoover was in the Stanford pioneer class of 1895, founded the Hoover Institution, gave his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination in Stanford Stadium, and deeded his home on the campus to the University for the President’s house.
A dry watercourse with various-sized boulders runs along the south side of the park. The bed was originally filled with water but a drought in 1976 led to the draining of the creek because the water could not be recycled.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Amenities include open turf areas, two children’s playgrounds, a fenced youth baseball field with bleachers, two tennis courts, a backboard, three handball courts, a picnic area, benches, a multi-purpose concrete bowl with two basketball hoops, a pathway around park, a fenced dog run, and small restrooms• The redwood grove is a unique feature with boulders and a mulched swale running through it• Climbable art was added recently using neighborhood input
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Public art• Multi-purpose concrete bowl• Hand ball court• Dog run• Redwood grove
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Some park facilities are in poor condition• The benches are low, the pavement is failing, and the planting has become overgrown • The play areas for different age groups are a great distance apart• The multi-purpose field receives a lot of use by different user groups• The Little League outfield doubles as a soccer field• The softball field is used as a “de facto dog park” where dogs often run off-leash (although there is a small fenced dog run)• The field fencing is fairly poor (PVC staked into the ground and sand bags)• The facilities could use storage for their equipment• Though it is adjacent to the Matadero Creek, there is no relationship or view of it in the fenced-in channel• Adjacent land uses may provide opportunities for shared or expanded use or additional parking• Planned improvements in the CIP (budgeted for FY2018) provide for replacing the concrete walkway, repairing the DG walkway, and replacing amenities including playground backstops and the brick wall adjacent to the playground• People have been observed sleeping in the handball court located nearest to the baseball field• PVC outfield fencing has been replaced with permanent cyclone fencing with two access gates• The apartment complex located on east side of park floods during heavy rain events - water flows from the park into their underground parking garage• Drainage is poor in the basketball court and other parts of the site• The seating area could be renovated and possible reconfiguration of the tennis and handball courts could allow for improved use of the site
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• It is a challenge to access Hoover Park from the Eastern side of Matadero Canal
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D | Fence along creek
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HOPKINS CREEKSIDEPARK
Location: Palo Alto Avenue from Emerson to Marlowe StreetOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 12.4 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYThis park is named after Timothy Hopkins, the founder of Palo Alto. A protégé of Leland Stanford’s, Hopkins was encouraged by Stanford to buy 697 acres of Seale property plus 40 acres of Greer property to develop into a university town. In 1887 the land was purchased and two years later the subdivision map was recorded and lots were sold. Hopkins named streets and planted trees in the town that was originally called University Park. In 1907 Hopkins and his wife deeded the narrow strip of land along the Palo Alto side of San Francisquito Creek to the City of Palo Alto for park land.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• This site is a protected green space along San Francisquito Creek• Two small developed “pocket” parks offer some turf and few picnic tables and benches• Emphasis is on the natural environment
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• There is little to no parking at this site and most park users walk to Hopkins Creekside Park• There are no trails along the roadside so hikers wanting to go from El Palo Alto Park to Middlefield Road must walk along a narrow and winding street in poor conditions with car traffic• Community members report trees are overgrown with ivy and need maintenance • An unofficial community garden along Francisquito Creek was shut down in 2006 because of disputes among gardeners, lack of adequate sun, and impacts to the creek environment• Three small park sites are scheduled to be renovated in 2014 with new drought-tolerant landscaping, screening, improved irrigation, additional trails, and new picnic tables and benches - to be complete end of of January 2015
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT • Improved vegetation with native plants• Remove the fence• Benches• Dim the lights around the creek• Park expansion to the edge of the creek
Dense shade provided by mature and heritage trees
No ADA access to picnic areas
Perimeter trail
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youth soccer fields
community garden
basketballcourts
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picnicarea
play area
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D | Bench in need of repair
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JOHNSON PARK
Location: Everett Avenue and Waverley StreetOwner: City of Palo Alto Size: 2.5 acresYear: 1968
HISTORYThe City of Palo Alto purchased this entire block of land in 1968 Palo Alto to give some open space to this heavily populated area. Houses on each of the Waverley corners were torn down and mini parks were established. Some years later, the remaining houses were demolished and the entire block became dedicated park land. Originally called Downtown Park North, the park was renamed in 1986 for Dr. Edith Eugenie Johnson who was a physician in Palo Alto from 1907 until the 1960s.
