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Recommendation to the City Council to Approve the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department’s Parks Plan.
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Meeting Date: January 7, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Adam Ferguson, Senior Management Analyst / PRCS Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6685
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [x] General Fund: Yes [] No [x]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [x] Attachments: Yes [] No [x]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission (01/03/2025); (E-mail) Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department Updates (01/03/2025)
Department Approval: Ted Stevens, PRCS Director (01/03/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) recommend to City Council to approve the PRCS Department’s Parks Plan.
BACKGROUND
At the City Council Meeting on May 8, 2023, the City Council directed staff to proceed with a parks master plan in conjunction with the feasibility study for Bill Botts Fields and Veterans Memorial Park. The City Council selected OLIN as the consultant to prepare the Parks Master Plan. The Parks Master Plan project schedule includes four specific time frames:
• Information Gathering
• Early Ideas
• Draft Plan
• Final Plan
During the information gathering section of the project, there were three community meetings with the public. At the meetings, the public was able to ask questions directly to the project team and express any concerns they have for changes to the parks and/or current amenities and conditions. The meetings included interactive boards of each park in Culver City allowing participants to leave comments pertaining to each park. Attendees also were given the opportunity to express thoughts on the current PRCS program offerings by sharing PRCS programs they use the most and what PRCS programs they would like to see offered. Two of the meetings were in-person and held at the following locations and times:
• Syd Kronenthal Park - May 1, 2024, from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM.
• El Marino Park - May 14, 2024, from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM.
A virtual meeting was also held on May 2, 2024, via Zoom.
Throughout the early ideas section, there were planned pop-up events at various locations in the City in order to received feedback from the public. These locations included:
• The Farmer’s Market in Downtown Culver City
• Dances for the Developmentally Disabled (DDD) at the Senior Center
• Love Local x Helms Market in the Arts District
• Movies in the Park at Fox Hills Park
• Fiesta La Ballona
There was also a Virtual Lunch Update on the Parks Plan at 12:00 PM on July 23, 2024.
As part of the draft plan section, two community meetings were scheduled to introduce the draft of the Park Plan to the public at the following locations and times:
• Culver West Alexander Park - September 24, 2024, from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM.
• Lindberg Park - October 2, 2024, from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM.
A virtual meeting was scheduled for October 3, 2024, from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM.
In addition to the community meetings, the public provided written comment from September through November 5 on the draft plan and any proposed improvements to the individual parks.
Planning Context and Documents
OLIN has also met with staff in various City departments including PRCS, Planning and Development, and Public Works in order to better understand departmental needs, goals, and projects across the City. In addition, OLIN has met with the Culver City Arts Foundation and the Culver City Historical Society in order to better understand those organizations’ goals and how those goals intersect with the City’s parks.
In addition to meeting directly with staff, the following City documents were reviewed during the information gathering section and when applicable incorporated into the Parks Plan:
• General Plan 2045 (2024)
• Urban Forest Master Plan (2015)
• Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update (2009)
• Stormwater Quality Master Plan (2021)
• Hazard Mitigation Plan (2023)
• Culver City Emergency Operations Plan (2024)
• Strategic Plan (2018)
• Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan (2020)
• Culver City Complete Streets Design Guidelines (2024)
• Microgrid Feasibility Report (2019)
• Energy Action Plan (2016)
• Culver City Turf Report (2019)
• Feasibility Study for Veterans Memorial Park and Bill Botts Fields (2024)
DISCUSSION
PRCS operates and maintains Culver City’s eleven parks and two parkettes. This includes offering recreation programming at park sites, organizing and offering sports programs, and maintaining sports fields and passive grass areas. The intent of the Culver City Parks Plan is to envision the next generation of Culver City’s parks by analyzing areas of need and opportunity through the lens of equity and the plan proposes improvements for facilities, amenities, and programming. The plan supports a community-driven vision, mission and various goals for the PRCS department.
The Parks Plan is currently available online at <https://bit.ly/ccparksplan2025>. This link also is available as Attachment 1.
Vision, Mission, and Goals
The vision in the Parks Plan is an aspiration statement of what the ideal future is like for the parks in Culver City. The Parks Plan states as the vision “Parks are the heartbeat of Culver City, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to recharge and inspire joy in vibrant natural environments that honor our shared history and community.”
The mission defines what the PRCS Department does or stands for from day to day. The Parks Plan states that the mission is “To provide for the well-being of Culver City residents by supporting diverse, safe, and equitable opportunities for recreation, learning, and arts while protecting our most valued natural and cultural resources.”
The goals of the plan are broken down with actions and methods in order to ground the large concepts in the goals and give PRCS the steps, tools, and ability to meet each goal. The goals are:
• Provide equitable access to parks and park facilities.
• Increase capital budget funding and staff longevity.
• Integrate sustainability and climate resiliency into parks management, design, and construction.
• Preserve and enhance natural habitats by supporting biodiversity and ecosystem connectivity.
• Strengthen recreational, arts, and cultural programming for all ages.
Proposed Park System and Amenities Upgrades
The Parks Plan addresses each park in Culver City that is overseen by PRCS by listing the needs of each park and proposing improvements. It also identifies which park has stormwater opportunities and what size that specific stormwater project could be (from on-site systems to simpler water use tracking).
Members of the OLIN team will be giving the presentation (Attachment 2) to the PRCS Commission.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The agreement with OLIN and the unexpected contingency costs are for an amount not-to-exceed $750,000. The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 includes sufficient funding for these services in CIP No. PP023 (Parks Master Plan/42080000.730100.PP023). Funding for future projects that come out of the Parks Plan has not been determined.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2025-01-07 - ATT 1 Link to Parks Plan Document
2. 2025-01-07 - ATT 2 Parks Plan Presentation Slides
MOTION
That the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission:
1. Recommend to the City Council to approve the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department’s Parks Plan.