Design board reviews Galvin and Howarth park plans to add pickleball courts, improve tennis facilities

The Design Review and Preservation Board on Wednesday reviewed concept designs from the Recreation and Parks Department for tennis and pickleball court renovations at Galvin Community Park (332 Yalupa Avenue) and Howarth Community Park (630 Summerfield Road).

The review covered a preferred layout developed after community outreach that the department said balances tennis and pickleball use while replacing aging surfacing, improving access and adding landscape and low-impact stormwater features. Parks Planner Scott Wilkinson and Assistant Parks Planner Nathan Young presented the designs, which the department said are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act because no action was being taken at the concept stage.

Board members were told the Galvin site covers roughly 150,000 square feet and the preferred layout would provide 12 dedicated pickleball courts and 10 dedicated tennis courts, including construction of two new tennis courts in a lawn area west of existing courts 7 and 8. Wilkinson said the layout reflected the majority preference in an online survey and public meeting; Young told the board the online survey drew 608 responses and a public meeting had more than 120 attendees. Young said: "This preference also reflects the desire for a balanced mix of tennis and pickleball courts."

At Howarth, the area of improvement is about 50,000 square feet. The preferred plan provides four tennis courts and six dedicated pickleball courts, and includes resurfacing of three courts that are currently cracked and not used for play. Proposed construction actions at both parks include new surfacing and striping, updated nets and fencing protection during construction, new benches and shade structures at Galvin, new ADA-compliant concrete pathways, and landscape and irrigation improvements with two bioretention areas.

Staff emphasized phasing and cost contingencies. Young said if funding is insufficient to build the two new tennis courts at Galvin, the layout would revert to providing only six pickleball courts so the project retains a minimum ten-court tennis capacity. Board members questioned sequencing, maintenance and geotechnical approaches; staff said geotechnical investigations informed a range of responses from light overlays to full reconstruction with new base rock and asphalt depending on site conditions. "There was a lot of nuance in the different approaches to rebuilding or resurfacing," Wilkinson said.

Board members also asked why shade structures were proposed only at Galvin; staff said limited space and existing mature trees at Howarth constrained options. Several board members and planners praised the department’s outreach to users and the plant palette; one board member suggested additional seating around the new courts at Howarth to support pickleball social use.

No formal action or vote was taken; staff requested comments and direction from the board and said the department will return with refined plans and technical details. The Recreation and Parks Department will incorporate board feedback on shade, sequencing and landscaping as it advances design and seeks funding.

Votes and formal motions: none; this was a concept design review only and no decision was taken.