EXISTING CONDITIONS • A popular, multi-use neighborhood park with many amenities that serves several relatively-dense residential neighborhoods• Park is close to downtown• Includes a community garden with uniform-sized, well-cared for plots• Sand volleyball court is heavily used• Half-court basketball court is used regularly• There is a large playground with a hill slide that is very popular with children
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Sand volleyball court• Community garden
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Parking is very limited in this neighborhood
• The giant concrete slide is beloved but is not up to playground safety standards• There is limited field space for field sports• Skateboarders love the perimeter asphalt path, but benches along the path have been ‘ground’ by skaters• The nearby community does not want a bathroom• Homeless are known to hang out at the site often and sleep on the park's benches or turf areas
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Add restrooms• Enlarge the play area• Additional parking• More picnic tables• Labeled recycling containers• Additional lighting• Move the community gardens to another park• The intersection at Everett and Bryant is dangerous• There is poor road surfacing at Everett and Webster• Some park users have been observed drinking alcohol and playing loud music
Location of holiday tree lighting
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C | Mix of metal and wood seats and tables
D | Public art
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LYTTON PLAZA
Location: 202 University AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.2 acreYear: 1982
HISTORY In the early 1960s, Lytton Plaza was developed by Bart Lytton across the street from his Lytton Savings and Loan office. It was intended to be a venue for outdoor events, such as art and crafts shows. In the late 1960s, Lytton Savings and Loan was taken over by Great Western Savings and Loan and the plaza was sold to a private individual. In 1975, through eminent domain, Palo Alto acquired the property and it was dedicated in 1982. A plaza revitalization was completed through a public/private partnership and the ribbon cutting ceremony was in December 2009.
EXISTING CONDITIONS • Small urban plaza in downtown Palo Alto• Features include picnic tables and chairs, a fountain, semi-circular bicycle racks and public art• City's holiday tree lighting takes place at Lytton Plaza
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Water fountain• Public art
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The City has isolated most of the park's outlets and installed timers on two for evening music performances in response to excessive public use• Park's downtown location makes it an attractive place for people to hang out at all hours, and it's difficult to enforce standard park hours
• Homeless are known to hang out at the site often and sleep on the park's benches or turf areas
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• It is difficult to access the site by bicycle because of a lack of bike lanes downtown• There are pushy panhandlers and aggressive pedestrians at this site• No play area for children
Undeveloped private parcel
Seating area
COLLEGE TERRACE LIBRARY
COLLEGE TERRACE CHILDREN’S CENTER
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MAYFIELD PARK
Location: Wellesley Street between College and California AvenuesOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.1 acresYear: 1880
HISTORY Mayfield Park, along with Cameron, Werry, and Weisshaar Parks, is one of four old parks from the town of Mayfield. It was originally named Hollywood Park and in 1968, Hollywood was renamed Mayfield in honor of the former town.
EXISTING CONDITIONS • Very small green space with benches that wrap around the popular Mayfield Branch Library and Children’s Center• One of four small parks in the College Terrace neighborhood that function as a set of parks (the others are Cameron, Werry, and Weisshaar)
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• N/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• This is a small park with few amenities and is used primarily for passive recreation• There is an undeveloped private parcel adjacent to the park• There is limited parking for library and day care
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
Parking lot is smallfor the amount of use
JLS ATHLETICFIELDS
JLS MIDDLESCHOOL
PRIVATELITTLE LEAGUE
Site of summer concert series
Use by summer day camps
Grading createssense of enclosure
Concrete tunnel play structure could be updated
MITCHELL PARKCOMMUNITYCENTER
MITCHELL PARK LIBRARY
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MITCHELL PARK
Location: 6 East Meadow AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 21.4 acresYear: 1957
HISTORY Mitchell Park opened to national and international acclaim in 1957. Designed by Robert Royston, it was a new kind of park with a variety of recreational activities geared to people of all ages. The park featured 29 activities that included above ground “gopher holes” and a miniature freeway system in the tiny tot area; a circular slab for roller skating; and designated areas for shuffleboard, bocce, tennis, and picnicking. Some mid-century features have become outdated and degraded, but the community is committed to preserving many of them. Some infrastructure upgrades have been made over time.
Mitchell Park is named for J. Pearce Mitchell, a longtime Palo Alto City Councilman and two-term mayor. He came to California in 1896 and earned a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. from Stanford. In 1969, as part of Palo Alto’s 75th anniversary, El Palo Nuevo, a Sequoia sempervirens was planted in Mitchell Park as a companion tree to El Palo Alto.
