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the club/meeting room facility, adjacent to Valley Trails Park. Furthermore, Ponderosa is also
<br /> proposing the installation a new tot-lot and to perform landscape improvements within Valley
<br /> Trails Park. As noted earlier, the VTHA have strongly expressed a desire to have a
<br /> club/meeting room with restroom facilities within Valley Trails Park. As shown in the
<br /> development plans, Ponderosa has provided two optional sites and details of the proposed
<br /> building. Ponderosa would dedicate the land to the City, construct the building, and provide
<br /> some funding to assist the City's building maintenance cost. The concept of dedicating a
<br /> club/meeting room has been discussed by City staff from the Community Services Division,
<br /> Parks Division, Planning Division, and Operation Services Center and it was concluded that
<br /> while staff would support the development of a club/meeting room on the site, construction and
<br /> maintenance of the building would need to funded (constructed, operated, and maintained)
<br /> entirely by non-City sources.
<br /> Valley Trails Park is 6.1 acres in size and is classified as a Neighborhood Park. According to
<br /> the City's 2014 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, Neighborhood Parks are, typically, 5 acres in
<br /> size, but can be as large as 10 acres. Neighborhood Parks are intended to serve City residents
<br /> who live in close proximity. Ideally, everyone in the City would live within convenient walking
<br /> distance (typically 0.5-mile) of a Neighborhood Park. This is defined as the "service radius" or
<br /> "service area" of a Neighborhood Park. Therefore, such parks usually do not have restrooms,
<br /> on-site parking, lighted sports facilities, or community rooms.
<br /> Neighborhood Parks are designed to address the daily recreational needs of the surrounding
<br /> neighborhood. Features of neighborhood parks might include playgrounds, open turf areas,
<br /> picnic tables and/or picnic shelters, walking paths, attractive landscaping, and passive
<br /> recreation features. A size of 5 acres or more is considered appropriate to serve a
<br /> neighborhood of approximately 1,000 residents within its service area. On the other hand,
<br /> Community Parks are at least 10 acres in size and serve the entire community (e.g., Bernal
<br /> Park). Although they often have similar features as Neighborhood Parks, such as playgrounds
<br /> and picnic areas, they also have "active" recreation features such as lighted sports facilities
<br /> (sport fields, tennis courts, and swimming pools), community/recreation center, off-street
<br /> parking, and restrooms.
<br /> In addition to the aforementioned requirements, Neighborhood Parks also contribute to the
<br /> overall park system that is accessible to the entire community, which sometimes warrants
<br /> the need for additional amenities. Examples of City Neighborhood Parks where design
<br /> exceptions have been made to provide for amenities include Lions Wayside and Delucchi
<br /> Parks, Stoneridge Creek Neighborhood Park and Creekside Park. All of those exceptions
<br /> have been made to account for special circumstances, as described below.
<br /> Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks —Although both parks are considered Neighborhood Parks,
<br /> they also serve as a central hub for Downtown and City related events. Restrooms were
<br /> added as a result of a request from the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA) to help
<br /> support the weekly Farmer's Market and Concerts in the Park. In addition, the development of
<br /> the Firehouse Arts Center and parking lot were a result of the 1998 Cultural Plan, the
<br /> Downtown Specific Plan, and the Downtown Parks and Trails System Master Plan.
<br /> Creekside Park — Creekside Park is within Hacienda Business Park and is adjacent to
<br /> businesses, apartment complexes and a regional trail system (Iron Horse Trail), warranting the
<br /> inclusion of restrooms.
<br /> P15-0551, 6900 Valley Trails Drive Planning Commission
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