Murrieta commission backs updated Parks & Recreation master plan and new Trails plan, sends both to council

The Murrieta Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously voted April 17 to recommend adoption of an updated Parks and Recreation Master Plan and a new Trails Master Plan to the City Council after presentations from city staff and consultants.

Parks and Community Services Manager Leah Kolak opened the meeting and introduced RJM Design Group, which led the 15‑month planning effort. "It is my absolute pleasure to welcome you all to tonight's Parks and Recreation Commission meeting," Kolak said as she described the scope of the projects and thanked city project staff and community stakeholders.

RJM presenter Zach said the plans are intended as "an implementation and management tool" that matches community needs to existing facilities. He said the team collected outreach across multiple modes — workshops, stakeholder interviews and an online feedback portal — and logged roughly "almost 4,000 touch points" for the master plan process and over 4,600 touch points for the trails effort. The consultant reported an inventory of about 53 parks, three community centers and multiple recreation buildings in Murrieta.

Key priorities identified through the outreach included improved playgrounds and restroom maintenance, additional pickleball courts, more programming for youth and seniors, increased trail connectivity and safety improvements. The consultant recommended short-, mid- and long‑term actions and design standards for trails and listed seven trail recommendations, including mapped connections (Warm Springs, Copper Canyon, Sycamore Ranch, Mapleton/Veil linkages), unified signage and digital QR-code maps, and a trail classification system to guide widths and materials.

Funding and implementation were major topics during the public Q&A. Zach summarized funded and unfunded capital projects in the city's Capital Improvement Program, saying $12,600,000 of park, recreation and trail projects are currently funded, about $12,800,000 of projects remain unfunded and the master plan identifies roughly $39,900,000 in additional recommended projects across short- to long-term horizons. Commissioners pressed staff on how much measure revenues and impact fees can cover and on whether land acquisition is included; RJM said the plan does not include a land-acquisition program and encouraged maximizing current land through multi‑use design.

Commissioners also asked about specific projects: staff said Los Alamos Hills Sports Park Phase 2 is roughly 20 acres and remains under study; the proposed Phase 2 of the youth/teen center has a preliminary concept and staff estimated a need of about $10,000,000 to build it; and a proposed swimming pool was noted at a $11,000,000 estimate with no specific funding identified.

On revenue, staff described Measure W — a rooftop funding measure passed in 1997 — as providing about $45 per rooftop, with an internal formula allocating approximately two-thirds to maintenance and one-third to recreation. Commissioners contrasted recent Measure T revenues and current allocations and debated reprioritization to meet parks needs.

Before voting, commissioners discussed trail safety, usage counts from anonymized cellular and video data (examples cited: Las Braces Trail ~256 users in sampled days; Cole Canyon ~532 users), and the city’s adopt‑a‑trail pilot (about 54 current adoptions). Commissioner (speaker 5) moved to approve the Parks and Recreation Master Plan update and recommend adoption to the City Council; the motion was seconded and "motion carries unanimously," the secretary announced. The commission then moved and unanimously approved the Trails Master Plan update.

Both plans now go to the Murrieta City Council for consideration and formal adoption. Staff said GIS files, detailed appendices and the project websites remain available for further review and that implementation timelines will be tied to funding availability and CIP scheduling.

The commission adjourned the special meeting after the votes.