Parks and Recreation will meet Thursday night at 7pm to consider
· the “off-leash park feasibility study”
· “conceptual plans” for the Portola Center Parks
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· “proposed sports field user rates”
DOG ZONES
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This is the fifth meeting on the dog park and tonight the Commissioners will give feedback following their visits to the 9 locations chosen by staff to be most suitable for creating dog “zones” in existing city parks. The potential sites include: Borrego, Cherry, Montbury, Rancho Serrano, Regency, Rimgate, Tamarisk and Vintage Parks.
Once the Commission has narrowed the list of prospective parks, the City staff will create a budget that reflects the costs of moving forward. This estimate will be brought back to the Commission, and if approved, will ultimately go to the Council.
SPORTS FIELD
The City currently has a fee structure for using City Parks, with 8 different groups, ranging from City or SVUSD sponsored activities (no charge) to non-residential commercial groups ($7 per hour unlighted, $50 per hour lighted). The most common charge is $1 per hour unlighted and $4 per hour lighted.
City staff has reviewed the fees charged in 9 cities and are recommending to the Commission the following fees for the use of the new Sports Field –
· City, SVUSD, and “resident non-profit youth sports organizations” can use the fields for no charge, with or without lights.
· Most other groups of residents will pay between $10 and $15 per hour for unlighted, and $15 to $25 for lighted,
· Non-residents will pay between $20 and $40 per hour for unlighted, and $35 to $60 for lighted.
· A separate category is proposed for tournaments, ranging from $200 to $400 per hour, with no charge for City and SVUSD sponsored activities.
Generally speaking, the proposed fees for Lake Forest are substantially less than the fees charged in other cities.
PORTOLA CENTER PARKS
Like it or not, more than 900 new residential units are being built in Portola Hills, near Glenn Ranch Rd and Saddleback Ranch Rd. The developers are proposing a 5 acre community park, a 1.5 linear mile perimeter trail with exercise stations, and 3 private neighborhood parks.
The 5 acre park will be dedicated to the city and includes a multipurpose sports field, baseball field, sport courts, seating areas, playground, barbecue area, and a parking area. Cost is estimated at $2.375 million.
The 3 neighborhood parks will belong to the HOA. They range in size from 0.5 to 1.8 acres and have sports areas, shade structures, BBQ areas, and a tot lot. The largest park has a bathroom.
More details can be found at the City’s website.
Given that the park plans are being considered on the same night that the City is looking at dog zones, perhaps it’s a good idea to ask the developers to put in a dog zone, either in the 1.8 acre neighborhood park or in the larger 5 acre community park. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to ask all the developers who come before the Parks Commission to consider doing this.
Since we’re talking about dogs, it’s probably a good idea to be sure that dog stations are part of the plan for the walking trail, because you can be sure people will walk their dogs there.
VILLAGE POND PARK
It’s not on the agenda tonight, but it’s worth noting that the Parks and Recreation Commission will be holding a workshop on the Village Pond Park on Saturday July 20, beginning at 9:30 am. Everyone who uses this park should plan to show up and give their comments.
BTW – Kudos to the Parks and Recreation Commission and to the staff who seem to be moving quickly and doing a good job.
