Vacaville Parks & Recreation Commission approves Unity Meadows Park master plan, opts for natural-turf volleyball

The Vacaville Parks & Recreation Commission on June 3 voted to approve the Unity Meadows Park Master Plan, a design for a 6.166-acre neighborhood park intended to serve the Vandenon Meadows community.

Park planning manager Nemo Gonzalez presented the final plan and staff recommended approval. Designer Amy described a key change from the draft: rather than installing a half basketball court, the plan now calls for a fixed natural-turf volleyball court. "Natural grass is really easier for the city of Vacaville to maintain," Amy said, citing maintenance and pet‑use concerns with sand and the higher cost and upkeep of synthetic turf.

The commission’s discussion emphasized tradeoffs between amenities and cost. Commissioners noted that two other neighborhood parks within about a half‑mile already include basketball courts, and staff said the change reflected both community feedback and maintenance constraints. Gonzalez said staff conducted outreach—surveying roughly 1,000 nearby residents and holding a community meeting—and that the commission’s preferences informed the final recommendation.

Resident Mona spoke during public comment, asking if both volleyball and basketball could be accommodated for families with children who play different sports and expressing concern about traffic and crosswalk safety near nearby Canon Park. Gonzalez and Amy responded that adding multiple amenities would require additional funding and that the design team made the volleyball court a fixed feature (a permanent net) to preserve flexibility elsewhere on the site.

Staff also said they had applied for a grant the day of the meeting. Gonzalez gave a planning timeline: staff expect to know whether the project advances to the next grant round by mid‑to‑late July; if funding is secured, staff would finalize construction documents this winter, go out to bid, and could start construction in spring 2027. He said a typical construction window for the park would be about 90 days and that an initial built phase will likely be a reduced, fiscally constrained subset of the master plan.

After questions and public comment, a commissioner moved to approve the Unity Meadows Park Master Plan; another seconded the motion and the commission voted to approve it by voice vote. The chair announced the motion "passes." Staff said they will return to the commission with a recommended phase‑one scope and schedule once funding is clearer.

The plan calls for baseline neighborhood‑park amenities (two play structures appropriate for ages 2–5 and 5–12, an open lawn, a loop walking trail, shade structures and a fixed volleyball court); phasing, amenity set and exact surfacing remain contingent on available capital funds and grant outcomes.

Next steps: staff will confirm grant results in July and present a recommended phase‑one scope and construction timeline to the commission; the master plan approval allows the city to move forward with detailed design and funding efforts.