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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2021 1020 CCSA REG ITEM 09BCITY OF MOORPARK, 
CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of October 20, 2021 ACTION CONSENSUS TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE REPORT. BY B. Garza. B. Consider Update on a Second Dog Park. Staff Recommendation: Receive and file report. Item: 9.B. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director DATE: 10/20/2021 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider Update on a Second Dog Park SUMMARY Staff is providing this report to the City Council to summarize activities undertaken by staff to study the feasibility of adding a second dog park in Moorpark. Many Moorpark residents have contacted staff over the years requesting a dog park on the south side of Moorpark. Staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission (Commission) have studied the issue extensively and concluded that at this time there is not a suitable location for a second dog park within any of the existing parks, open space, or City owned properties. BACKGROUND The City currently has one dog park, which is located on the north side of Moorpark at College View Park. The dog park is located within the Caltrans right-of-way and therefore requires a license agreement and encroachment permit from Caltrans for continued use of the area. It was constructed in 2010 by City staff. The dog park is approximately ¾ acres and includes separate areas for both large and small breed dogs, benches, trash receptacles, and the turf was removed and replaced with decomposed granite paving to reduce maintenance costs. The dog park is slightly undersized, as the industry standard for dog parks is about 1 acre in size. This is due to the fact that a larger area is generally needed to separate dogs of different sizes, allow adequate space for the dogs to run, and to allow for maintenance operations. It is almost impossible to maintain turf in smaller areas. Over the last several years, the need for a second dog park has been discussed by the Commission and the City Council many times. In July 2015, several Moorpark residents attended a City Council meeting and expressed an interest in a dog park on the south side of town. This inquiry was timely, as earlier that year the City Council adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015/16 & FY 2016/17 City Council’s Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives (Objectives). Section IV, Item 29, included the following: Item: 9.B. 58 Honorable City Council 10/20/2021 Regular Meeting Page 2 Evaluate feasibility for greater use of Country Trail Park by youth sports teams and other potential uses including but not limited to disc golf, BMX or free-style bicycle track, or dog park, including construction of a restroom facility. Due to the growing interest in this topic, the City Council assigned the Commission the task of evaluating the City’s parks to determine if there was a suitable location for a second dog park. The primary area of interest at that time was at Country Trail Park. During a Special Commission meeting in September 2015, the Commission toured the various parks on the south side of Moorpark to review potential locations for a second dog park. Seven parks were toured, in addition to the 80-acre open space property west of Moorpark Road and south of Tierra Rejada Road. The Commission evaluated each location based on a variety of factors, such as available parking, proximity to homes, available space, available restrooms, and the potential for conflicting uses with other park users. The Commission ultimately determined that Peach Hill Park and Arroyo Vista Community Park (AVCP) were the best locations for a future dog park on the south side of Moorpark. Additionally, in December 2015, staff prepared an agenda report for the Commission to consider alternative uses of Country Trail Park. This was in response to both the City Council’s Objective related to this item, and the fact that several residents requested that the City Council consider a dog park at Country Trail Park earlier that year. The Commission considered a dog park, disc golf course, decomposed granite walking path, restroom facility, and a BMX course. Due to the concerns of many adjacent neighbors, as well as the fact that Country Trail Park has limited parking and does not have a restroom facility, the Commission recommended that a decomposed granite walking path and a disc golf course would be the best alternatives. This information was included in an agenda report that was prepared for the City Council in 2018 for the project to replace the playground equipment at Country Trail Park. The project included the installation of a decomposed granite walking trail and improvements to the parking lot and sidewalks to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A disc golf course was not installed due to safety concerns. In 2018, staff and the Commission were contacted again by several residents that expressed renewed interest in a second dog park. During the August 2018 Commission meeting, the Commission re-evaluated the possibility of constructing a dog park at the east end of AVCP or the north end of Peach Hill Park, as these were the only locations that were either large enough in size to accommodate a dog park or underutilized and did not already include recreational amenities. Ultimately the Commission determined that although the east end of AVCP was underutilized, the area was not ideal for a dog park, as it was undersized and would cost a significant amount of funding to enlarge the area due to the topography at that end of the park. Additionally, the Commission did not feel that Peach Hill Park was appropriate due to the proximity of the homes adjacent to the north side of the park. 59 Honorable City Council 10/20/2021 Regular Meeting Page 3 DISCUSSION Staff deferred presenting the Commission’s 2018 recommendation to the City Council in order to evaluate potential opportunities associated with future development projects, as well as the potential lease of the property owned by Southern California Edison directly adjacent to AVCP. Shortly after the Commission evaluated this item in 2018, the developer for the Hitch Ranch Development initiated the entitlement process with the City. Additionally, Section IV, Goal 3, Objective 4.3.3, of the City Council’s FY 2019/20 & FY 2020/21 Objectives included the following: Determine feasibility of leasing a portion of the Southern California Edison property adjacent to Arroyo Vista Community Park to expand parking and provide active and passive recreational uses… The Hitch Ranch Development may be the last development project proposed for Moorpark that will include the construction of a public park. The project site