REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 02/07/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Services Department
SUBJECT:
Title
ADOPTION OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. This master plan was developed by a community-driven approach to create a unified vision and planning framework for the enhancement and long-term maintenance of parks and recreation facilities in the City of Corona.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The original Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PRMP) for the City of Corona was adopted by the City Council in 1989. Since that time, the City has experienced significant shifts in demographics, community development, recreation service needs, and community health, which have placed complex growth demands on the City’s parks system. Fundamentally, the demands have outpaced funding, creating a backlog of deferred maintenance projects and the need to prioritize funding for parks and recreation programs in the future.
The City of Corona’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan includes a strategy under Goal 3: Sound Infrastructure to “Develop and implement a Parks and Recreation Master Plan to provide a unified vision and planning framework for the enhancement, maintenance, and expansion of parks and recreation facilities.” This goal incorporates the need to establish consistent quality and maintenance standards for City parks and recreation facilities and ensure that maintenance activities and upgrades for park and recreation facilities are prioritized and completed in a timely manner.
On January 19, 2022, the City Council awarded Request for Proposal (RFP) 22-027RH for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Project to Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc., dba MIG. During the development of the PRMP, MIG conducted extensive public engagement and outreach with the Parks and Recreation Commission and the community to create a unified vision and planning framework for the enhancement and long-term maintenance of parks and recreation facilities.
The PRMP was created through a community-driven process that consisted of the following four key phases: 1) evaluating the current state of the parks and recreation system; 2) determining the system’s needs, opportunities, and standards; 3) establishing a vision and recommendations for the parks and recreation system; and 4) developing the draft PRMP. The development of the PRMP involved community members, stakeholders, and City leaders who provided feedback throughout the planning process. More than 2,300 residents, Commissioners, City Council members, and City staff worked collectively to help formulate the outreach process to include diverse activities at different times during the planning process to ensure that a wide variety of participants were involved, and the Plan was reflective of the entire community.
ANALYSIS:
The Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PRMP) is a five-chapter foundational document that will help guide the future of Corona’s Park system, facilities, and recreation programs. The PRMP was developed concurrently with the City of Corona Trails Master Plan and a site-specific Master Plan for City Park in accordance with the Strategic Plan objective to “Develop and enhance parks, trails, and recreational facilities to better serve residents.” Recommendations stemming from the PRMP are intended to guide future investments in the parks system, with tools and a 10-Year Implementation Plan that guides annual workplans and budgeting.
The PRMP includes the following eight (8) Key Systemwide Initiatives and corresponding actions to help guide the implementation of the Plan’s recommendations:
1. Expand the park network
2. Upgrade existing parks
3. Enhance the park user experience
4. Ensure opportunities for all
5. Improve recreation programs
6. Maintain and manage assets
7. Sustain parks and recreation services
8. Implement recommendations through accountability and partnerships
Priority actions outlined in the Plan include addressing deferred maintenance, adding enhancements to the parks systemwide, addressing consistency between quadrants with the addition of key amenities, and implementing site-specific recommendations for each park throughout the community. A prioritization tool was established with clear criteria to help staff determine and prioritize park improvement projects for the next 10-year period. In addition, the Plan recommends potential funding strategies to establish and maintain a financially sustainable parks and recreation system for years to come. The Plan’s full recommendations and implementation strategies are discussed in detail in the attached PRMP document (Exhibit 1) and corresponding appendices (Exhibit 2).
COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS:
On December 12, 2023, the Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously recommended the City Council approve the Draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan. On January 17, 2024, the City Council received a presentation at their Study Session meeting to review the key components of the Draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan and provide feedback. Based on the feedback received from the City Council during the Study Session meeting, the following key edits have been made to the Plan:
• Remove all references to Skyline Regional Park and update the description for the site planning process.
• Clarify the process for determining the prioritization and timing of projects listed in the 10-year Implementation Plan.
• Update the City Park project description and estimated costs to state that the information listed is based on details from the City Park Master Plan, and that the final scope and project cost will be determined during the City Park design process.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with the adoption of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan document.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is to approve and adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and there is no possibility that this action will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required. Any future actions to approve the projects identified in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan will go through the appropriate CEQA review process.
PREPARED BY: CAROLINE J. BUSTOS, PARK PLANNER & MOSES CORTEZ, FACILITIES, PARKS, AND TRAILS MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: DONNA FINCH, INTERIM COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Parks and Recreation Master Plan
2. Exhibit 2 - Parks and Recreation Master Plan Appendix
3. Exhibit 3 - Presentation