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Ms. Yuan-Miu stated that staff is currently working to develop a citywide parks and recreation master <br /> plan to help the City plan for the changing scope of recreational activities. As part of the process, staff <br /> conducted several community outreach workshops and the participants also consistently identified <br /> renovation of the two parks as one of the most important improvements for the City to pursue. <br /> The master plan objectives are to integrate the recently completed Firehouse Arts Center with the two <br /> parks to allow for a greater diversity of offerings the community in both active and passive uses. It is <br /> envisioned that this will provide an improved overall experience for citizens by enhancing safety, <br /> accessibility, and aesthetics. Specifically, the plan looks at improving access between the Firehouse <br /> Arts Center and Lions Wayside Park, installing improvements to enhance the safety and enjoyment of <br /> special events and to expand the venue in a way that increases the site's ability to support existing <br /> activities and those that have yet to be planned. <br /> She briefly described the advantages and challenges of both options as they relate to the drainage <br /> swales. Option A, which again elects to underground the existing swales, allows for more active use <br /> area and improves safety and accessibility but also present potential challenges in the form of <br /> mitigation requirements. She explained that because the swale is a waterway, coordination with Army <br /> Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Regional Water Quality Control <br /> Board will be required. A jurisdictional determination report, which catalogs the site features, has been <br /> completed and is ready to be submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers so that the dialogue with other <br /> regulatory agencies may begin. Option B chooses to enhance the natural swale features and perhaps <br /> require less mitigation, but reduces active use areas and does not address safety or accessibility <br /> issues. <br /> City Engineer Kirkpatrick explained that storm drainage is also an important consideration in <br /> determining the best course of action relative to the drainage swales. He presented several slides <br /> demonstrating the existing storm drainage system that runs into the park. He explained that the <br /> drainage basin furthest north, which extends from Kottinger Ranch, down Kottinger Creek, under First <br /> Street before entering the swale along Lions Wayside Park, has had a number of upstream <br /> improvements that provide for a generally dry line by the time it reaches the park. The second drainage <br /> system travels up Angela and ties into the drainage channel underneath Neal Street. This more <br /> southerly channel is always wet, which will likely require more mitigation to underground than will the <br /> portion along Lions Wayside Park. He acknowledged that it has been suggested that the City simply fill <br /> in the ditch but stressed that underground conduit along the Lions Wayside portion is critical to <br /> managing drainage during storm events. <br /> Richard Larson, Richard Larson Landscape Architecture and Planning, presented the schematics for <br /> Options A and B. He stated that the two options reflect the input that was used to develop the goals and <br /> uses identified in the master plan and stressed that the schematic diagrams apply those goals and uses <br /> to the existing site map in a very preliminary fashion. <br /> He noted that Option A drawings show the Delucchi Park swale as open, very much like it exists now, <br /> and the Lion's Wayside portion of the swale as it would look if undergrounded to accommodate all of <br /> the desired uses. Option B shows a very similar approach to the two parks with the exception that the <br /> Lions Wayside swale is open to the air for almost its entire length, with crossings at the bandstand and <br /> where the regional trail enters from what is currently parking at the north of the site. He also noted that <br /> the plans reflect a holiday ice rink, which was proposed at one time but is now off the table. <br /> Working off of several smaller diagrams, Mr. Larson demonstrated the proposed site uses under Option <br /> A. This includes a restroom building at the southern end of West Angela Street and the intersection of <br /> the regional trail and west trail. It is hoped the area would accommodate the kind of active uses that <br /> take place along West Angela and serve as a transition from street to park activities. The plan also <br /> City Council Minutes Page 8 of 13 July 16, 2013 <br />