City Council Preview - Aug 5

By Jim Gardner

This weeks’ Council meeting on Tuesday night is going to be a busy one. Let’s start with the good news. Some of the long lost items from the Voigts Void have surfaced and are coming before the Council. Today we’ll cover two – the dog park and Whispering Hills. Tomorrow we’ll cover the third – Village Pond Park (or the geese bowl as some have started to call it).

DOG PARK

Last year the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) spent time and energy and came up blank with nary a suggestion as to where to put a dog park. Apparently the problem may be at least partially solved without the help of the PRC as the City had agreed with Shea/Baker Ranch to build a 7,700 square foot dog park, and now instead of that park, Shea/Baker and a local business have mutually come up with a space that works even better.

The proposed area is a total of 21,000 square feet (about 1⁄2 acre) located at the end of Baffin Bay Drive, although only 8,000+ square feet will be for the dog area. Construction costs would be $300,000 to $350,000 and would be paid for by Shea/Baker who had originally agreed to build a dog park on their own property. The land itself is being dedicated to the City by SmartStop Self Storage. Once completed the City would take ownership and assume responsibility for maintenance, which is estimated at $10,000 to $12,000 per year. There would be approximately 5,300 square feet for large dogs and 3,400 square feet for small dogs. It would be artificial turf and the dogs would have drinking fountains (no Starbucks, though). Trees would be added to provide shade. There would be 32 potential parking spaces. Once all the paperwork is completed, staff estimates that the project would take 4 months to complete.

This is a win-win proposition that should be approved. This relatively small park may not be sufficient to meet the needs of the entire City, but you need to start somewhere. I am a little skeptical that 5,300 square feet is big enough for more than a few large dogs. Many properties in Lake Forest are on lots that are 2,500 square feet, so the proposed park for large dogs is about the size of two lots. That’s large enough for 4 or 5 big dogs to roam around, but put more than that and you’ve got trouble (i.e., aggression). I’d suggest that some 20 feet be taken from the parking lot and converted to the large dog area. This would take away about a half dozen parking spaces, but the truth is that such a relatively small dog park does not need 32 parking spaces – the dog park can probably accommodate up to 10 to 20 dogs safely, so that means 15 to 20 parking spaces will suffice. Also there is some free space behind the park which is currently designated as “turf” that could also be used for a little expansion. Adding 150 additional square feet will make the park more usable. But, bear in mind, the City has 9,000 licensed dogs and probably another 9,000 unlicensed dogs, so a park that can serve 15 to 25 dogs at a time is still woefully inadequate.

I’m also concerned that artificial turf may be problematic, given the problems they have in Laguna Woods, and given the fact that the proposed new park will be at a much higher elevation and exposed to higher temperatures. OTOH, In the midst of a drought, one can hardly be asking for more turf areas so the park may requires a more aggressive maintenance schedule than Laguna Woods provides.

My only other concern is the signage, which suggests that the park is for Baker Ranch people only. Surely a sign can be designed which acknowledges the fact that Baker Ranch constructed the park, but which invites everyone from the City to participate.

But these are details that can be worked out. Right now we have NOTHING so the proposed dog park is a big step forward. Moreover, it fits well with the original idea of having several smaller dog parks around the City serving their neighborhoods, rather than one giant central park.

The Council should approve this proposal and along with this, re-task the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) with looking for another location for at least one more dog park in another part of town. Given what a poor job they did before, perhaps the Council should ask for the formation of a Dog Park Committee that could do the work for them.

Meanwhile, the Dog Park Committee could work with the planners on this new park and help raise funds for some needed features which aren’t in the City’s budget.

PS – Thanks to City staffer Dave Belmer for his work on this project, and thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Adam Nick for getting the ball rolling in the first place. Bob Holtzclaw has also worked tirelessly for more than a year on this project.

WHISPERING HILLS

The City has a big piece of land right smack in the middle and for 20 years it’s been vacant and an eye sore. In recent years there has been talk of using the 6.5 acre site for a dog park and for a community garden. No one has been able to come up with a decision. The area seems too big for either the dog park and/or the community garden by themselves, but talk of sharing the property has been problematic for the community garden people who want it all for themselves. There has even been talk of turning it into an indoor soccer arena, prompted by Scott Voigts whose daughter is a big fan of the sport. And on occasion there’s been talk of selling the property.

Neither the Council nor either of the Commissions has tackled this problem, so it persists. Now the staff is suggesting that in the absence of knowing what to do with the property, the City engage a firm for “preliminary design services” which include a series of community workshops to determine the ultimate use.

It’s a good idea, but in fact, it’s not nearly good enough. There is a plethora of City land located throughout Lake Forest and there are already plans afoot to develop some areas, such as the civic center, but other areas remain in limbo (e.g., the end of Ridge Route where the freeway overpass was supposed to go, the large parcel north of El Toro by the overpass). Instead of a piece meal approach, the City should be looking at the big picture. As a City,

• What kinds of amenities do we have?

• What do we want?

• What resources do we have available now?

• What is being planned for these resources?

• How can we accommodate our desires to the existing resources?

This is a top level discussion that should be held between the Council, the Commissions, and some skilled consultants capable of running a workshop. It should examine the whole city and all of our needs, and then work downwards to ultimately talk about Whispering Hills and all the others areas of the City. This plan could then go out to the community for further refinement. Let’s look at the whole picture before we continue to carve up small slices.