EXISTING CONDITIONS • One of Palo Alto’s two regional parks and a destination for much of the region• Park includes several play areas for children, tennis and handball courts, and a great lawn which is used for staging large events• Other features include a water play area, a paved bowl, shuffleboard and horseshoes, public art, a field house, picnic areas with BBQs, and a dog exercise area• Park is bordered by three schools (two elementary and one middle) and is close to senior housing
• The new Mitchell Park Library and Community Center opened adjacent to this site in 2014• Adjacent to a private little league park, several schools and Abilities United (a nonprofit organization for disabled persons)• A Magical Bridge Playground is the latest addition to the park and provides an accessible play area for children of all abilities and ages• Adjacent school fields are maintained by the City and Contract maintenance is used at this site
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Water play• Multi-purpose concrete bowl• Shuffleboard• Horseshoes• Dog run• Handball court• Historic modernist landscape design• Public art
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Planned improvements will repair and maintain playground equipment, fencing around the water play element, and the covered wood walkway. These are included in the CIP for FY 2018. • The water play feature should be renovated with more efficient play features pending drought restrictions• The renovation in early 2000s maintained the original design. The community wanted to preserve historic features.• The playgrounds are located quite far from the picnic areas• Having only a few entrances to the park limits the site circulation• Some park amenities, such as shuffleboard and horseshoes, are outdated and not well-used• The restrooms are not well-maintained and the water fountains are often broken• The lawn is over-irrigated• There have been incidents of copper theft from the park• Noise from the park can present a conflict with nearby senior housing
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Improved and expanded dog play area• More trees• Add native vegetation• Improved play structures• Community pool• Complete loop path for jogging• Skateboard or BMX park• Improved pedestrian and bike paths• More trash receptacles• Better interpretive signage• Shade for play structure• Expanded parking
Surviving cherry trees
Strong evergreen edge
High berm with dry vegetation blocks view into the park
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sand play area
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A | Sign and high berm
B | Heavily shaded sand play area
C | Failing asphalt path with redwoods
D | Low bench and buckling asphalt
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MONROE PARK
Location: Monroe Drive and Miller AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.55 acresYear: 1975
HISTORYMonroe Park is named for Monroe Drive, which is named for L.G. Monroe, the original property owner of the land that was developed into the Monroe Park subdivision.
The 1975 development plan included plans for a bike-pedestrian bridge over Adobe Creek to connect the area to Wilkie Way and the rest of the City. During the park development, a soil analysis revealed the soil was too sterile for plant growth and required a large volume of soil removal and replacement with imported earthfill. This earthfill was shaped into a mound for visual interest.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Very small neighborhood park in the center of the Monroe neighborhood• Convenient for Community members in the area to walk to this park• Site amenities include a sand tot-lot with bucket swings, mounded turf area, benches and walking path• Interior edge of stately mature redwoods provides dense shade and a berm blocks views into the play area• Plans exist to renovate the park with an expanded playground, enhanced trails, new site amenities, and drought tolerant landscaping
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The playground is small• The park is bordered by homes on two sides• The turf cannot be used for field sports practice games• There are no picnic facilities for neighborhood gatherings• Vegetation on top of the berm has not survived• There is a single light fixture, which may not provide enough light to make the park feel secure at night. Lighintg will be improved with the upocoming CIP.• Park benches are in poor condition and not positioned for users to monitor the play area• The failing paving is not ADA accessible
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT • Off-leash dog play area• Restrooms• Play structures for older kids• More picnic areas
Field housewith restrooms
Heritage oaks, poplars, eucalyptus
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Play area recently updatedwith ADA accessible sand play
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tenniscourts
youth soccer field
basketballcourt
play area
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A | Field house with restrooms
B | Recently updated playground
C | Basketball court
D | Utilities water well
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PEERS PARK
Location: 1899 Park BoulevardOwner: City of Palo Alto Size: 4.7 acres Year: 1899
HISTORYThis park is named after Alexander Peers, a long-time resident of the historic Mayfield township. Peers came to California from England and was a co-founder of the Page and Peers Lumber Company. Page Mill Road was built to transport logs from their mill in the foothills to Mayfield. Peers served on Mayfield’s first Board of Trustees and was Mayfield Bank’s first president.
