Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation Master Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Solvang council backs master plan draft that proposes park upgrades, storybook 'Hans Christian' zone and pickleball courts
Summary
Consultants presented a draft Parks & Recreation Master Plan calling for maintenance upgrades, new play and tourist‑focused 'visionary' projects (including a Hans Christian Andersen storybook area and bandstand), permanent pickleball courts, and a funding roadmap that includes grants, impact fees and possible parcel taxes. Council named two members to a citizen‑staff committee to guide the effort.
Consultants presented a draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan to the Solvang City Council on March 23, laying out maintenance priorities, new park elements and larger, tourism‑oriented visions that would be phased and funded through a mix of grants, user fees and potential new local revenue tools.
Greg Melton of Melton Design Group said the plan responds to community input and national recreation trends by organizing projects into three tiers: sustainable maintenance, service expansions and visionary projects. He said the draft favors shaded picnic spaces, enhanced bandstand facilities, adventure/nature play and new accessible trail connections.
"We put together a three‑tier approach to decide what part of the parks we do first," Melton said. He showed conceptual revisions for Solvang Park that include protected seat walls along Mission Drive, a larger centralized bandstand and additional restrooms to better support festivals.
Parks Director Jenny McClurg described the plan as a tool for prioritizing future capital projects and recommended forming a review committee of two councilmembers and three community members. McClurg emphasized that pickleball is a current operational priority and that early implementation steps should reflect both community needs and maintenance realities.
Richard Hunt, who led the plan’s economic and funding review, outlined revenue constraints and opportunities. He said Solvang’s tourism‑oriented transient occupancy tax (TOT) has grown substantially while property‑tax contributions are low, limiting the city’s locally derived capacity for capital work. Hunt recommended a mix of approaches: impact fees on new development, a potential parcel tax to secure a predictable annual revenue stream, pilot parking management to improve turnover, sponsorships and an aggressive grants calendar (consultants identified roughly 52 potential grant sources).
"Out of the entire revenue funding source, we only have 1.2% that is grants in the last budget," Hunt said, urging a focused grant strategy and targeted priorities such as a Danish‑heritage public art project, bandstand and improved trail/connectivity work.
Public comment largely supported preservation of Solvang Park’s character while urging careful phasing. The Solvang Community Development Alliance offered to help fund a new dance floor that would match the park’s traditional appearance.
Council moved to nominate Councilmembers Elizabeth Arona and Claudia Arona to the parks and recreation master plan committee; the motion passed on a 5–0 roll call. Staff said the committee will help refine priorities, phasing and draft budgets to be returned for council approval and public review.
Next steps include refining cost estimates and phasing, identifying short‑term 'low‑hanging fruit' projects, and returning to council with grant and revenue‑strategy recommendations and a draft implementation schedule.
