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BACKGROUND On September 16, 2014, City Council approved the Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks Master Plan (Master Plan), which envisions unifying and reprogramming the two parks at First and Neal Streets to improve usability, safety and aesthetics. One key component of the original Master Plan is the proposed undergrounding of the drainage swale in Lions Wayside Park to unite the east and west sides of the park. This proposed design was not supported by state permitting authorities due to the potential environmental impacts and loss of riparian habitat, forcing staff to reconsider the original design to Lions Wayside Park. Working with the landscape architect that developed that design, staff presented four potential design alternatives to the City Council to receive feedback and direction regarding which options should be pursued and which should not be considered. The City Council selected three of the four alternative designs for additional consideration and staff was directed to work with the Parks and Recreation Commission to create one final design that meets the requirements of the permitting agencies while still adhering to the goals outlined in the original Master Plan. The consulting firm Moore, lacofano and Goltsman, Inc. was contacted to assist with the developing a final design due to the consultant's familiarity with the original park designs and Master Planning process. At the City Council meeting on October 2, 2018, following the presentation regarding the proposed design alternatives for Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks, staff was directed to continue design work with the Parks and Recreation Commission to produce a final design that meets intended goals as defined in the Master Plan. DISCUSSION Following the initial meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission on January 10, 2019 staff amended the schematic designs to align with feedback from the commission and prepared for a subsequent meeting to solicit additional feedback on the refined designs. In May of 2019, City staff received notice from Moore, lacofano and Goltsman, Inc that, in preliminary conversations with staff at the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), the project would not be supported by the regional permitting agency. The Water Board stipulated that the reduced flow in the area of Kottinger Creek within Lions Wayside Park was a result of a previous diversion by the City, routing water from Kottinger Creek to the Arroyo Del Valle. The claim by Water Board staff was made on the basis of their interpretation of mapping data provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that demonstrated a flow diversion from Kottinger Creek to the Arroyo Del Valle, which had been published in the National Hydrology Dataset and made available through the USGS and the California Department of Water Resources. City staff reviewed the data and demonstrated to the USGS that the information presented in their dataset was mischaracterized and did not accurately reflect the current conditions of water flow through Kottinger Creek. Once the error had been Page2of3