A number of redwood trees in Peer Park grew from seeds from El Palo Alto. Before being planted, the seeds orbited the earth in 1985 aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51F. A plaque commemorates Challenger Memorial Grove.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Large, attractive neighborhood park, which includes two tennis courts, picnic tables, two children’s play areas (for ages 2 to 5 and ages 5 to 12), a basketball court, a field house, picnic areas, and restrooms• The field is often used for young soccer teams• The children’s play area and tennis courts were recently renovated• The park features many mature oak trees• The field house serves a contracted young child development (daycare) program• On-street parking seems adequate for the needs of this park
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Field house with day care
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• When the park was renovated a few years ago, neighbors opposed locating a small dog exercise area near the railroad tracks• The basketball court does is not heavily used beyond lunch time and could be converted to another use• Community members report that the climbing wall ledge is dangerous• Homeless are known to hang out at the site often• Planned improvements in the CIP (for FY 2018) will upgrade and renovate the park irrigation system and turf, replace benches and drinking fountains, resurface the basketball and tennis court surfaces and repair court fencing• Transform low-use turf areas into other features (water wise plantings, bocce court, hardscape, etc.)• Water bottle filler may address public requests for a dog spigot• The picnic area could be enlarged (with a potential shelter) and scheduled for use if neighbors do not object
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Updated furnishings including BBQs, bike racks, picnic tables• Splash pad• Water spigots to give water to dogs• Off-leash dog area• Regular maintenance of restroom• Nighttime patrols• More frequent trash pick-ups• Finer sand grain to reduce slipperiness on walkways
Sloped turf area
Residential backyards abut parkall along east, south and west edges
People observed doing laps on perimeter path
Storage for soccer nets
Somewhat hidden neighborhood entrance
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play area
seating area
seating area
picnic area
youth soccer field
basketballarea
open lawn area open lawn area
open lawn areaT-ball field
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A | Main path through park
B | Shady picnic area
C | Children's play area
D | Concrete area with basketball hoop
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RAMOSPARK
Location: East Meadow Drive between Ortega Court and Ross RoadOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 4.4 acres Year: 1958
HISTORYRamos Park is named after Don Jesus Ramos, a native of Mexico who came to California in search of gold. The park was added to the City and opened in 1958 as part of an effort to add more recreational space south of Oregon. Ramos arrived in the Mayfield area in 1851 and bought land and built a house at 727 Page Mill Road where he lived with his family until his death. The park was originally named Meadow Park after the tract of land that it belonged to.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• The park is enclosed on three sides by residential homes• Includes a perimeter path, a well-shaded picnic area with barbecues, a soccer field, open lawn areas, a younger children’s play area, and a concrete area with a basketball hoop• The turf is in fair condition• Sloped turf is frequently used for volleyball, soccer practices and general picnicking• The picnic tables are not ADA-accessible• There are no restrooms• The paved path ends at the picnic area and the path then becomes decomposed granite• The play area is only suitable for younger kids
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Consider new uses for the sloping, linear turf area on the eastern side of the perimeter path, which could be programmed for linear sports such as boccee, or graded and terraced for seating for those attending soccer matches.• Replace underused perimeter turf with drought tolerant plantings or mulch• Need to improve dilapidated seating area near southwest park entry• Upgrade old landscaping throughout park• There is an opportunity to create more seating for soccer games in the shaded space adjacent to the net storage area• Improvements planned for 2015 include replacing the existing playground, benches, drinking fountain, and re-surfacing the the basketball court
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Off-leash dog area• Restrooms• Benches • Play structure for older kids• Food concessions• Enforced on-leash dog policies• Designated space for a flower or vegetable garden
WALTER HAYESELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Heritage oaks
TENNISCOURTS
Mulch
Mature redwoodgrove (Magic Forest)
Popular summerdestimation
Connection between school and park could be improved
PAUSD
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CITY OF PALO ALTO
Little shade
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tenniscourts
concrete bowl
lap pool wading poolyouth soccer field
play area
play area
To Lucie Stern Community Center
changing rooms
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A | Heritage oak trees
B | Play area
C | Irregularly shaped paved bowl
D | Asphalt path and fence
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RINCONADA PARK + POOL
Location: 777 Embarcadero RoadOwner: City of Palo Alto, with PAUSD Size: 19 acresYear: 1922
