San Carlos council studies parks master plan as Burton Park community/aquatic center divides residents

The San Carlos City Council spent much of its Oct. 27 meeting reviewing a draft parks and recreation master plan and debating where — and whether — to put a new community and aquatic center.

City parks staff and consultants presented three city‑owned site options for a colocated community and aquatic center — two alternatives at Burton Park and one at L'oreola Park — using a 30,000‑square‑foot placeholder to show a possible full program. Consultants said the planning study reflected more than 1,400 survey responses and that 43% of respondents favored one of the Burton Park options, but council members and neighbors raised major concerns about scale, height and loss of existing park amenities.

"This is a very critical decision," Parks Director Amy Nubie told council members, saying the master plan is intended to set priorities for 0‑ to 20‑year improvements and to help the city pursue funding. Consultant Casey Casease said the project team scoped two Burton options that would replace or repurpose portions of the park and one L'oreola alternative that would shift a new hub eastward. "The preferred choice from the community was Burton Park option one," she said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The draft plan pairs a longstanding community demand — a year‑round aquatic facility and multiuse civic space — with limited parkland in a dense, established neighborhood. Several council members stressed that choosing a site now without clearer cost, height and access information could lock the city into tradeoffs residents want explored further.

Public voices pressed the council on two linked issues. Representatives of Arbor Bay School, a nonprofit nonpublic school that leases space in the Kuanas building at Burton Park, said an early lease termination would displace students and urged the city to extend Arbor Bay’s occupancy. "We are requesting a three‑year lease extension to June 30, 2030," Arbor Bay executive director Bonnie Silverman said during public comment, asking the council for time to find an alternative location if the city moves forward.

Other speakers — including longtime park users, coaches and members of San Carlos Tennis Club — urged the council not to lose tennis courts, basketball space or ballfields. Several people said the orange placeholder used in the study (roughly a 30,000‑square‑foot, potentially two‑story building) would be too large and could rise to about 40 feet in places, looming next to single‑family homes.

Council reaction: Members asked detailed questions about building height, possible two‑story configurations with rooftop courts, parking, and whether the project should be clustered near the youth center rather than centered on the park’s open field. The conversation split on procedure: some members favored choosing a preferred site now so staff could begin environmental review, while others said the community and council need more time to deliberate.

Mayor Sarah McDow said she favored pulling the community and aquatic‑center studies out of the broader parks master plan for separate, more focused analysis. Several council members supported studying the pool sooner while keeping the larger community‑center decision separate. In the end the council asked staff to incorporate the public’s feedback and return with a revised schedule and clearer cost, siting and design tradeoffs ahead of a final master plan expected in spring 2026.

What’s next: Staff will refine the park‑level recommendations and identify the next steps on environmental review and funding. Arbor Bay’s lease request and the question of preserving specific park amenities were left unresolved at the meeting; councilmembers suggested staff continue to work with the school and community groups while the plan is revised.

Direct quotes and attribution - "This is a very critical decision," Amy Nubie, director of parks and recreation, said as she presented the study‑session materials. - "We are requesting a three‑year lease extension to June 30, 2030," Bonnie Silverman, executive director of Arbor Bay School, told the council during public comment.

Ending note: The council did not pick a final location. Instead it directed staff to revise the draft plan to reflect resident concerns about scale, parking and the loss of active play areas, and to return with clearer cost and environmental‑review steps before any site is selected.