City Council Agenda
City of Campbell, 70 N. First St., Campbell, California
NOTE: This City Council Special meeting will be conducted in person as well as telecommunication and is compliant with provisions of the Brown Act.
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Public comment will also be accepted via email at [email protected] until 3:00p.m. prior to the start of the meeting. Written comments will be posted on the website and distributed to the Council. If you choose to email your comments, please indicate in the subject line “FOR PUBLIC COMMENT” and indicate the item number.
STUDY SESSION OF THE CAMPBELL CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 – 6:00 p.m.
City Hall Council Chamber – 70 N. First Street
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
PUBLIC COMMENT
NEW BUSINESS
1. Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update
Recommended Action: That the City Council receive an update and provide input on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
ADJOURN
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection with the agenda packet in the lobby of City Clerk’s Office, 70 N. First Street, Campbell, CA 95008, during normal business hours. These materials will also be available on the City website at https://www.ci.campbell.ca.us/agendacenter with the agenda packet following the last item of the agenda, subject to staff’s ability to post the documents prior to the meeting. All documents not posted prior to the meeting will be posted the next business day.
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City
Council
Report
TITLE: Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update
RECOMMENDED ACTION
That the City Council receive an update and provide input on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City Council awarded a contract on March 19, 2024 to MIG for the development of the City’s first Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Since that time, MIG has performed a significant amount of work regarding assessing the current condition of the City’s parks and recreational facilities as well as soliciting a considerable amount of community input.
On October 15, 2024, the City Council received an update from MIG, Inc regarding the status of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. At that time, data collection, analysis, and community engagement had been completed, while the needs assessment was underway. A systemwide overview of Campbell’s current parks and recreation inventory was shared, along with the completed health equity assessment. Emerging themes from the community engagement process were also discussed, and the Council had the opportunity to provide feedback and additional insights. Council members were asked to determine whether the current level of service for Campbell’s parks, facilities, programs and maintenance should be increased as well as to share their top two priorities for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Since October, the needs assessment has been completed, and systemwide and site - specific recommendations have been drafted.
DISCUSSION
The draft recommendations for Campbell’s first Parks and Recreation Master Plan focus on systemwide and site-specific improvements. The community-driven planning process identified several systemwide recommendations aimed at improving management, development, and enhancements to the City’s recreation system. These are organized into five categories:
Item:
Category:
Meeting Date:
1 NEW BUSINESS
March 4, 2025
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1. Parks and Facilities: Address gaps in park access, diversify facilities, enhance park identity, and create more social gathering spaces. Renovate outdated assets and improve walking/biking connections across the city.
2. Maintenance, Deferred Maintenance, and Operations: Increase maintenance resources, implement an asset management plan, schedule ongoing repairs, and leverage community partnerships for volunteer support.
3. Recreation Programs, Activities, and Events: Expand programs to reflect new trends, enhance aquatics offerings, collaborate with external organizations, and improve program promotion and tracking.
4. Resilience and Sustainability: Implement resource conservation measures, support natural processes, provide sustainability education and develop climate adaptation strategies for parks and recreation facilities.
5. Administration, Management, and Communication: Enhance communication with the community, strengthen partnerships, expand funding sources, develop a fee philosophy, and regularly update plans to measure success and adapt to changing community needs.
Site-specific recommendations outline proposed improvements for existing and new parks and facilities in the City, focusing on three main categories: renovation and renewal, facility additions, and park expansion and development. These projects aim to repair aging amenities, add new recreational features, and develop new park spaces in underserved areas. Key recommendations include:
1. Systemwide Capital Improvements: Expanding and improving the trail system, such as developing the San Tomas Creek Trail and providing ADA accessibility upgrades.
2. Campbell Community Center (CCC) : Renovating the skate park, updating picnic areas, enhancing the gymnasium, and improving pool and locker room facilities.
3. Special Use Sites : Upgrading the Ainsley House garden patio, enhancing museum storage, and improving Orchard City Green with bike racks and safety bollards.
4. Citywide Parks : Various upgrades such as improving playgrounds at John D.
Morgan Park, adding picnic areas and signage at Campbell Park, and enhancing the Dog Park, located at Los Gatos Creek County Park.