HISTORYRinconada is one of Palo Alto’s oldest parks. Established in 1922, it was originally called Waterworks after a nearby well and reservoir. Two years later it was renamed Rinconada (Spanish for corner) through a contest sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. In the 1930s, Lucie Stern (widow of Louis Stern who was a nephew of Levi Strauss) and her daughter Ruth gifted the city with money to build what is now the Lucie Stern Community Center.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A large regional park located in the middle of a cultural resources hub that includes libraries, the Art Center, the Junior Museum and Zoo, the Children’s Theater, the Community Theater, the Community Center, and Girl Scout and Boy Scout facilities• Includes an open grassy areas, two children’s playgrounds, nine tennis courts (six with lights), a backboard, picnic areas with barbecues and one group area, a municipal swimming pool and children’s pool, a redwood grove, a multipurpose concrete bowl, benches, a jogging/walking path, and public restrooms• Includes a “Magic Forest” of mature trees along Hopkins Ave• A summer destination for the Summer Concert Series and other special events
The City's long-range plan for Rinconada Park is divided into several phases and is expected to be completed by 2035. Plan will renovate and reconfigure existing amenities while improving infrastructure, adding new features, and improving access and connections to surrounding streets and sidewalks. Details include: • Maintain Magical Forest and tennis courts• Improve irrigation and drainage in open turf areas• Upgrade power and create larger stage area for the amphitheater• Remove arboretum turf and plant new trees• Relocate group picnic area and install new furnishings• Widen and/or repave pathways and install additional lighting• Relocate tot lot near existing children’s playground• Construct new restrooms at the pool building• Reconfigure parking lot at new Junior Museum building and Lucie Stern Center• Make playing fields at Walter Hayes School available for after hours and weekend use• Replace fencing alongside school• Eliminate turf in non-use areas• Construction of bioswales for stormwater capture should be carefully considered given City's experience installing them at other location• Add group picnic areas, a picnic pavilion, a bocce court, a special event pavilion, adult exercise equipment, and a fire pit at the Girl Scout house• Add new entry monument structures, walkways, crosswalks, sidewalks, shuttle stops, parking and bike lanes improve access to the park
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Lighted tennis courts• Swimming pool• Splash pool• Multi-purpose concrete bowl
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Middlefield Road is very busy• The parking lot is too small and circulation and parking are challenging• Passive turf areas should be converted to allow more parking along street sides• Accessibility is poor
• There are many points of entry• Events cause parking impacts to neighborhoods• The tennis courts need maintenance• Rinconada Park has the city’s only year-round municipal pool • The pool is under-sized for adults and serious swimmers• There are irrigation issues, and the public notes that the turf is wet and swampy.• Furnishings, including benches, picnic tables, and trash cans, are in poor condition• Picnic tables are not ADA accessible• Play areas need more shade• The gazebo structure near the pool with the center planter is not usable in its present form• The Magic Forest is underutilized• The shuffleboard and horseshoe courts are not well used• Building at pool could be rebuilt to include a second floor for more exercise/gym equipment and possible rental/meeting/staff space• Dog bites to children have occured, both off-leash and on-leash
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Restrooms• More trash cans• Off-leash dog area• Expanded pool size and hours• More shade• New picnic tables and benches• Improved safety in the park• Food concessions• Updated play structures• Consider fencing the park• Create an online reservation system for tennis courts
RINCONADA POOL Rentable Facilities• Wading Pool: Wading pool rental includes exclusive use of the pool, deck surrounding the immediate pool area, and four picnic tables (each tables seats 8 people). Rental includes shared use of the changing rooms and showers. Private pool parties can be booked before or after public use of the wading pool.
Programming and Other Facilities• Lap Pool: Lap swim, recreation swim, swim lessons and classes• Lockers: Rinconada Pool offers 48 complimentary wallet-sized lockers available for storing valuables (keys, wallets, cell phones, jewelry, etc.).• Changing Rooms: Men's and women's changing rooms with showers
Diverse and mature ornamental tree species
Vertical slat fence surrounding play area
Ponding on turf
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basketballcourt
baseballfield
soccer field
play area
play area
picnic area
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A | Fenced children's play area
B | Ornamental trees and DG path
C | Shaded picnic area
D | Mosaic art at basketball court
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ROBLES PARK
Location: 4116 Park BoulevardOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 4.7 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYIn 1847, Don Secundino Robles and his brother bought a large ranch and home, which became a lively center of social activity for the surrounding area. Their home stood until 1906 when it collapsed in the earthquake. A plaque at Alma Street and Ferne Avenue is near the hacienda’s site.
Robles Park was first called Mayfield Park, but was changed in 1968 because this park land was not in the town of Mayfield and because a park in College Terrace already had that name.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• An attractive and well-used park with two children’s playgrounds, wheelchair-accessible toddler swings, two picnic areas (one of which is shaded by wisteria-covered arbors), barbecues, benches, a multipurpose bowl with colorful tile art, a basketball court, a C-class playing field, a softball backstop, and a footpath• Park successfully blends many park uses and features with landscaping that is typical of City parks• Includes a loop trail and practice-only fields
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Multi-purpose concrete bowl
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Planned improvements include the replacement of the existing park picnic tables, concrete pathways and other park amenities, which are included in the CIP for FY 2018• The tot lot and kids playgrounds are separate and far apart from each other• The playgrounds are becoming outdated and in poor condition• Securing perimeter of both playgrounds would improve safety• Renovation of baseball field would be a great improvement• On-street parking is limited and may limit use of this park to neighbors• The water fountains are often clogged• Puddles were observed in turf areas that have been overwatered
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Tennis courts or tennis walls• Restrooms• Reduced water consumption• More trees• Instituted warnings against inappropriate behavior • Regular water fountain maintenance• There are barriers to access on the streets surrounding the park, especially at the railroad crossing• Witnesses report problematic behavior by teenagers
ADA picnic tables in need of repair
HERITAGE PARK
SCOTTPARK
PALO ALTO REHABILITATION CENTER
Park is used by patients and staff for physical therapy
TO HERITAGE PARK
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basketball court
picnic area
play area
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A | Path access to Heritage Park
B | Basketball court edged with turf
C | Path and play area
D | Path and picnic area
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SCOTT PARK
Location: Scott Street at Channing AvenueOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.4 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYThe park takes its name from the adjoining street, which was named by a local property owner after Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Small flag-shaped park with a basketball court, a play structure and a few picnic tables• Park was recently redesigned as part of a CIP. • Redesign includes relocating the playground, renovating the basketball courts and adding a bocce ball court• Connected to nearby Heritage Park with a privately owned and managed pedestrian greenway• Pesticide free park
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Bocce court (planned)
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Planned construction will add bocce, a repaired court surface, and new amenities• The addition of a bocce court was contentious• The basketball court has uneven surface which should be improved• Neighbors compete with downtown employees, community members without garages, and park visitors for parking• The park is adjacent to a nursing home and is used for physical therapy
• Potential for land acquisition for park expansion; sports facilities in small areas; community engagement strategies for park renovations
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Bike path for children• Improved basketball court• More trees• Reduce congestion from competing activities• There are issues with homelessness in the park
Mature redwoods
Decomposed granite paths
Elm trees
Heritage pines
Fenced creek channel
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Flood wall
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basketballcourt
youthsoccer field
picnic area
play area
restroom
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A | Shaded picnic area
B | Heritage pines
C | Open lawn/youth soccer field
D | Aromatic drought tolerant planting
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SEALE PARK
Location: 31 Stockton StreetOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 4.3 acresYear: N/A
HISTORYSeale Park was formerly known as Stockton Park and renamed for Henry W. Seale in 1968. Seale came to California from Ireland via New Orleans and, in 1865, was granted title to 1,400 acres of Rancho Rinconada del Arroyo de San Francisquito.
In 1887 Seale sold 697 acres to Timothy Hopkins who wanted the property to develop a town which would become Palo Alto. The remainder of Seale’s property was farmed until his death in 1888.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A multi-use neighborhood park adjacent to Matadero Creek• Includes a children’s playground, a circular sand pit with concrete turtles, E-class playing fields, a basketball hoop, shaded picnic areas, benches, and a pathway• A new bathroom building was planned and built with community input, resulting in adding a neighborhood association-maintained bulletin board to the restroom building
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Safety and accessibility improvements are planned for FY 2018, including replacing picnic tables, concrete paths and other amenities• The playing fields are in very good condition
• On-street parking limits the capacity of the park for field sports• The soccer field could use improved drainage especially on the west side• Landscaping around the park is in fair shape and could be improved with low-water plantings• The pathway to Lewis Road is a good connection to the neighborhood• Pathways need to be regraded where flooding occurs during rain events• There are ongoing conflicts between close-proximity neighbors and park uses, including maintenance (blowers/mowers), soccer, and brokered play• Neighbors complain about dust when play areas are cleaned• The new bathroom is also used for handball and neighbors complain about the noise• Several incidents of indecent exposure have occurred near the park in recent years• Off-leash dogs are often on large youth soccer field• The concrete walkways are slippery when sand gets kicked onto them from play areas; play areas have curbing to contain sand
