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BACKGROUND <br /> The 2014 Parks and Recreation Master Plan identified skateparks as one of the City of <br /> Pleasanton's more significant deficiencies. The plan indicated a shortage of skate <br /> facilities in Pleasanton (in 2013) by half an acre and that an additional 1-acre skatepark <br /> would be necessary as the City's population reached 78,000, the projected build-out of <br /> the City at the time. To meet the demands of the community, the master plan <br /> recommended adding another skatepark at Ken Mercer Sports Park adjacent to the <br /> existing skatepark. The plan also recognized that skateboarding was the sport with the <br /> most growth in popularity. <br /> At the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on February 14, 2019, the <br /> Commission set their priorities for the 2019-21 Two-Year Workplan. More than a dozen <br /> advocates for a skatepark attended the meeting. After much public comment and <br /> discussion, the Parks and Recreation Commission made a motion recommending the <br /> skatepark as one of their two top priorities for the City Council 2019-21 Two-Year <br /> Workplan prioritization process. <br /> At the City Council workplan prioritization workshop on March 12, 2019, City Council <br /> voted to add the skatepark project to the "priority project" ranking. Funding in the <br /> amount of$400,000 to design the skatepark was set aside for FY 20/21. <br /> Following the decision to fund the project by City Council, staff from the Library and <br /> Recreation; Operation Services, and Engineering Departments began researching <br /> skateparks, including visits to various parks to determine what they included and how <br /> they were operated. This research included meetings with staff from the cities of <br /> Fremont, Milpitas, and Newark. These skateparks were determined to be quite popular, <br /> well-designed, and were highly recommended by local skatepark advocates. <br /> Utilizing the information collected from the site visits, conversations with local <br /> advocates, and research, staff compiled a checklist of site attributes necessary for a <br /> successful skatepark. With these attributes in mind, staff reviewed a variety of locations <br /> within Pleasanton to determine which City properties met the criteria. <br /> On November 10, 2020, staff presented the top location options (Ken Mercer Sports <br /> Park and Bernal Community Park) to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The <br /> Commission voted unanimously to recommended that City Council explore an additional <br /> skatepark at Ken Mercer Sports Park. <br /> On December 1, 2020, staff presented the Parks and Recreation Commission's <br /> recommendation for the skatepark project to City Council to obtain approval to begin the <br /> design process. Over a dozen residents attended the meeting and spoke to express <br /> their support for the project. City Council directed staff to proceed with the design of a <br /> 1-acre skatepark with lighting based on the input received from the public. <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />