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Charter Park 75% design shows large inclusive playground, pickleball courts and multipurpose lawn
Summary
Design team presented a 75% design for the 13-acre Charter Park (Trotter Park) including a large inclusive playground, 12 pickleball courts in three pods, a multipurpose open lawn, and a half‑mile loop trail; some elements remain under development.
Design consultants from MHS Planning and Design presented a 75-percent design update for the roughly 13-acre Charter Park (Trotter Park) site at 4551 Cross Timbers Road.
David Shipp of MHS told the board the plan preserves the larger master-plan elements and adds detail on a large inclusive playground, three pods of four pickleball courts (12 courts total), a 3.5-acre multipurpose lawn, a pavilion adjacent to central pickleball courts, and a roughly half‑mile primary loop trail.
Shipp said the playground is intended as an inclusive space with distinct play zones for ages 2–5 and 5–12, accessible at-grade equipment such as a new-style at-grade merry-go-round, an accessible swing cluster, musical/sensory elements, a roller slide, and natural rock/nature-play features. Playground surfacing is proposed as poured‑in‑place for accessibility; some supplemental synthetic-turf berms and soft-surface decomposed‑granite trail elements are included.
The draft design shows lighting for courts and trail areas, restrooms (staff are reviewing prefabricated options and façade treatments), picnic and shaded pavilion areas (11–12 picnic tables under shade structures) and a parking layout shared with an adjacent church. Shipp said sanitary sewer was not available on-site and the team is designing an in-ground drip septic system for restroom service; he described engineering work that avoided the need for a detention pond and thereby preserved additional recreational area.
Board members asked about grading on the open lawn (requested flatter areas to support informal sports and kite/Frisbee play), seating and clearances around the basketball/multipurpose court, fence heights around pickleball courts, placement of musical instruments near inclusive play areas (concerns about noise and sensory impacts), and security/anti‑skate features on seating walls. Staff and the consultant said several of those issues remain under design and will be refined prior to bidding.
Shipp said the project team expects to finish documents and seek bids in the first quarter of next year. Board members provided feedback on signage concepts, accessibility, and amenities; staff will continue design refinements.
