Consultants outline parks master plan recommendations; residents press for dog-park fixes, lighting and Zephyr Park funding

Consultants from GAI presented a draft update to Zephyrhills City’s parks and recreation master plan on the CRA workshop agenda, laying out a three-phase plan, proposed park standards and a new “functional” level-of-service aimed at measuring park quality as well as acreage.

The presentation and subsequent public comments matter because the plan is intended to guide near‑term capital spending, the city’s 2025–26 budget decisions and how the City prioritizes repairs and programming for parks that community members use daily.

Kristen Caborn, the GAI consultant leading the parks work, told the meeting the master-plan process is focused on both current needs and “what Zephyrhills is gonna look like in the future” and emphasized that the planning team will deliver a capital‑improvement list tied to cost estimates for the last phase of the study.

Caborn said the plan retains Zephyrhills’s existing acreage level-of-service — currently 4 acres per 1,000 residents as recorded in the city’s recreation/open‑space element — but adds a separate “functional” level-of-service that gauges whether park acreage provides open, accessible amenities (play areas, walking loops, shade, picnic pavilions) rather than counting any acreage the city owns. She recommended removing the Sarah Vandenberg Tennis and Wellness Center from the city’s park acreage calculation because, she said, the facility “is not contributing a functional public purpose for the general public” and is “restricted.”

The draft proposes a neighborhood‑park standard of about 2 acres where feasible and a set of minimum features: a park sign, walking loop, a quarter‑acre of unprogrammed open space, shade canopy and pedestrian access. Caborn also described the project’s asset‑inventory work: every park feature was photographed, rated on a 1–3 scale (1 = end of useful life, 3 = exceeding intended purpose) and stored in a GIS database the city can update.

Caborn said the inventory and condition scoring drive the capital‑improvement priorities. “A 3 means that your park is exceeding its intended purpose,” she said. “A 1 means that it’s reaching the end of its useful life.” She explained the plan will recommend maintenance and expansion priorities and noted staff will receive early recommendations applicable to any available funds for the current fiscal year and a proposed capital list tied to the city’s FY 2025–26 budgeting cycle, which Caborn said begins on 2025-10-01.

Public comments and park‑board remarks after the consultant presentation focused heavily on the city dog park, lighting, theft and vandalism, and the condition and design of Zephyr Park following recent storms. Dog‑park users described safety and maintenance problems they say reduce usable hours and deter residents from visiting after work.

“There's no lighting. Zip, nada,” resident Richard Graff said of the dog park. “The dog park’s in very poor shape.” Joe Worrell, a long‑time resident, called the site “a diamond in the rough” and urged shade structures, benches and better drinking‑water delivery than the current bucket‑and‑hose setup.

Resident Isabella Lopez urged a “multi‑use” approach: “It’s great to have a place that we can all, like, be on the same … space,” she said, describing a park where children, seniors and pet owners could all co‑exist. Dave Walters, chair of the Zephyrhills Parks and Recreation Board, praised Hercules Park and asked for updates on potential county partnerships for regional parks.

City staff and consultants recorded additional clarifications in response to questions: the GIS inventory is meant to be kept current by staff so the city will not need to repeat the full field inventory when a playground is replaced; the asset database contains both a quantitative “asset score” (equipment condition) and a qualitative “user experience” score; and park renamings (for example Lincoln Heights to Ellis Harrell Park) will be reflected in the inventory when staff supplies updates.

Several speakers pressed the City to prioritize Zephyr Park improvements and stormwater mitigation. Staff confirmed the park is under design by a separate consultant, that the design team has considered recent flood levels, and that the City requested a state appropriation of $5,000,000 this cycle for stormwater improvements (a smaller appropriation of $500,000–$600,000 was secured earlier, staff said).

The consultants also suggested a pragmatic approach to restrooms in small neighborhood parks — they said restrooms are high‑maintenance and recommended limiting them unless public demand supports them in particular sites — and noted that golf courses and private HOA amenities typically are not counted toward public functional level‑of‑service because they do not provide unconstrained public access.

The presentation closed with the consultants’ next steps: finalize guiding principles and goals, produce a capital‑improvement plan with 10‑year cost estimates and circulate the draft plan and TIF projections to staff for incorporation into the CRA work plan. No formal action or vote was taken at the meeting; the Parks master‑plan discussion was a workshop presentation and public comment period.

Looking ahead, consultants said the City should consider permitting incremental recreation programming and hiring a recreation coordinator to build partnerships (with the YMCA, schools and Pasco County) and to launch low‑cost pilot programs such as movies in the park, adult fitness classes and instructor‑led specialty programs that could be fee‑supported. The consultants recommended the city weigh partnerships for larger recreational facilities rather than committing to a new, single big building immediately.

Residents and board members asked staff and commissioners to address immediate maintenance issues at the dog park (shade, benches, water), improve lighting in high‑use parks, and accelerate design and funding work for Zephyr Park and stormwater mitigation. Staff said those needs will be considered when consultants hand over the capital‑improvement list and when the CRA and city review the FY 2025–26 budget.