|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A plan to expand and improve access to Mountain View’s parks, open spaces and trails sailed through the City Council last week, despite some community concerns that a $722 million price tag would be a big obstacle to actually adding more parks.
In a unanimous vote, the City Council adopted a strategic plan that lays out a roadmap for how the city will meet the current and future park and recreational needs of its residents over the next 10 to 15 years, with a particular focus on underserved neighborhoods.
“This is a huge milestone tonight,” Council member Chris Clark said at the May 26 meeting. “We’ve been working on this for a long time. It’s gone through many iterations.”
Community members praised the strategic plan for incorporating public input, especially around issues of equity and biodiversity. But some also voiced concerns that the plan would not get off the ground, given its hefty price tag.
City staff estimate that it will cost approximately $722 million to meet the goal of adding 53.5 acres of parkland. This is less than the $1.2 billion previously anticipated for 87 acres of parkland, which city staff presented to the council in January. Updated calculations have shrunk the parkland deficit, but it’s still a sizable investment for the city.
“How are we going to meet this in a way that’s going to make a dent?” Mountain View resident Jim Zaorksi asked, urging city staff to lay out a clear funding strategy. “Otherwise, it just looks like another can kick to the community, and the community is not going to go for it.”
What is the city’s plan?
The parks and recreation plan – a nearly 400-page document with 52 action items – presents a blueprint of how Mountain View will prioritize adding parks to underserved areas while also seeking to maintain and upgrade existing parks. Historically, the city has aimed for 3 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, a goal that can be a moving target depending on what is counted as parkland.
Mountain View exceeds the goal, hitting 4.74 acres of parkland, when North Bayshore is included in the calculations. That is because the area includes Shoreline Park, a 750-acre regional recreation and wildlife area. When North Bayshore is excluded, Mountain View’s parkland drops to 2.38 acres per 1,000 residents, according to the city staff report. That calculation also includes trails throughout the city.
However, there are disparities in how parkland is distributed across Mountain View. Areas like San Antonio, Central, Stierlin, Sylvan-Dale, Thompson and Rengstorff have less than 2 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, according to Assistant Community Services Director Kristine Crosby. Those areas will be prioritized, she said.
Crosby noted that the city also would add parks to other parts of Mountain View if the opportunity became available. Areas that exceed the 3 acres per 1,000 residents threshold include Miramonte, Grant and Whisman, according to the staff report.
Council members praised the plan, noting that it struck an appropriate balance between identifying current needs and planning for the future. But they also acknowledged the financial challenges of purchasing land.
City staff estimate that it will cost between $13 million and $16 million per acre to buy and build a new park, based on current market conditions. Even enhancing and updating existing parks is expensive, ranging from $1 million to $3 million per acre, according to the staff report.
Taking an optimistic view, Council member Lucas Ramirez sought to reassure the public that the city was capable of paying for more parks, especially with help from the community. He noted that the City Council will be considering a potential bond measure for the November ballot that could raise money for parks.
Ramirez also described existing “down payments” for parkland, like revenue from a property transfer tax that voters approved in 2024. Other sources of money include funding from the city’s “strategic property acquisition reserve” and the Shoreline Regional Park Community, a special tax district that covers much of the city north of U.S. Highway 101 and has funds to improve and maintain that area of Mountain View.
“There’s a lot that we’re doing or will likely do in the near future to help make this not just an aspirational document, but something that will actually yield near- to medium-term progress on this high priority,” Ramirez said. However, he added that it would require the trust and patience of the community.
“I wish we could do it all now, immediately, but there’s a little bit of trust that the community has to have,” he said.
