Council Dismisses Ideas to Flip Portion of Bicentennial Park into a Parking Great deal | News

In current many years, older concepts aimed at assembly the parking requires of the historic household, which has been utilised as an party heart, suggested paving around a part of the grassy park and eliminating heritage trees. In reaction, resident Jean Hazell commenced a petition, amassing nearly 900 signatures, and rallied her neighbors to talk out and provide enter for long run strategies. They argued that the park with tall trees presented the only close by outside recreation space for the densely populated neighborhood of residences and flats.

Hazell mentioned the mayor and councilmembers, together with parks and rec commissioners, have achieved in the park different moments to have discussions with the anxious neighbors.

“It would seem like a large amount of these persons are beginning to listen to the neighbors,” she said. “I really feel like the councilmembers and commissioners have been genuinely responsive to resident enter.”

All through the June 21 workshop, the council explored numerous strategy alternatives for parking and renovating the property.

“Should we abandon dialogue of parking in Bicentennial Park? I would say completely,” explained Councilmember Valerie Arkin. “I really don’t believe using a piece of a community park is reasonable to that neighborhood. They have come to take pleasure in and love that park, and I would not want to see that happen.”

In terms of renovating the house, a person selection had been to go the residence, located on 2.7 acres, to a further location, such as the Local community Farm web-site in Bernal Park. Even though Councilmember Jack Balch mentioned he would be open to talking about this alternative, in the stop, he agreed with his fellow councilmembers and Mayor Karla Brown to maintain the house at its present-day internet site. However, they did conclude that renovations have been essential.

“I do believe it is significant to renovate it,” mentioned Councilmember Kathy Narum. “We require to value our historic property. If we feel of our downtown, the rationale we value it is for the reason that of our historic, eclectic properties, as very well as the properties bordering it. It is component of who we are.”

Relying on the remaining renovation system — from small advancements to correcting all determined concerns — staff members projected the price tag to vary from $500,000 to $3.5 million.

“The metropolis is not necessarily in the small business of turning a income or producing cash,” said Balch. “I hope it is in the enterprise of improving the top quality of daily life for its people and furnishing protection as properly as other providers.”

With regard to generating off-internet site parking alternatives, the council agreed that team should really go on discussions with the neighboring community to deal with fears about producing confined parking on Tanager Push with a pedestrian connection to the dwelling. Some general public speakers in the course of the workshop experienced objected to more traffic in the community from these an option, but the council preferred to think about opportunities for parking in that location for distinctive functions only. In addition, personnel was directed to discover one more off-site visitor drop-off facility on Santa Rita Highway.

For on-web site parking — and foregoing the Bicentennial Park parking designs — the council agreed that the front of the Century Property would not be a good place to increase parking, as the aesthetics of the rose-lined grounds would be compromised. As an alternative, they requested to see plans in which parking was included alongside the side of the driveway, which may possibly entail the elimination of some trees.

Vice Mayor Julie Testa was the 1 to at first suggest the driveway be widened to create parking off to the side. She also wondered during the workshop if similar parking could not be extra alongside the other aspect of the property to maximize the areas without the need of masking the entrance.

“Over the previous 35 yrs, each time I’ve pushed by that lovely historic property, I’ve felt pleasure seeking at the environment,” Testa said. “I do think it is a communitywide asset.”

Brown made available some historic track record on the property, which was after a looking lodge on the outskirts of town.

“The Century Household is something which is incredibly unique,” reported Mayor Karla Brown. “It’s a 150-calendar year-outdated household in a 127-yr-previous city, so that suggests it is older than the Town of Pleasanton. That’s a thing really specific.”

Hazell noted that neighbors are producing options to organize totally free yoga courses and a celebratory barbecue at Bicentennial Park.

“Really great factors are taking place,” she explained. “I assume the genuine beneficial aspect of this is that we have gotten to know our neighbors much better. And we have all, in the act of coming together to stand up for supporting this neighborhood, we have all appear to value it and each and every other even additional. So which is a genuinely superior matter.”