San Leandro adopts Recreation and Parks master plan; Washington Manor site plan approved

SAN LEANDRO — The San Leandro City Council on Monday, June 9, 2025, voted unanimously (6–0, Vice Mayor Bowen absent) to adopt the San Leandro Recreation and Parks Master Plan and a Washington Manor site-specific master plan, city staff said.

The master plan offers a systemwide 10-year blueprint for parks, trails and programs across San Leandro and is built on community input — “over 1,000 total surveys collected,” three public workshops and pop-up events, staff said. The document lists seven goals and a set of top recommendations intended to guide capital and program priorities, financing strategies and success metrics.

“I'm honored to present to you the San Leandro Recreation and Parks master plan, a blueprint that reflects not just where we are, but where we wanna go together,” Recreation and Parks staff member Vicente said during the presentation. He and consultants from WRT and PROS highlighted engagement results and system findings that shaped the recommendations.

Why it matters: The plan identifies gaps between current parkland and city policy: San Leandro has about 1.5 acres of developed parkland per 1,000 residents, staff said, while the city’s general plan target is 5 acres per 1,000 residents (the general plan figure includes some nontraditional green spaces such as school grounds and the golf course). The master plan recommends strategies to expand access, improve programming, and prioritize safety, shade, and inclusivity.

Key plan features and Washington Manor concept

- Community engagement: Staff reported more than 1,000 survey responses, three workshops (roughly 50–60 attendees each) and outreach at festivals and community meetings.

- System goals: The plan’s seven goals include expanding access to parks, establishing strategic partnerships (including joint-use school agreements), expanding recreation programming, improving on-site comfort and safety, and planning and financing the system.

- Inventory and needs: The plan maps city park tiers (sustain, strategic improvement or visionary) and includes site-specific recommendations for each park. Several parks were assigned to a sustaining tier; a handful, including Washington Manor, were placed in a “visionary” tier to be reimagined.

- Washington Manor concept: The site plan for Washington Manor Park proposes improved street visibility, slightly expanded parking, a destination play area, a plaza for events and an optional reconstructed recreation building where an existing preschool sits. Other elements include a widened loop path, retained practice softball field (the plan proposes keeping one of two fields), picnic areas, a demonstration garden, fitness stations and a dog area. Council members and consultants discussed tree canopy thinning, lighting, playground replacement, resurfacing courts, repaired sidewalks and parking constraints.

- Cost estimates: Staff presented high-level cost estimates for the Washington Manor concept: a figure given during the presentation for the suite of improvements without the optional recreation building was stated as about $3,130,000; with the optional recreation building the presenter said the estimate rose to about $18,000,000. The plan also includes capital and maintenance cost estimates, funding strategies and projected staffing implications for park maintenance and any new recreation building.

Council discussion, concerns and next steps

Council members praised the engagement and supported the plan while pressing staff on coordination and implementation details. Questions and clarifications included: coordination with East Bay Regional Park District and other agencies; the potential for water-based programming at the marina site; joint-use agreements with the school district to expand access to fields and indoor facilities; how resident and nonresident fee tiers apply to pool and program access; and enforcement and public-safety strategies in parks (including smoking, amplified sound and illicit activities). Council members asked staff to explore funding partnerships and grant opportunities for specific projects such as Thrasher Park skate facilities and for park maintenance ideas including parking enforcement pilots.

On the Washington Manor softball fields, staff and consultants said use data and school-district joint-use options factored into the recommendation to retain one of the two fields and open space for other park uses. Council members also urged a selective approach to the park’s eucalyptus canopy and recommended tree-health studies before removals.

Staff emphasized the document is a policy and implementation guide and does not by itself appropriate construction funds. “This is a plan for future enhancements and improvement,” a staff member said, noting decisions to fund specific projects will come later through separate budget actions and grant applications.

Final action

Council moved to approve the San Leandro Recreation and Parks Master Plan and the Washington Manor site-specific master plan. The motion to adopt the plans was recorded as approved unanimously, 6–0 with Vice Mayor Bowen absent.

What’s next: The plan identifies top-priority actions and recommends staff pursue partnerships, capital funding and grant opportunities, and to develop implementation phases and success metrics. Any capital projects recommended in the plan — for example the Washington Manor improvements or a potential recreation building — will require future appropriation of funds and separate project-level design and procurement approvals.