Palo Alto staff lay out FY26–30 capital plan; residents urge adding Eleanor Party Park restroom to FY26 budget

Palo Alto Parks and Recreation staff presented an expanded five-year capital improvement program (CIP) plan and answered commissioner questions about individual projects, timelines and funding. The presentation covered roughly two dozen proposed projects for fiscal 2026 and additional projects through 2030, including play-area replacements, park restrooms, open-space improvements and planned eucalyptus removals.

"This presentation is a follow-up to last month's CIP discussion with additional information on each CIP as requested by the Commission," said Lam Do, senior parks staff, as he reviewed the project list and the city's CIP timeline. Do explained that only the first-year funding (fiscal 2026) would be adopted by council in the coming budget process while later years remain planning estimates.

During public comment and the presentation, multiple speakers urged that the city prioritize installing a restroom at Eleanor Party Park. "There's an urgent need ... for a restroom at this location," said Sharon Erickson, a resident and volunteer at the park, asking the commission to "recommend it be added to the 2025–26 capital budget and installed as soon as possible." Nancy Kawakita, another resident speaker, echoed the request and asked staff to identify next steps so the survey results (open through Feb. 13) could be reflected in the May budget timeline.

Staff described the necessary steps and timing if the commission were to recommend a restroom at that site: additional community engagement, coordination with Public Works for site design and utility connections, procurement of a prefabricated unit, and construction/installation. Staff cautioned the process typically includes design, procurement and construction steps that can take many months. "It has to go through a design phase ... then procurement ... ordering phase, which can be a 6 month lead time," one staff member said when describing schedule risks.

The commission and staff also discussed a number of CA-specific CIP items and operational details raised during the presentation: Foothills Nature Preserve projects (dock replacement, dam seepage study), ongoing park and trails maintenance projects, athletic-court resurfacing, dog-park funding (every-other-year budget cadence), and a proposed expanded Foothills Nature Preserve library pass program. Parks staff said the library program had been expanded from a one-day paper pass to a two-week, reserveable, physical pass system across the library system; staff reported there are 75 passes distributed across five libraries.

Commissioners pressed for greater clarity in the CIP documents, including: (1) year-by-year figures that separate the amount requested for FY26 from five-year aggregates; (2) clearer descriptions where projects listed as "complete" still require future phases; and (3) identification of projects that will need future funding beyond FY26. Commissioner Greenfield also asked that staff provide more detail on the turf-replacement study for city playing fields; staff said they would leverage the recent Santa Clara County study and local usage data to prepare recommendations.

On restrooms specifically, staff said if the commission recommends proceeding, the city's capital improvement process would require further community engagement and staff would recommend the project in the FY26 budget with a possibility of design and installation following in FY27 — acknowledging that the process depends on staff capacity, procurement lead times and available budget. "Should there be any interest in adding a restroom at Party Park, the City's capital improvement process would then require further community engagement and staff would recommend this project in fiscal year 26 budget process with a possibility of design and installation for the following year," staff said.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return with more-detailed cost breakdowns tied specifically to FY26 funding and to include clearer year-by-year budget lines. Staff said they would follow up and provide additional documentation and requested renderings for high-impact projects. The city manager's office and the Office of Management and Budget will review CIP requests and return a proposed plan to council in April, with finance committee and council hearings before budget adoption in June.