AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: September 16, 2025
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Mandana Motahari, City Architect
Stephanie Harris, Community Services Director
Joana Torres, Community Services Manager
Subject: RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE RECREATION AND PARKS CITY
COUNCIL LIAISONS FOR THE LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND
REPLACEMENT
Attachments: 1. Playground renderings
RECOMMENDATION
The Recreation and Parks City Council Liaisons, Mayor Nazarian and Councilmember Wells, recommend the approval of the proposed La Cienega Park playground improvements project. If approved, the project will be going out to bid and an agreement will be presented to City Council for approval at a later time.
INTRODUCTION
City Council prioritized focusing efforts at La Cienega Park. Staff was asked to gather feedback from the community to be included in the design phase of the playground.
Staff drafted and published a survey on August 28, 2024. The survey was mailed to City of Beverly Hills residents residing within 500 feet of the park, emailed to 17,000 individuals via the City’s registration system, and posted at various locations throughout the park. The survey was also published on the Community Services Department’s social media sites, advertised in local newspapers, and at the weekly Farmer’s Market.
The survey closed on September 17, 2024, receiving over 570 responses. The results of the survey were presented to the Recreation and Parks Commission and shared with the City’s Project Administration team to develop conceptual designs.
DISCUSSION
On March 25, 2025, the Recreation and Parks Commission was presented with a conceptual design for a playground that will replace the existing 12,400 square feet playground at La Cienega Park. The preliminary design for La Cienega playground is a Meeting Date: September 16, 2025
direct response to the feedback received from park patrons during the survey period.
The design concept is an abstract natural landscape playscape consisting of rubber mound “hills” that unify the environment, joining multiple active and passive play zones.
Each zone is age-specific, providing a variety of interactive play components while keeping a cohesive and engaging play experience.
Play equipment manufacturer, Kompan, is proposed to be the primary equipment source. Kompan is the same manufacturer used in the Roxbury Park playground and has been quite reliable, allowing for replacement parts to be readily available. The little kids play zone is comprised of age 2-5 play structure components, nature themed springers, and parent and child swing seats. The older kids play zone is for ages 5-12 and consists of a variety of elements including a slide, swings and rotating swivel play platforms.
The space is divided by a “riverbed” concept of oversized concrete pebbles which lead to a story time/performance stage, allowing for potential outdoor youth programming.
The scattering of pebbles serves as a skate-deterrent, with the smooth rounded edges of the boulders also acting as an undesirable skateboarding surface. The “elemental forest” alludes to childhood play in a wooded forest through colorful vertical posts grouped in groves throughout the playscape and providing additional barriers for skating.
Shade is provided by rigid, spherical shades above the story time/performance stage, canopies built into the play equipment, sail shades and trees provide shade at seating areas around the periphery of the site. The backed seating allows for single and group use. Fences and gates enclose the entirety of the site, with ADA accessible ramps added at three entry points. The ADA accessible ground plane consists of poured-inplace safety rubber surface, with visual breaks provided by color and topographical change.
The Recreation and Parks City Council Liaisons, Mayor Nazarian and Councilmember Wells, were presented with the concept renderings of the playground on May 22, 2025.
They requested that considerations be made for better lighting and shade for the play equipment. They also suggested that most items used could be repurposed if the playground were to be moved as the City explores La Cienega’s master plan in the future.
Based on input from the liaisons, Design Development drawings were prepared and presented to the Recreation and Parks Commission on the August 26, 2025, meeting.
Staff will be presenting these documents for Council consideration and approval.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact at this time. If approved as is, the project will be going out to bid and an agreement will be brought to City Council for approval at a later time.
Stephanie Harris,
Community Services Director
Approved By
Meeting Date: September 16, 2025
ATTACHMENT 1
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
EXISTING CONDITIONS
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
PLAN
BIG KIDS SWINGS W/ SHADE
SHADE ELEMENT, TYP.
LITTLE KIDS 2-5 PLAY
SHADE SAIL EQUIPMENT ELEMENTAL FOREST, TYP.
SWING SHADE
LITTLE KIDS
SWINGS W/ ‘YOU
AND ME’ SEATS
MINDERS BENCH, TYP.
PERFORMANCE STAGE
5 EXISTING TREES AT SIDEWALK
BOUNCERS
SAFETY SURFACE
SAFETY SURFACE
CONNECTION PATH
SAFETY SURFACE
CLIMBING & PLAY
MOUNDS
BIG KIDS 5-12 PLAY
EQUIPMENT
NEW SHADE TREES, TYP.
BIG KIDS 5-12 SWIVEL PLAY
CONCRETE PEBBLE SEATS
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
5-12 PLAY EQUIPMENT
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
5-12 PLAY EQUIPMENT: FEATURES
JACOB’S LADDER CURVED SLIDE WALL CLIMBER
PLAY SHELL BANISTER BARS HAMMOCK SOMERSAULT BAR
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
5-12 PLAY EQUIPMENT: SWIVEL PLAY
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
5-12 PLAY EQUIPMENT: SWINGS
NOTE: FINAL SHADE COLOR TBD
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
2-5 PLAY EQUIPMENT
FUNNEL
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
2-5 PLAY EQUIPMENT: FEATURES
CLIMBING NET MEMBRANE CLIMBER BUBBLE WINDOW
CURLY CLIMBER FLOWER PANEL XYLOPHONE
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
2-5 PLAY EQUIPMENT: BOUNCERS
Model Number: 5128
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
2-5 PLAY EQUIPMENT: SWINGS
NOTE: FINAL SHADE COLOR TBD
9'
7'
6'
8'
2" TYP.
PAINTED STEEL
CONCRETE FOOTING
POURED IN PLACE SAFETY SURFACE
2'-6"
PER PLAN
R5'-2"
R6'-1"
R6'-8"
R23'-11"
3'
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
ELEMENTAL FOREST
VARIES F.S.
SENSORY PANEL: DOME
MIRRORS MOUNTED TO
FENCE PANEL
OPEN VIEW PORTS
4'
SENSORY PANEL: FREE
NOTES HARMONY PARK HIVE
CHIME & MELODY BEES
(E) CMU WALL
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
HDPE OR PAINTED METAL
VARIES F.S.
4'
(
H
H
VARIES F.S.
4'
F.S.
SENSORY PANEL: DOME
MIRRORS MOUNTED TO
FENCE PANEL
OPEN VIEW PORTS
L: FREE
Y PARK HIVE
Y BEES
CHALK-BOARD PAINT
(E) CMU WALL
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
HDPE OR PAINTED METAL
VARIES F.S.
4'
SENSORY PANEL LOCATIONS
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
PERIMETER FENCE
CANOPY IN “LOLL GREEN”
POLE IN “NUTMEG”
PERFORATED STEEL
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
SHADE ELEMENT
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
MINDERS BENCH
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
CONCRETE PEBBLE SEATS
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
MOUNDS
TREES SHRUBS
LA CIENEGA PLAYGROUND | AUGUST 26, 2025
PLANTING
COAST ROSEMARY
PEPPERMINT TREE FOXTAIL AGAVE MAGENTA ROCKROSE
AUSTRALIAN WILLOW MAT RUSH INDIAN HAWTHORNE