TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file the Uptown Open Space Vision Plan; and accept Categorical Exemption CE-18-023. (District 9)
DISCUSSION
In 2015, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine was awarded a HEAL Zone grant for the production of an open space plan in North Long Beach. The Healthy Eating and Active Living, or HEAL Zone, is a place-based healthy community initiative in North Long Beach sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. The purpose of the grant was to develop an open space plan that expanded the total park space and enhanced linkages between residents and available park space to establish healthy, active, and safe places to recreate in the Ninth District of the City of Long Beach.
The Uptown Open Space Vision Plan (Vision Plan) (Attachment A) serves as a visionary document to guide potential future development of open space, and identifies new and innovative opportunities to fill a need for publicly-accessible open space and recreation facilities in the North Long Beach community. The Vision Plan includes an existing conditions analysis, examination of opportunity types, summary of the public outreach process, community-driven vision, and implementation strategies. The Vision Plan looks back to how the park system has evolved to its current state and the previous efforts in planning and development that have informed the path forward. It also develops a blueprint for the possible creation and preservation of open spaces, recreation facilities, and parks. The Vision Plan is a plan for future park investment, anticipated over a long-term horizon, which will be implemented incrementally over time as capital, maintenance, and operating resources allow.
The Vision Plan is built upon years of previous work related to analyzing the North Long Beach environment, and incorporates multiple plans, including the Los Angeles County Park Needs Assessment (2016), Mobility Element (2013), Community Livability Plan (2008), Long Beach RiverLink Plan (2008), North Long Beach Design Guidelines (2005), General Plan and Open Space and Recreation Element (2002), and several Los Angeles River plans still in development. The analysis uses several types of indicators that affect a person's access to open space, including public health, transportation, land use, environmental health, and demographic information.
Building upon these previous planning and outreach efforts, three unique community engagement activities were developed to obtain robust community input, including: (1) The Open Space Game, which empowered participants to identify potential open space locations and amenities within realistic planning obstacles; (2) The Dot Game, which gave participants the opportunity to prioritize the open space ideas based on neighborhoods; and, (3) A one-day pop-up park program, which demonstrated the most popular community-identified open space ideas and provided an opportunity for conceptual design feedback. Thousands of residents, business owners, and other stakeholders participated in various phases of the outreach, ensuring the community was fairly represented. The community engagement process resulted in 14 priority projects across North Long Beach where all neighborhoods are represented.
The Vision Plan is designed to provide a complete picture for why, where, when, and how to expand publicly-accessible open space in North Long Beach. It is grounded by case studies, best practices, statistics, considerable community input, and adopted policy, ensuring that the projects, programs, and policies proposed in the Vision Plan contain significant value. On February 15, 2018, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved the Vision Plan (Attachment B).
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Linda T. Vu on March 23, 2018 and by Revenue Management Officer Geraldine Alejo on May 1, 2018.
SUSTAINBILITY
While approval of the Vision Plan has no immediate sustainability impact, individual projects developed through the implementation of the Vision Plan support the City of Long Beach’s existing pedestrian, bike, and park plans. These plans provide for safe connectivity between neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and parks, and create additional acres of open space in an underserved part of Long Beach. Future projects are anticipated to incorporate sustainable elements and materials, wherever possible, and comply with the City’s green building and water efficiency policies.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this Vision Plan has been determined to be categorically exempt (Attachment C).
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on July 24, 2018, to assist in the City’s efforts to plan for upcoming grant opportunities.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of the Vision Plan was $55,000, which was funded by a HEAL Zone grant and one-time funds from Council District Nine. There is no fiscal or local job impact associated with this recommendation as the Vision Plan is intended to be the framework for future investment. The Vision Plan provides initial cost estimates for priority projects, although funding for projects outlined have not yet been identified and further detailed cost estimates will need to be created when implementation resources are identified. The work done throughout the Vision Plan process will become the basis for future grant funding requests as the City seeks grants for these and other citywide priorities. As municipal resources for maintaining and programming existing park facilities are already strained, the Vision Plan is long-term, intended to be phased in over time, as projects, operations, and maintenance funding becomes available, or as greater stewardship from community and corporate partners is identified.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
GERARDO MOUET
DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER