Draft Parks & Recreation plan: residents press for land, nature and clearer funding

Assistant Community Services Director Christine Crosby presented an updated Parks & Recreation Strategic Plan draft on Jan. 27 that refines park-acre calculations (excluding limited-access school fields), identifies planning areas with the largest deficits, and sets a 10-year action framework with metrics and funding options, including a potential 2026 revenue measure and a park-nexus study to update fees.

Key findings and community concerns: The staff'refined methodology counts publicly accessible acreage only and shows a citywide figure roughly 4.74 acres per 1,000 residents (1.94 acres excluding North Bayshore). Staff highlighted five planning areas below 1.5 acres per 1,000 residents. Multiple residents and advocates told the council that counting school fields as available parkland overstates access because school fields often are unavailable weekdays and are booked for programs; speakers said that when school acreage is removed, several planning areas are severely park deficient. Jim Zaretsky and other residents urged a prioritized acquisition strategy and an honest accounting of costs: staff'estimates to close the projected deficit are in the hundreds of millions to more than $1 billion depending on assumptions.

Biodiversity and natural spaces: Several speakers and organizations (Sierra Club, Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance) asked the city to elevate biodiversity and nature-based amenities as a distinct priority — for example, to name tree groves, pollinator habitat or natural play areas as park amenities — and to coordinate the Parks Plan with the pending Biodiversity & Urban Forest Plan. Council members supported elevating nature and asked staff to assess whether biodiversity should be a standalone goal or be clearly prominent among objectives.

Funding and implementation: Commenters asked the council to move from an opportunistic acquisition strategy to a pre-positioned acquisition program backed by predictable funding (bond or stronger developer requirements). Staff identified near-term actions (update policies, improve fee structures, and create performance metrics) and recommended sequencing actions so staff capacity and funding are aligned. Council asked staff to: allocate trail acreage to planning areas where appropriate, explore POPA/private-public access tools and fee updates (chapter 41), and develop a public-facing dashboard to track metrics and milestones.

Next steps: Staff will revise the draft to incorporate council feedback, refine performance milestones, and return to the Parks & Recreation Commission in March and to the council in May for adoption. Staff also flagged a forthcoming Biodiversity & Urban Forest Plan that will be used to align park design and planting recommendations.