PC 110509 Special Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

weeks to review a more complete design of the road. He indicated that the City of Livermore will be responsible for the construction of the road and preparation of storm improvements required for the Staples Ranch project. With respect to the history of the two parks, Mr. Bocian stated that the City Council had indicated its interest in purchasing the five-acre Neighborhood Park, and the 17-acre Community Park is being dedicated to the City by the Alameda County Surplus Property Authority. He indicated that the City Council approved the Staples Ranch Community Park Master Plan in June 2008 and that all the designs presented at this meeting was based upon that Master Plan. He added that the Neighborhood Park Master Plan, which is fundamentally consistent with the Staples Ranch Community Park Master Plan, was approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission in August 2009 and was subsequently approved by the Council. With respect to the Staples Ranch Neighborhood Park planning process, Mr. Bocian indicated that staff utilized and developed the elements of the park, which were approved as part of the Community Park Master Plan, and forwarded them to the Parks and Recreation Commission who in turn approved the plan. He noted that when the Council approved the Community Park Master Plan, staff did not have a refined concept of how the stormwater detention basin would look, and the idea brought forward to the Parks and Recreation Commission was that it be a natural California landscape design, which the Commission supported through to the final approval of the Plan. Mr. Bocian explained that when the Community Park Master Plan was approved, there was an emergency vehicle access (EVA) on Stoneridge Drive, which was not intended to go through to El Charro Road. He added that some changes were made to the entryway of the Ice Center to accommodate the extension of the road, thereby altering the vehicle flow throughout the parking lot.He then presented the dog exercise area, noting that its location was ultimately decided to be in the Neighborhood Park with the potential of having a large exercise area inside the stormwater detention basin. He noted that the Parks and Recreation Commission expressed concern about the lack of a firm dog exercise area and recommended that the Council discuss the potential of relocating the dog exercise area to the Community Park. He added that there are areas where the dog park can be accommodated should the Council ultimately decide to have one; however, staff’s recommendation will be to look at what is the best location within the community in general rather than just on the Staples Ranch site. Mr. Bocian then displayed the relocation site of the tennis courts to the northwest corner of the site. He noted that there are now ten parallel parking spaces, which is a positive improvement endorsed by the Parks and Recreation Commission. With respect to the operation of both Parks, Mr. Bocian stated that these are City parks, designed and operated by City staff and intended to serve the community in general. He indicated that the Neighborhood Park was not initially part of the Staples Ranch process at the time the Memorandum of Understanding was approved. He noted that staff felt there was a lot of opportunity to have synergy with the Community Park and PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, November 5, 2009 Page 3 of 19