City Council to Consider Scaling Back Plans for New Park

Plans for a more active park at the Northwest Open Space will likely be scaled back.

The San Juan Capistrano City Council is scheduled today to reject all bids it had received to redesign the park and have city staff to some internal soul-searching.

Earlier this year, the council decided that the park would include:

• 75 community garden plots
• Space for an organic farm or garden to lease
• Picnic area
• Restrooms
• Two volleyball courts
• Two horseshoe courts
• Two bocce ball courts

An equestrian facility would come later in a Phase 2 of the project.

But staff now estimates the city will be more than $1 million short on funds to build the park, according to a report to the City Council, which will meet Tuesday to discuss the park.

On top of that, the bids the city received to have someone redesign the park according to the changes made in April varied widely, from $9,700 to more than $60,000, prompting staff to re-think the process.

“Staff recommends that it would be prudent to re-evaluate the project scope,” Senior Planner David Contreras wrote. He suggested the city look to get bids from firms that can not only design the park, but oversee construction as well.

A new timeline would have the city receiving and accepting a bid for design by March, with construction to begin January 2015, concluding at the end of July 2015.