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West Covina receives parks master plan update; consultants cite strong outreach and return with final report by year end
Summary
RJM Design Group presented an update to the West Covina Parks and Recreation Commission on the Parks Master Plan, reporting extensive outreach (more than 2,400 website views and 300+ submissions), resident priorities such as pickleball and dog parks, and a timeline to deliver a final report by November–December.
Kristen Schnell, project manager for RJM Design Group, presented an update to the West Covina Parks and Recreation Commission at a special meeting that began at approximately 6:02 p.m., outlining the consultant team's outreach, needs assessment and next steps toward a final Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
The master plan, Schnell said, is “a guide and implementation tool” to manage and expand parks, recreation facilities and programs across West Covina. The consultant team reported more than 2,400 website views, over 300 feedback submissions, a multimodal survey of about 400 households and three in-person workshops as part of the outreach phase. Schnell said a youth survey conducted with the middle and high schools remains outstanding and will be included in the final needs assessment.
Why this matters: the plan is intended to set priorities for maintenance and investments across the city’s 16 parks and specialized facilities and to provide funding strategies for work identified by residents and stakeholders.
RJM presented an inventory that the consultant described as covering 16 parks and several specialized facilities, including Del Norte Park, Friendship Park, Cameron Park Community Center, the West Covina Sportsplex and Shadow Oak Park. Survey results the consultant highlighted showed 69% of respondents said they are satisfied with park maintenance and 67% with existing facilities and programs; 71% of respondents said they get park information online, underscoring the city’s emphasis on digital outreach. Popular improvement requests included pickleball courts, dog parks, restroom upgrades, walking paths, shade and additional sports amenities.
Commissioners and attendees asked for clarification on participation and acreage. Schnell said the multimodal survey was intended to be statistically representative of the city’s demographics and that the “145 participants” figure referenced the total surveys completed for a particular workshop series (online and in-person combined). When asked how many acres the system covers, Schnell said she did not have the figure on hand but estimated “about 190 acres” and noted a planning metric of “about 4 acres per thousand” residents.
Schnell described the project timeline as: data collection and outreach conducted since March; development of the needs assessment and recommendations through the fall; and preparation of a final report in November–December. She said RJM will return to the commission to solicit commissioners’ input on the draft report before finalization. The project website, cited in the presentation, is WestCovinaParksMasterPlan.com and will remain open for feedback through the end of the project.
The presentation also described how the consultant cross-referenced stakeholder interviews, workshop input, and the multimodal survey to prioritize recommendations. Schnell said the team maps where requests originate to help direct improvements and will include that mapping in the recommendation section of the final report.
Next steps: RJM will complete the outreach (including the youth survey), draft recommendations and return to the commission with a report later this year for additional input.