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Path along Matadero Creek to connect parks• More shaded areas and trees• Enhanced park security• Off-leash dog area• Junior height basketball hoops and other more interesting features for kids• Signage indicating how many laps around the loop complete a mile• The water fountain is often blocked• Standing water on the turf areas attracts mosquitoes
Vegetated swale captures stormwater runoff from the parking lot
Artificial turf
Young sycamores
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soccerfield
soccerfield
picnicarea
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A | Soccer field
B | Vegetated swale
C | Picnic area
D | Interpretive signage
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STANFORDPALO ALTO PLAYING FIELDS
Location: El Camino at Page Mill RoadOwner: Stanford University Size: 5.9 acresYear: 2006
HISTORYThese playing fields were ready for play in 2006 on the site that once held Mayfield Elementary School. An agreement between Stanford University and the city of Palo Alto leases this Stanford land to Palo Alto for $1.00 a year for 51 years.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A new, well-designed A-class sport facility with two artificial turf playing fields• Includes bioswales, snack shack, public art, and on-site parking
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Public art• (2) Artificial turf fields• Snack shack
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The park location allows adult and competitive games without conflicts with residential neighbors• Because the field is A-class and is on a main thoroughfare, the site is extremely popular and attracts a lot of unpermitted users, which results in conflicts between user groups and overuse of the facility• There is competition for reservations and some illegal use
• The area behind the goals is denuded due to activity, which reflects the community's demand for playing fields• The snack shack is underutilized compared to how it was intended• Maintenance of the surrounding landscape has been a challenge• The park is located at a busy intersection• Parking is not adequate for the intense use of this park• There have been incidents of copper theft • Planned improvements in the CIP for FY2016 will replace synthetic turf on the soccer fields in June 2015
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
TERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
TO ALTA MESACEMETARY
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Grounds restricted for use by Terman Middle School during school hours
Perimeter asphalt trailin poor condition
Neighborhood entrance
Multi-use path
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basketball courts
softball field
soccer field
soccer field
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A | Asphalt path and chainlink fence
B | Turf in poor condition
C | Bridge across Adobe Creek
D | ADA neighborhood entrance
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TERMAN PARK
Location: 655 Arastradero RoadOwner: City of Palo Alto (joint shared use with PAUSD)Size: 7.7 acres Year: 1985
HISTORYIn the late 1970’s, Terman Middle School closed and the City acquired its playing fields, which were dedicated as Terman Park in 1985. The Middle School reopened in early 2000. Terman Middle School and the park are named for Lewis M. Terman, a Stanford University psychology professor who studied intelligence in children. He adapted the Binet-Simon scale, which became known as the Stanford-Binet, and introduced the term intelligence quotient (IQ). His son, Frederick Terman, a Stanford engineering professor, was mentor to David Packard and William Hewlett. Many consider Frederick Terman an inspiration for Silicon Valley.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• City shares use of the park with Terman Middle School• During school hours, the park is reserved for the exclusive use of the school• Amenities include two soccer fields, a softball diamond, four basketball courts, two tennis courts and perimeter walking trail• Parking is adequate only when school is not in session• Perimeter trail provides access to nearby neighborhoods and to a semi-regional trail• Pesticide free park
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• Activities are mostly limited to field sports• There are limited benches for viewing games or resting• The grass fields are in poor condition• The pathway will be replace in spring of 2015• The dog use area at this park may be challenging during school hours• Public uses the fields during school hours, and off leash dogs have been observed at various times of the day• Terman Middle School's physical education classes use the asphalt path as a running track, but it is also designated as a city bike path connecting to Los Altos• There was a failed attempt to exclude public use during school hours after nationwide scare of school shootings
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Water and refuse bags for dogs• Off-leash dog area• Improved vegetation with native plants• Soft surface running path• The turf is uneven and has caused injuries to soccer players during games• The bike path is uneven with buckling asphalt, which makes it dangerous to ride or walk on - will be repaired in early 2015• Traffic congestion at the entrance of the school causes conflicts between drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians• Parking is limited when school is in session
Paved access path for adjacent building
Redwood trees along pathways
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bench
public art
seating area
entry sign
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A | Entry sign at Ash Street
B | Public art
C | Vegetation along sidewalk
