La Center planning commission forwards Chapter 6 (parks) to council with trail signage and table edits

The La Center Planning Commission voted Tuesday to forward the parks, recreation and open space element (Chapter 6) of the city—s comprehensive plan to City Council for consideration, approving two edits requested by commissioners: add language and signage specifying trails are for nonmotorized use, and change Table 4—s label from “2024 proposed standard” to the adopted “2024 standard.”

The vote followed a presentation from planning staffer Alec Figueroa and roughly an hour of commissioner questions about park conditions, level-of-service standards and specific policy wording. The motion passed without recorded opposition. Commissioners present at the vote were Commissioner Jones, Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Hill and Chair McLean; Commissioner Clark was absent.

Figueroa told the commission the chapter edits respond to previous feedback and to an adopted parks plan. “This map was shown at the very bottom of the chapter or the very last page. We relocated this to be in line with the text instead of the end of the chapter,” he said, describing layout and readability changes. He also explained the parks condition assessment: site averages run roughly from 1.1 to 2.3 on a scale where 1 indicates good condition, 2 fair and 3 poor, and that the acreage figures are city-provided while the condition ratings were made by a consultant who visited the sites.

Commissioners pressed staff for clarity on specific policies. One of the approved changes adds explicit language that trails are intended for nonmotorized uses; commissioners asked staff to place that language in the policy numbered 6.3.0.4 (or the surrounding development-standards policy) so it reads as an explicit trail standard rather than a general statement. Commissioners also asked staff to correct Table 4—s heading to reflect that the 5.5 acres-per-1,000 standard is an adopted 2024 standard (not a proposed value) and to make the text clearer where the document compares the 2017 and 2024 standards.

Figueroa said the condition assessment and many wording changes come from the city—s recently adopted parks, recreation and open space plan and a consultant review. He also noted staff revised a draft policy to say the city would "explore the feasibility" of a large canoe launch rather than commit to providing one now, describing that line as a conversation piece carried from earlier drafts.

The commission approved the motion after a brief final exchange and a recorded voice vote. There was no public comment on the item.

The commission closed the parks discussion and moved on to the transportation element, with staff planning to incorporate the commission—s edits and return a second draft at a later meeting before forwarding the module to City Council.