is located north of the railroad tracks, between Gabbert Road and terminates approximately ¼ mile west of the current civic center. The project site is approximately 285 acres and proposes 755 housing units. Staff has been working with the development team to provide the necessary park land for the development of a new community park. However, as currently proposed it does not appear that the project will be able to provide the city with the required amount of land dedication. Aside from the challenging topography, the primary project constraints appear to be the construction of several very large storm water detention basins that have been mandated by the County of Ventura. The leftover land available for a public park is only about 6.5 acres. Per the city’s park land requirement, the developer is required to provide 12.5 acres of park land. The current design of the 6.5 acre park includes an amphitheater, splash pad, tot lot and auxiliary structures and amenities, such as a parking lot, small community building, and restroom facilities. In an effort to meet the city’s park land requirement, the Hitch Ranch development team has proposed an alternative design solution within one of the detention basins so that the basin can be used for passive recreational uses during certain times of the year. However, staff is doubtful that the County will allow the basin to be programmed as a dog park. In 2018 when staff contacted the County to discuss a dog park at Country Trail Park, the County expressed some concerns regarding fencing and dog waste. Country Trail Park also serves as a detention area in high flow scenarios and although the County did not officially prohibit the idea of a dog park, they expressed concerns of waste entering the storm water system and fencing that could potentially block normal flows. If Hitch Ranch is unable to provide additional active park space within their development, the developer will be required to pay a Parkland In-lieu fee which could be used to improve the property north of AVCP that is owned by Southern California Edison (SCE). This would allow the developer an opportunity to meet the intent of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) and provide the park land required of the Hitch Ranch development. The Master Plan identifies a Community Park within the Hitch Ranch 60 Honorable City Council 10/20/2021 Regular Meeting Page 4 planning area that includes a variety of active amenities, such as athletic fields, softball fields and basketball courts to name a few. Staff believes that there is not a suitable location for a second dog park in Moorpark and the only viable option regarding a second dog park in the future is to expand AVCP and lease the SCE owned property. This property is approximately 14 acres in size and could accommodate a future dog park, as well as a variety of other uses, such as increased parking and additional athletic fields. However, in 2017 staff met with representatives of the SCE’s Land Management Division and were informed that SCE is not supportive of a dog park, or any other organized uses on the property. SCE stated that this was primarily due to maintenance concerns related to their high voltage transmission lines. With that said, staff recently re-initiated discussions with SCE and has learned that they may be agreeable to a variety of uses that the City originally proposed, under certain terms. Staff will prepare a separate report on this item once staff has clear direction to provide the City Council. To lease the property owned by SCE, the City would need to enter into a license agreement for use of the property. SCE has provided staff with a license fee amount of approximately $5,500 per year, with a 3% annual increase over a five-year lease term. Staff estimates that it would cost the City a minimum of $2 million to improve the property, which would include an expanded gravel parking area, three athletic fields, expansion of the recreational trail, and potentially a dog park or other amenities. However, the City’s Park Maintenance Assessment Fund is substantially subsidized by the General Fund and any expansion of park land will require additional subsidy from the General Fund for normal maintenance operations. Staff estimates an increase to the Park Maintenance Budget of approximately $55,000/year, not including the lease to SCE. As a reminder, the Park Maintenance Assessment revenue for FY 2021/22 is expected to cover only 39% of the overall cost to operate the City parks, requiring a General Fund subsidy of approximately $1.5M to fund park operations. Additionally, the City does not have any available funding to improve the SCE property. Staff estimates that the total current fund balance in the Community Wide Park Development Fund will be approximately $2,100,000 after the construction of the inclusive playground at Tierra Rejada Park. The total funding required to complete all the park improvement projects identified in the FY 2021/22 Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) is approximately $15,235,000. It should be noted however, that although a second dog park is identified in the CIP as a Future and Potential Project, it has not been identified as a Current Project and it is not a current City Council Objective. During the Special Commission meeting on May 16, 2021, the Commission was asked once again to consider the location for a second dog park. Staff’s recommendation was: Recommend to the City Council that a second dog park should not be considered at this time. 61 Honorable City Council 10/20/2021 Regular Meeting Page 5 Although the Commission concurred with staff’s recommendation, the Commission wanted to express to the City Council their strong desire to continue to seek options for a second dog park. They felt strongly that another dog park was important to the residents of Moorpark and that we should defer a recommendation on the location of a second dog park until a suitable location has been identified. Staff agrees with this sentiment and intends to continue to work with SCE to obtain approval on the uses that would be allowed on the property adjacent to AVCP and continue to work with the Hitch Ranch developer to obtain the funding needed to improve the SCE owned property in the future. However, at this time staff does not believe that there is a suitable location for another dog park within any of the existing parks or City owned properties. FISCAL IMPACT There are no cost implications associated with this report. Should a second dog park be considered in the future, staff will prepare a detailed cost analysis for the City Council at that time. COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE This action does not support a current strategic directive. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Receive and file report. 62