Tiburon commission recommends two firms to design four neighborhood parks, sends recommendation to council

The Tiburon Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission on Sept. 30 voted to recommend that the Town Council authorize professional design services contracts with RHAA and Carlisle Macy to develop conceptual plans for four park sites.

The commission recommended RHAA for the Richardson Bay Sanitary District pond site and the Belvoiron Mini Park, and recommended Carlisle Macy for Cypress Hollow Park and the Bel Air Play Area. Commissioners said the firms were selected from eight proposals after interviews held in September and that the recommended contracts cover the conceptual design phase only; the commission said councils approval of later design and construction phases would come after community vetting and updated cost estimates.

Commission staff said the town issued the request for proposals July 17 and closed it Aug. 12, receiving eight submissions. A subcommittee of commissioners and staff screened proposals and interviewed four finalists. David (staff member) told the commission the finalists were asked to develop conceptual “Cadillac” proposals during interviews and that the recommended next step is to fund a focused conceptual-design phase that will be vetted publicly before town council considers funding design development or construction documents.

Commissioners and staff said they favored splitting work into two steps: (1) consultant conceptual design and community vetting; and (2) later authorization of full design development and construction documents if the council approves funding. "We don't want to redo the process — we want to pick up where the community left off," a commissioner said during the discussion.

Commissioners and residents urged the town to keep community engagement active during the design phase, and several speakers at public comment described years of prior outreach. Commissioners noted survey results showing a range of neighborhood preferences at some parks — with some residents asking for minimal change and others asking for added amenities — and said they expect the designers to help reconcile those differences in the conceptual phase.

The commission approved a motion recommending the two firms and directed staff to forward the recommendation and the proposals to the Town Council. The vote was unanimous.

What the recommendation does and does not do

The commission’s vote was only a recommendation to Town Council. If council approves the recommendation and funds the work, the consultants will prepare conceptual plans, incorporate additional community input and provide updated cost estimates. The commission and staff said the town will decide later whether to authorize full design-development and construction-document phases for any or all sites.

Public comment and next steps

Residents who spoke at the meeting urged timely action and highlighted different community priorities for each park, from modest upgrades and improved maintenance to more substantial amenity additions. Commissioners said staff will present the commission’s recommendation to town council and that the consultants will prepare public-facing materials — poster boards and online materials — to collect further input during the conceptual-design phase.

The commission also noted rough cost guidance mentioned during the meeting: commissioners estimated that playground replacements commonly range from about $500,000 to $1 million; one commissioner estimated approximately $180,000 for a smaller mini-park scope and suggested the four mini parks together could require “over a million dollars” in capital work, but commissioners and staff said those were preliminary, not-binding estimates to help frame later budget discussions.

The commission’s packet and consultant proposals will be available to the Town Council as part of the staff transmittal. Council action is required to finalize and fund any contracts or subsequent construction work.