CCMIN020403 - Laserfiche WebLink

Andrew Gusha, 5168 Mt. Tam Circle, and Steven Sanchez indicated they like to ride BMX bikes and there is nowhere in Pleasanton they can ride legally. They would like to use the in-line skate park as well. The City has built a skateboard park and is in the process of building an in-line skate park, but there is no where for BMX. Mr. Wolfe said the City is in discussions with East Bay Regional Park District to lease a portion of Shadow Cliffs on the western side. Three acres will be used for a BMX track. Mr. Gusha asked if it were cement? Mr. Wolfe said it will be a free form dirt area where the participants can create their own jumps within reason. Ms. Ayala asked if the young men wanted cement. Mr. Gusha said yes. The Val Vista plan is looking very good. Jerry Thorne, 5144 Hummingbird, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said a very exhaustive process was used to develop the design of the park. It was first discussed in 1998. A Task Force was developed in 1999 to design the park. All the meetings were open to the public. The master plan was presented to the Commission in July 2000 and then approved by the City Council. Groundbreaking was about a year ago. He was glad that most of the neighbors felt very good about the park and were supporters of it. There were then complaints and the Commission reviewed the plan again, with public input. One of the reasons the Commission recommended lowering the facility was that apparently there were misunderstandings about the drawings, which is understandable. He believed the two-three foot drop is the best solution. As an individual, he supported the Commission recommendation and felt it was a good compromise with the neighbors. He did not believe the facility would be as good if the bowl were removed. He expressed concern about spending an additional hundred thousand dollars for this project. He urged Council to accept the Commission recommendations. Jaime Weber, 6872 Hen'in Court, said her house is the closest to the bowl of the in-line skate park. She was very excited about the project until she saw the first stakes going in and realized how close they were to her fence. She had several conversations with Mr. Fulford about the trees, screening, the fence, etc. She was told it was a ground level facility. She said the process only works if the fight information is given to the public. She said with the apron, the bowl is thirty feet from her yard. Her husband went to many of these meetings and it was never apparent there was a height issue or that the bowl would be so close. She brought up her concerns as soon as possible. To her, the most critical part of this is the height. No public facility designed for the use of children should have areas that cannot be supervised. The height of this element does not allow viewing in the 30' x 70' corridor bordering the residential areas on the east. Police would not be able to see the area from their vehicles. She supported the staff report. She believed that the either the City pays the additional $170,000 to lower this facility, or it should be removed entirely. Pleasanton City Council 9 02/04/03 Minutes