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San Ramon commission reviews trails master plan, asks staff to streamline executive summary
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Summary
The Parks & Community Services Commission reviewed a 20-year Trails Master Plan that prioritizes connections such as Old Ranch Park and Forest Home Farms, heard that the plan is rooted in more than 800 survey responses, and directed staff to tighten the plan's flow and executive summary before it goes to City Council.
The San Ramon Parks & Community Services Commission on Wednesday reviewed a draft Trails Master Plan that lays out a 20-year vision for trail connectivity and a prioritization matrix for capital projects. Staff and consultants emphasized the plan is a framework for what the city could do, not a set of shovel-ready projects.
Emily Carpenter of Design Workshop, the consultant team, told the commission the planning process produced "more than 800 survey responses, 93% of which were from, residents of San Ramon," and that the plan emphasizes connections between neighborhoods, parks and regional open space. The presentation highlighted top priorities including a trailhead and connections at Old Ranch Park, a trailhead at Forest Home Farms and loop improvements in the Faria Preserve area.
Carpenter and city staff underscored that many recommendations will require additional steps: easements or easement modifications, coordination with homeowners associations and external agencies, environmental review and funding. "The plan focuses on what could or should be done, not necessarily how," Carpenter said, adding that the document is intended as a long-term framework to guide future work. She also said the plan will be presented to City Council for adoption on April 14.
Commissioners praised the report's depth but repeatedly asked staff and the consultant to streamline the document for public readability and to better align the presentation with the packet. Commissioner Oslin said the work was "very, very thorough" but recommended a clearer executive summary and less repetition. Vice Chair Leisha Levy and others urged staff to surface short-term, achievable projects that could deliver early wins.
Director Henry Perez Alonso said staff will review the plan's flow and remove redundancies before returning it to the commission. "I think all of the master plans within the department will be handled by the department as a whole, so all under my umbrella," he said, adding staff will integrate the plan into programming and CIP processes.
The commission also pressed staff on several implementation topics: negotiating easements and potential HOA resistance; which projects are shovel-ready versus conceptual; operational and maintenance costs (the plan's matrix includes a column for operational implications and gives examples where available); and jurisdictional constraints along the Iron Horse Trail, where the corridor and adjacent utilities require coordination with the county, East Bay Regional Parks and PG&E.
On enforcement and trail use, staff noted an existing 15 mph speed guideline and said the police department favors education alongside enforcement. The presentation also referenced nonphysical cattle-control options for open space that were discussed in the plan.
Rather than forwarding the plan immediately, commissioners asked staff to return with edits focused on flow, an abbreviated executive summary suitable for public consumption, and alignment between the on-screen presentation materials and the final packet. The commission's feedback will be recorded in the minutes and considered before the plan is transmitted to City Council.
