WORKPLAN
INTRODUCTION
This Workplan is a supplemental document to the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan (“Plan”). The goals of the Workplan are to accomplish the following:
1. Establish a prioritization process to aid with implementation of the Plan;
2. Identify resources need to assist staff with implementing the Plan; and
3. Provide staff with direction regarding future partnership and relationship management with other relevant agencies and organizations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Objective #1 | Advance Key Park Projects to “Shovel Ready” Status Objective #2 | Solidify Relationship with the Senior Center, Inc. to Enhance Services for Seniors Objective #3 | Pursue Joint-Use Agreement with Ravenswood City School District Objective #4 | Develop Staffing Plan to Ensure Responsive Parks and Recreation Services Objective #5 | Require Developers in the Ravenswood Business District to Provide Parks and Open Space as Elements of their Project
Objective #6 | Develop a Community-Led Initiative to Reimagine the SFPUC Easement in the University Village Neighborhood
Objective #7 | Consider Additional Minor Upgrades in Parks as Described in the Plan
OBJECTIVES AND RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Objective #1 (“O1”) | Advance Key Park Projects to “Shovel Ready” Status O1 | Description
The City is in the process of redesigning both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bell Street Parks. To date, the City has invested in outreach, design work, and environmental clearance of each park and will likely complete with these two processes in the near future.
O1 | Recommended City Council Actions
To advance these two projects, staff recommends that the City Council consider, as part of the FY 2023-2024 budget process, appropriating additional funding for staff and various consultants to complete the Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&Es) to bring both projects to a “shovel ready” status.
It is worth noting that the redesign of Martin Luther King Jr. Park assumes expansion through the County-owned parcel located at the end of Beech Street. The City and County remain engaged in these discussions and no funding on the PS&E’s would be spent until more clarity around the City’s potential acquisition of this site are known.
Objective #2 (“O2”) | Solidify Relationship with the Senior Center, Inc. to Enhance Services for Seniors
O2 | Description
Since May 2022, the City and Senior Center, Inc. have been engaged in a collaborative process to identify strategies to ensure that our community of older adults are provided with the support they need to thrive. The City and Senor Center, Inc. are committed to building a stronger relationship with the ultimate goal of a more seamless partnership in which the hallmarks of mutual communication, support, and understanding of needs are evident and ongoing.
O2 | Recommended City Council Actions
To facilitate the advancement of these discussions, staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Identify a consultant to work with the Senior Center, Inc. to complete a needs assessment and determine the type of assistance and organizational modifications that may be needed to better serve residents;
2. Pursue County funding to expand services to the City’s seniors;
3. Develop, in partnership with the Senior Center Inc., a fundraising strategy to expand senior services in the City; and
4. Initiate a site-feasibility study to determine the necessary resources and processes to build a new Senior Center, potentially connected to a senior affordable housing development.1
1 This item was recommended as part of the City’s Facilities Master Plan which was approved in December of 2021.
Objective #3 (“O3”) | Pursue Joint-Use Agreement with Ravenswood City School District O3 | Description
The Ravenswood City School District (Ravenswood) owns several athletic fields that are leased by local sports teams. However, all of these fields are in poor condition and in dire need of rehabilitation. For the past two years, the City and Ravenswood have been actively engaged in the development of a plan to rehabilitate two fields in exchange for the City and community utilization during non-school hours.
The City Council has expressed the desire to invest in the construction documents to advance the Los Robles Ronald McNair playfield in exchange for City access to the field, once completed.
O3 | Recommended City Council Actions
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Direct staff to work with Ravenswood to develop draft terms of a Joint-Use agreement;
2. Return to the City Council for considerations of the terms of an agreement and, if the City Council desires, to appropriate the funding; and
3. Partner with Ravenswood to embark on capital fundraising to rehabilitate the field at Los Robles Ronald McNair.
Objective #4 (“O4”) | Develop Staffing Plan to Ensure Responsive Parks and Recreation Services O4 | Description
For the last three years, the City has invested substantially more resources into ensuring the City’s parks are activated, residents have services to choose from, expanding the relationship with the Senior Center and capital planning. As noted in the Plan, the City will need to further invest in staffing of the City’s Parks and Recreation function.
O4 | Recommended City Council Actions
To ensure that the City has adequate and appropriate levels of staffing, staff recommends consideration of the following staffing changes as part of the FY 2023-2024 budget process:
1. Consider adding a Director of Parks and Recreation position; and,
2. Add a Recreation Coordinator with a sole focus on overseeing the City’s relationship with the Senior Center, Inc. and expanding senior services elsewhere in the City.
Objective #5 (“O5”) | Require Developers in the Ravenswood Business District to Provide Parks and Open Space as Elements of their Project
O5 | Description
Public parks may be built by private developers. With several major initiatives underway, an exciting opportunity exists in the potential combination of public and private sector assets in novel ways to create new and refurbished parks, greenways, trails, and other community spaces in our cities without direct expense by the City and current residents. The City and developers may negotiate the capital costs of construction as well as future operations and maintenance. The Ravenswood/4 Corners District (RBD) represents the largest opportunity for park growth in EPA’s recent history. The four principal projects within the RBD hold the potential to contribute an additional 21 acres of parks and open space to the City’s inventory.
O5 | Recommended City Council Actions
Direct staff, as part of the RBD update process, to advocate with developers to include substantial park and open space amenities within their project.
Objective #6 (“O6”) | Develop a Community-Led Initiative to Reimagine the SFPUC Easement in the University Village Neighborhood
O6 | Description
The City has an opportunity to pursue the creation of a public linear park atop the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) right-of-way in the University Village neighborhood. The linear park would create a direct connection for residents to the Bay Trail, along with safe passage to the future EPA Waterfront. For this project to succeed, a conditional use agreement will need to be established between SFPUC and Mid-Peninsula Open Space to coordinate the construction and management of the park.
Due to the proximity of the SFPUC easement near many single-family homes, staff recommends that the City provide funding for the University Village neighborhood to facilitate a community process that will result in an initial reimagining of this space.
O6 | Recommended City Council Actions
Staff recommends that the City set aside funding, as part of the FY 2023-2024 budget process, for the University Village neighborhood. With City Council direction and input from stakeholders, staff will proceed with development of a strategy for advancing the community led process.
Objective #7 (“O7”) | Consider Additional Minor Upgrades in Parks as Described in the Plan O7 | Description
The Plan identifies several, more modest investments that may be made to enhance the City’s existing parks, which are not currently being included in a redesign process.
O7 | Recommended City Council Actions
Staff recommends that the City include these potential improvements into the City’s Capital Investment Plan (CIP) so that they may be considered of the next few years.