5. Neighborhood Parks: Projects at parks like Edith Morley and Jack Fischer Park to expand/improve play areas, replace picnic tables, and add environmental education signage.
6. Pocket Parks : Enhancements to smaller parks like Gomes and Hyde Park, including historical public art and sustainable planting.
7. Greenways and Trails : Expanding Los Gatos Creek Trail with more amenities such as benches, water fountains, and bike racks, and adding an extension adjacent to the Pruneyard, connecting to Campbell Ave.
8. Unserved Gap Areas : Plans to acquire parkland or develop partnerships with schools (or districts) in underserved regions like Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast Campbell for shared recreational access.
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The goal of these projects is to improve accessibility, sustainability, and community interactions across Campbell's park system, addressing both current needs and future growth.
A second community workshop was held on January 15, 2025 where the community had the opportunity to set criteria prioritizing projects. An online prioritization activity has also been ongoing in the two weeks leading up to this study session. The results of both prioritization activities will be shared at the study session.
As the Parks and Recreation Master Plan moves forward, it is crucial to establish clear criteria for prioritizing projects to ensure that resources are allocated effectively. The following criteria have been developed to guide the prioritization process, ensuring that the highest-impact and most relevant projects are addressed first.
The prioritization criteria are organized into main categories: Community Values , Visitor Experience , and Implementation. These criteria will help assess each proposed project based on its alignment with the community’s vision, the benefits it offers to park users, and its potential for successful and timely execution.
Community Values
This category evaluates how well a project supports the broader vision for Campbell, its residents, and the community at large. Key factors include:
• Safety and Use: Does the project improve park safety or restore facility use? • Health and Wellbeing: Does the project support fitness, physical or mental health, or the wellbeing of residents?
• Sense of Identity and Community: Does the project foster community identity, character, gatherings, and/or small-town appeal?
• Equitable Services: Does the project serve vulnerable residents or unserved geographic areas to provide equitable and ADA accessible opportunities for all? • Youth Development & Empowerment: Does the project support the development and empowerment of children, youth, tweens, and teens? • Resilience and Sustainability: Does the project support natural processes, green infrastructure, and energy efficiency to help address the challenges of climate change?
Visitor Experience
This category considers the overall experience of those who use the parks and recreational spaces.
• Facility Variety: Does the project add a new recreation use or increase the variety and diversity of recreation options?
• Nature Access and Protection: Does the project protect natural resources (including the City’s tree canopy) or support nature experiences? • Connectivity and Access: Does the project improve recreation access or connect different parts of the community?
Implementation
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The final set of criteria focuses on the feasibility of each project, considering factors such as cost, available resources, and ease of execution. • Operational Efficiencies or Cost Savings: Does the project reduce costs, increase revenues, increase sustainability, or increase maintenance and operational efficiencies?
• Wise Use of Resources: Does the project use or leverage available resources, such as existing staffing or volunteers, equipment, facilities, City -owned or partner sites, funding, grants or donations, and/or partner contributions? • Greatest Impact: Does the project provide or renovate a high -use, popular park or facility to address community -wide needs or serve a large number of residents?
• Value: Does the project deliver high value for the cost or resources needed, relative to other projects?
• Ease of Implementation: Can the project be done quickly and easily?
As the community votes on these criteria, their input will directly inform the decision - making process, ensuring that the highest priority projects are those that reflect the values and desires of the residents. By using this community -driven approach, we can make well-informed, collaborative decisions on the proposed projects, prioritizing those that offer the most impact, best serve the needs of Campbell’s diverse residents, and can be executed successfully with available resources.
Some key questions for Council include:
• Do you agree with the community’s priorities that our main focus should be on repairing and replacing? If so, what about more expansive projects such as new parks, trails, and Community Center improvements? • Which recommendations are a priority to you?
NEXT STEPS
Following this meeting staff will present to the Parks and Recreation Commission to gather more insight. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan development will move into the next phase of plan development and adoption. The draft plan is expected to be presented to City Council in May/June 2025 with final adoption in July/August 2025.
Prepared by:
Natasha Bissell, Recreation and
Community Services Director
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Approved by:
Brian Loventhal, City Manager
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