D | Open lawn with hedges
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WALLIS PARK
Location: 202 Ash Street, at Grant Ave.Owner: City of Palo AltoSize: 0.3 acresYear: 1980
HISTORYMayfield pioneer Sarah Wallis was a women’s rights advocate and leader in the local and state suffrage movement. Sarah and her husband, a state senator and judge, lived in a cottage on the park site in their later years. Park land was acquired by the City in 1977 through a land exchange with Santa Clara County, and the mini park was developed with a $49,000 grant from the State Park Program. Dedication took place in August 1980.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• A small, quiet park with benches and public art • Convenient to the California Avenue business district• A pesticide-free park
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURES• Public art
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The flower beds are in poor condition and do not provide much color or visual interest• Removal of ivy would address the rat problem• The park has a high demand for use but is very small and does not have adequate seating• Shaded seating may attract more patrons
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• Neighbors have complained about rats in the ivy
Flower planting bed
Drinking fountain
Picnic table
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open lawn
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A | Tennis court
B | Water fountain at west entrance
C | Turf in good condition
D | Redwoods provide shade
N
WEISSHAAR PARK
Location: 2298 Dartmouth Street be-tween College and California AvenuesOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.1 acres Year: 1880
HISTORYAlong with Cameron, Werry and Mayfield, Weisshaar is one of the four old Mayfield parks. Originally named Hampton Park, it was renamed Weisshaar after Frederick W. Weisshaar. Weisshaar owned and farmed 120 acres in Mayfield until the late 1880s when he sold the land to Alexander Gordon who subdivided it into plots that would become College Terrace. Weisshaar was a longtime Mayfield School District Trustee and was elected Mayfield’s first Treasurer.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• The park includes a large, green open field and the only tennis court in College Terrace • One of four small parks in the College Terrace neighborhood that function together (the others are Cameron, Mayfield, and Werry)
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• There is no on-street parking• There are few park amenities• Field use is restricted to quiet practice games because the fields are small and the park is surrounded by residences
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUTN/A
Bike rack
Low curb wall
Dense shade surrounds park
DA
R
T
M
O
U
T
H
S
T
youth soccer field
open lawn
play area
picnicarea
AB
C
D
A | Ramp down into park
B | Open lawn bisected by path
C | Low curb wall and thick screening
D | Ramp to play area
N
WERRY PARK
Location: 2100 Dartmouth Street be-tween College and Stanford AvenuesOwner: City of Palo AltoSize: 1.1 acres Year: 1880
HISTORYWerry is one of four original parks from the historic town of Mayfair. It was originally named Eton Park but was renamed Werry in 1968 after William C. Werry who was assistant postmaster, then Palo Alto postmaster, from 1924 until 1935.
EXISTING CONDITIONS• Small neighborhood park that includes an open lawn (also used as a youth soccer field) and a children’s play area• One of four small parks in the College Terrace neighborhood that function as a set of parks (the others are Cameron, Mayfield, and Weisshaar)
ESSENTIAL PARK ACTIVITIES Play for Children Throw a Ball Exercise and Fitness Gathering Relax and Enjoy Outdoors
ADDITIONAL PARK FEATURESN/A
OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS• The playground was designed using neighborhood input and preferences• There is no on-street parking• There are few park amenities and very few activities for adults• Field use is restricted to quiet practice games because the fields are small and the park is surrounded by residences • The wooden play structure needs increased maintenance - there is continual need to replace rotten posts, cracked posts and boards
SITE-SPECIFIC PUBLIC INPUT• More toddler specific play features • Restrooms• Off-leash dog area
AGENDA IS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION
54954.2(a) OR SECTION 54956 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING March 24, 2015 AGENDA City Hall Chambers
7pm 250 Hamilton Ave
*In accordance with SB 343 materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the Commission after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the Open Space and Parks Office at 3201 East Bayshore Road during normal business hours. Please call 650-496-6962.
Attention Speakers: If you wish to address the Commission during oral communications or on an item on the agenda,
please complete a speaker’s card and give it to City staff. By submitting the speaker’s card, the Chair will recognize you at
the appropriate time.
I. ROLL CALL II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Members of the public may address the Commission on any subject not on the agenda. A reasonable time restriction may be imposed at the discretion of the Chair. The Commission
reserves the right to limit oral communications period to 3 minutes.
IV. BUSINESS
1. Approval of Draft Minutes from the Regular Meeting February 24, 2015 meeting –– Chair
Reckdahl - Action – (5min) ATTACHMENT
2. Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Facilities Master Plan to include a review of the
Community Survey Summary and Park Existing Conditions maps – Peter Jensen – Discussion – (2 hrs) ATTACHMENT 3. Debrief the March 20, 2015 Commission Retreat – Chair Reckdahl - Discussion (20min)
4. Other Ad Hoc Committee and Liaison Updates – Discussion - Chair (15min)
V. COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
VI. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR APRIL 28, 2015 MEETING
VII. ADJOURNMENT
ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting.