Fremont City Council Meeting: 03/15/22 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Community Services
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
STAFF REPORT (ID # 4535) DOC ID: 4535 A
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 1 ADOPTION OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN - Adopt a Resolution to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and make a finding that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per Guidelines Sections 15162, 15163, 15262, and 15378(b), and no further environmental review is required at this time.
Contact Persons:
Name: Tara Bhuthimethee Suzanne Wolf
Title: Senior Landscape Architect Community Services Director Div/Dept: Community Services Community Services
Phone: 510-494-4738 510-494-4329
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) is a comprehensive planning document for the Community Services Department, covering a broad range of interconnected topics that provides guidance for the next 15-20 years on how to meet the demands for future recreational, programming, environmental, and maintenance needs, and to establish priorities for facility improvements, future park development, and park land acquisitions. The Master Plan also includes a Financial Strategy Plan which suggests funding opportunities for future consideration.
The update of the Master Plan fulfills the City’s General Plan Policy 8-1.6A: Review and Update of Relevant Plans in support of Goal 8-1: A Wide Range of Parks and Recreational Facilities.
BACKGROUND: The Parks and Recreation Master Plan was funded in the FY 2019/20 Capital Improvement Program following recommendation from the Recreation Commission to provide a comprehensive update to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, to determine community needs throughout the Citywide parks system, and to address those future needs by providing a framework for policy and funding decisions for the development, programming, management, and maintenance of Fremont’s parks and recreation system.
In 1991, the City of Fremont adopted its updated General Plan, which for the first time included a Parks and Recreation Element. While there is no State mandate for a Parks and Recreation element in the City’s General Plan, it was included to reflect the value that the community placed on parks.
In response to the guidance in the 1991 General Plan, in 1995, the City adopted Fremont’s last Parks and Recreation Master Plan. It provided a framework for park categorization and park standards, funding, operations and maintenance, and implementation.
In 2011, the City adopted its General Plan Update. In Chapter 8, the Parks and Recreation Element, Policy 8-1.6.A includes the periodic review and update of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as needed, in support of Goal 8-1: A Wide Range of Parks and Recreational Facilities.
Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 2
In December 2019, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan project was officially launched in collaboration with the City’s consultants, PROS Consulting, Inc. As a result of project branding, the InventFremontParks name was established, along with a corresponding logo, website domain, and Department wide staff kick off meeting.
On February 16, 2021, Council received an update to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which included a summary of the extensive public outreach, the Demographics and Trends report, results from the statistically valid survey, an inventory of Fremont parks, and park assessment mapping of the city.
On September 9, 2021, Council received another update to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan which included a summary of the Program Services Assessment, the Priority Investment Rating (PIR), the Recreation Program Plan, the Benchmark Assessment, and the Levels of Service and Equity Mapping.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) is a comprehensive planning document for the Community Services Department, covering a broad range of interconnected topics that provides guidance for the next 15-20 years on how to meet the demands for future recreational, programming, environmental, and maintenance needs, and to establish priorities for facility improvements, future park development, and park land acquisitions. The Master Plan also includes a Financial Strategy Plan, which suggests funding opportunities for future consideration.
The Master Plan planning process involved a robust public outreach campaign including the participation of thousands of residents. A summary of the outreach is detailed below. Other data collection included a Demographics and Recreational Trends Report; the mapping of demographic, environmental, climatic, and connectivity considerations; the inventorying and assessment of park assets throughout the entire parks system; and the benchmarking of peer and award-winning agency cities.
This data, along with the public input and results of the statistically valid survey, served as the foundation for the various planning documents within the Master Plan, including the Recreation Program Plan, Level of Service and Equity Mapping, Maintenance Management Plan, Park Categories, Capital Improvement Plan, Land Acquisition Manual, Financial Strategy Plan, Visioning, and Strategic Action Plan. These documents are summarized below.
The update of the Master Plan supports the City’s General Plan Goal 8-1: A Wide Range of Parks and Recreational Facilities. It also fulfills the following policies set forth in Chapter 8 of the General Plan, the Parks and Recreation Element:
1. 8-1.2.A: Funding Sources - Pursue a wide range of funding sources for acquisition of park land and development of recreational facilities.
2. 8-1.6: Periodic Review of Park Categories and Standards - Regularly review park categories, standards and guidelines and revise as necessary to reflect changing community trends and needs.
3. 8-1.6.A: Review and Update of Relevant Plans - Periodically review and update the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the Parks and Recreation Element of the General Plan as needed.
Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 3
In addition to fulfilling the abovementioned policies, the Master Plan is aligned with, and will support, numerous other goals and policies of the General Plan.
During the planning process, the Master Plan team collaborated with other City departments on concurrent planning efforts, including the Trails Strategy Plan, the Urban Forest Management Plan, and the Climate Action Plan update.
Public Outreach
The public outreach component of the Master Plan included the participation of over 3,000 residents. The effort used a crowdsourcing website, a custom-designed phone application or “app” (HAPPiFEET Fremont PARKS), a stakeholder interview process with various community leaders and user groups, a series of virtual public input meetings with over 500 participants, an online survey, and a statistically valid survey.
The City has received over 800 independent comments through the website, app, and community meetings through the course of the project.
The Community Services Department updated the community regularly at the monthly Recreation Commission meetings and provided the Council with periodic updates in February and September 2021.
Stakeholder Interviews
The stakeholder interview process began in June 2020 and included interviews in which over 200 unique stakeholders and user groups were invited to participate, including City Council members, City Staff, and a broad range of community leaders representing local business, local service organizations, City Commissions, spiritual leaders, local agencies, arts and historical organizations, and a wide variety of recreational user groups.
InventFremontParks.com Website
The project’s multi-lingual, ADA-accessible, crowdsourcing website was launched in July 2020 with the aim of being universally inclusive for Fremont’s diverse audience. It includes an option to sign up for notifications regarding the Master Plan’s progress and a comment box to accept any community suggestions or ideas.
Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 4 HAPPiFEET Fremont PARKS App
Also launched in July was the customized HAPPiFEET Fremont PARKS app, which can be downloaded for free and used on-site at any park location to provide comments, feedback, or suggestions for new projects or ideas.
Virtual Public Input Meetings
Three virtual public input meetings were held between July and August 2020 on a variety of days and times in order to capture as many people as possible. These meetings were a huge success, with attendance exceeding 500 participants.
Online Survey
The City received 1,941 responses to its online survey, which emulated the statistically valid survey and ran for approximately 6 weeks from early December to mid-January.
Statistically Valid Survey
In November 2020, the City conducted a statistically valid Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment survey of randomly selected Fremont residents to validate the issues and themes received during public meetings and from other community feedback. The City’s consultant, ETC Institute, administered the survey available in six languages. A total of 527 residents completed the survey, resulting in a precision of at least +/-4.2% at the 95% level of confidence.
Demographics and Trends Report
The Demographics and Trends Report covered the two topics independently, delivered together in a single report.
Demographics
The Fremont Demographics Report describes the Fremont population in terms of race, ethnicity, age, and income based on the U.S. Census Bureau and Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). It also projects Fremont’s demographics into future years, which informs the City’s program planning.
Perhaps the most salient projection from this report is that Fremont’s 55+ population is expected to grow substantially by 2034, by which time approximately one-third of the population will be 55+.
Recreational Trends
The Recreational Trends Report describes national, regional, and local trends in sports, general fitness, outdoor recreation, and recreational programming. The report compares Fremont’s fitness to the national averages. Fremont exceeds the national average in several sports and especially in general fitness.
Fremont Parks Atlas
An “Atlas” of Fremont Parks was created to provide layers of information that should be considered when planning the parks system. This atlas is a collection of over 50 maps which illustrate Fremont’s parks by type, size, and condition; Fremont’s demographic makeup; amenity distribution; proximity to neighborhoods, commercial centers, schools, libraries, and places of worship; connectivity; ecology; climate risks; and future planning considerations.
Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 5 Park Asset Inventory and Assessment
In Spring 2020, an inventory of all park assets was created by geolocating and assessing all assets located at all Fremont park locations. Over 8,600 individual park assets were geolocated and mapped, and their conditions were assessed into three categories-- “good,” “fair,” and “poor.” This information has been mapped and integrated into the City’s GIS system. The asset evaluations will help determine the park amenities that should be addressed.
Benchmark Assessment
Staff and the consulting team reached out to similar agencies in California and other best practice agencies to benchmark against specific variables.
The agencies that provided data include the Cities of Santa Clarita, CA; Moreno Valley, CA; Fontana, CA; Cosumnes Community Services District (Elk Grove, CA); Carmel Clay, IN; and Norfolk, VA. The findings in combination with other analyses and data sets helped shape the visioning process and the overall plan’s recommendations.
Program Services Assessment
An assessment of Recreation and Senior programs was conducted to evaluate how aligned the current programming is to population expectation and unmet needs. The analysis and results of the statistically valid survey will help determine recommendations for future programming.
Priorities for Facility/Amenity Investments:
The consulting team used the Priority Investment Rating (PIR), which was developed by ETC Institute to provide organizations with an objective tool for evaluating the priority that should be placed on Parks and Recreation investments. The PIR equally weighs (1) the importance that residents place on amenity/program and (2) how many residents have unmet needs for the facility/program.
Based on the PIR, seven facilities/amenities were rated as high priorities for investment.
Multi-use paved trails topped the list, followed by restrooms, multi-use unpaved trails, open space and conservation areas, community gardens, small neighborhood parks, and large community parks.
Priorities for Program Investments
The same Priority Investment Rating (PIR) was used to evaluate programming as well.
Based on the PIR, five programs were rated as “high priorities” for investment, with Adult fitness and wellness programs topping the list, followed by exercise classes, senior health and wellness programs, historic park programs, and Community special events.
The priority lists for both Facility/Amenity and Program Investments are based only on ETC’s statically valid survey results; the final Master Plan’s priorities may differ based on data from other technical contributions and competing considerations.
Recreation Program Plan
An assessment of Recreation and Senior programs was conducted to evaluate how aligned the current programming is to population expectation and unmet needs. In order to meet the national accreditation requirements (CAPRA/Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies), a broader recreation program plan was developed, including Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 6 recreation trends, the City’s demographic projections, results of the statistically valid survey and the Priority Investment Rating to determine the approach for future programming.
This plan considered key recreational foundation principles that programs help address, including physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, and environmental.
The program plan also conducted an overall assessment of the Core Program Areas identified by the Division staff, including Academic Enrichment, Aquatics, Art, After School Academy, Athletics, Camps, Cooking, Dance, Fitness, Health, Music, Nature Rangers, Special Events, Tiny Tots, and Virtual.
Additionally, pricing strategies, marketing and communications practices, program lifecycles and age segments, and volunteer and partnership approaches were also addressed as a part of the plan.
Maintenance Management Plan
The consulting team conducted meetings with a variety of parks maintenance staff and interdepartmental staff to gain an understanding of strengths, challenges, opportunities, relationships, and expectations. Recommended strategies for implementation and development are included in the plan, ranging from tracking maintenance tasks to developing Key Performance Indicators, adopting a Zone Management approach, staff development, and considering contract maintenance, among others. This ongoing plan shares recommended best practices for maintenance standards and performance metrics.
Levels of Service and Equity Mapping
A comprehensive inventory list was developed, including a level of service for parks, trails, recreation amenities and indoor recreation spaces offered by the City, and inventory from other comparable providers that serve the City’s residents including the East Bay Regional Park District, Fremont Unified School District, and Ohlone College.
Based on current and future population numbers, these recommendations informed the Equity Maps that illustrate the gaps and overlaps in service areas, and inform future CIP, land acquisition and funding recommendations.
Park Classification
The Master Plan includes a new park classification system, which largely adopts the existing system and expands it slightly. The park classification outlined in the City’s 2011 General Plan comprised six park categories, including Citywide Parks, Neighborhood Parks, Mini Parks, Historic Parks, Civic Parks, and Linear Parks. As the General Plan Policy 8-1.6:
Periodic Review of Park Categories and Standards states to “Regularly review park categories, standards and guidelines and revise as necessary to reflect changing community trends and needs,” the project team found it necessary to adjust the classifications to the three primary categories of Neighborhood Park, Community Park, and Destination/Special Use Park, defined by both size and use. The Neighborhood Park and Community Park classifications include subcategories as described below.
Neighborhood Park- Neighborhood Parks are smaller parks which provide convenient and accessible active and passive recreation to residents within the surrounding area. These parks are typically between 2-10 acres, but may have pre-existing variations. This Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 7 classification includes the subcategories of Mini Park, Civic Parks and Plazas, Historic Park, and Linear Park.
Mini Park – This subcategory includes limited recreation areas on small sites.
Civic Parks and Plazas – Typically in more urban settings like the new Downtown Plaza and the new Warm Springs Plaza, these small parks provide public gathering spaces for many people in the surrounding vicinity.
Historic Park – The primary purpose of these parks is to preserve and interpret historic sites or buildings. The secondary function is to serve and enhance recreation needs. This subcategory is for historic parks 10 acres or less in size.
Linear Park – Linear parks include greenways and transportation infrastructure, and are commonly used for exercise and connectivity to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Community Park – Community Parks are larger parks that serve the needs of the entire community. These parks are typically over ten acres to 100 acres in size and typically provide amenities, such as restrooms, parking, lighting, and special facilities. The Community Park classification includes a Historic Park subcategory for historic parks greater than 10 acres in size.
Historic Park – The primary purpose of these parks is to preserve and interpret historic sites or buildings. The secondary function is to serve and enhance recreation needs. This subcategory is for historic parks greater than 10 acres in size.
Destination/Special Use Park – This new park category highlights special parks within Fremont’s system which have a regional draw beyond the City’s boundaries. Fremont has two parks of this category—the 430-acre Central Park and the 200-acre Ardenwood Regional Preserve, which is largely managed by the East Bay Regional Park District.
Proposed Changes to Formal Park Names
Within the Master Plan, a table of all 64 of Fremont park names and acreages are listed within their respective categories. Due to the reclassification of some parks, a few parks must be renamed using their correct classifications, such as Isherwood Community Park and Marshall Community Park. With adoption of the Master Plan, the table in Section 4.2.5 Park Classification Table will include the adopted formal names for all Fremont parks. This simplifies the process of identifying the park formal names in a single location (as opposed to multiple resolutions throughout Fremont’s history).
Capital Improvement Plan
Based on the park asset inventory, assessment, level of service and equity mapping, and the results from the statistically valid survey analysis, the consulting team identified amenities needing replacement and parks that contain opportunities for additional amenities. The Capital Improvement Plan portion of this Master Plan is a planning guide and is distinct and independent from the City’s official Capital Improvement Program, which identifies specific capital projects already included within the City’s budget.
Land Acquisition Manual
The Land Acquisition Manual outlines the criteria for acquiring new park land based on the City’s long-established goal of maintaining a park ratio of 5 acres per 1,000 residents and addressing the long-term endeavor of having a park within a 10-minute walk for every Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 8 resident. As Fremont’s population continues to grow, the need for parks and recreation will proportionately increase.
Park Design Standards
The Park Design Standards serves as the guiding document for park design principles applicable to existing and future parks. This document, found in the Appendix of the Master Plan, builds on the Park Classifications within the Master Plan body and includes park standard tables which define the purpose, standards, and guidelines for each park classification.
Financial Strategy Plan
The Financial Strategy Plan includes two main sections—an assessment of the Recreation Services, Park Maintenance, and Landscape Architecture Divisions of the Community Services Department, and Funding and Revenue Strategies. The current funding sources can be grouped into City General Revenues, Fees, Grants and Donation, and Special Taxes. This section of the Master Plan explores what funding the City is currently implementing, and opportunities for new funding sources.
Visioning
On November 30, 2021, the consulting team led a group of approximately 40 staff members from all divisions (Recreation, Parks Maintenance, Landscape Architecture, and Environmental Services) of the Community Services Department and representatives from the Human Services Department through a day-long Visioning session. The group was briefed on the work and data gathered thus far, and together they defined Department values, aspirations, and goals.
Staff determined that the Department’s Core Values were best expressed through “Excellence, Sustainability, Inclusion, and Innovation.” From those core values, the following Mission Statement was created, “To provide exceptional community experiences.” While the Mission Statement describes the “why” staff does what it does every day, the following Vision Statement describes what the Department aspires to be: “To be the reason people live, work, and play in Fremont.”
In addition to creating the foundational thread that weaves through the different divisions of the Department, the group was asked to envision what could make the Parks and Recreation system even better. These “Big Moves” were visionary offerings that Staff believed were what the community addressed through the comprehensive Master Plan community outreach process, what they had heard informally from the public in their varied roles through the years, and from their collective professional experience.
The “Big Moves” included the following:
1. Ensure a 10-minute walk to park access for all;
2. Build multi-generational, multi-use recreation centers(s) with the priority to replace outdated and failing buildings in Central Park;
3. Update outdated and failing park amenities, including park restrooms, sports facilities, and infrastructure;
4. Diversify funding sources for long-term financial sustainability; and
5. Plan for staffing and/or seek contract support to meet future levels of service.
Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 9 Strategic Action Plan
The Strategic Action Plan considers the entire Master Plan as a whole and distills it into key strategies for the time periods of Short-Term (0-3 years), Mid-Term (4-5 years), Long-Term (beyond 5 years), and Ongoing.
Recreation Commission Recommendation
On March 2nd, 2022, at their regularly scheduled meeting, the Recreation Commission voted to recommended adoption of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan by resolution and recommended making the finding that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan was exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per Guidelines Sections 15162, 15163, 15262, and 15378(b), and no further environmental review is required at this time.
Commissioner Winters added a friendly amendment, seconded by Commissioner Thompson, that the Recreation Commission fully supports the Master Plan and commends the staff on all of their effort and work.
The Recreation Commission’s votes included the following actions:
1. Recommend that City Council make a finding that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per Guidelines Sections 15162, 15163, 15262, and 15378(b), and no further environmental review is required at this time.
2. Recommend that City Council make a finding that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan complies with the City’s General Plan Policy 8-1.6A: Review and Update of Relevant Plans and supports Goal 8-1: A Wide Range of Parks and Recreational Facilities.
3. Recommend that City Council Adopt a resolution to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan attached to the staff report.
4. Recommend that City Council commend Staff on their work and effort on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
The results of the vote are as follows:
AYES: 4
NOES: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ABSENT: 1
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact because the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is a planning document. Any capital projects or projects which affect the City budgets will come before City Council for consideration.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The Parks and Recreation Master Plan is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the following, without limitation, and each serving as a separate and independent basis: (1) the proposed amendments are part of the project analyzed in the General Plan EIR (SCH#2010082060) and none of the circumstances necessitating preparation of a subsequent EIR pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163 are Staff Report (ID # 4535) Meeting of March 15, 2022
Updated: 3/10/2022 3:49 PM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 10 present; (2) CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 as the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is only a planning study for possible future action that have not been approved or funded; and (3) CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b) as the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is an administrative activity that will not result in an effect on the physical environment and parts of the plan are too speculative at this time for reasoned analysis and details will be more fully developed later with the appropriate environmental review. There are no previously identified significant effects which are substantially more severe than analyzed in the prior EIR or cannot be substantially mitigated by the imposition of uniformly applied development policies or standards applied on a citywide basis.
ATTACHMENTS: Parks and Recreation Master Plan. See links.
LINKS: Parks and Recreation Master Plan - Executive Summary Parks and Recreation Master Plan – Body of Report
Parks and Recreation Master Plan - Appendices
ATTACHMENTS:
• Parks Master Plan Resolution
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Find that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per Guidelines Sections 15162, 15163, 15262, and 15378(b), and no further environmental review is required at this time.
2. Find that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan complies with the City’s General Plan Policy 8-1.6.A: Review and Update of Relevant Plans and supports Goal 8-1: A Wide Range of Parks and Recreational Facilities.
3. Adopt a resolution to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan included with this report.