Vintage Park Workshop - Summary

The first in our series of park improvement workshops took place Saturday from 10 am to 11 am at Vintage Park. More than two dozen people showed up, most of them from the surrounding area even though the workshop was intended to discuss three different parks (Montbury Park, Sundowner Park, Vintage Park).

Also in attendance were Mayor Pro Tem Leah Basile and Parks Commissioners Jim Rosenberg and Loretta Herrin.

There was a hearty discussion of issues, following which residents highlighted the issues that were of importance to them. Much of the conversation centered on the crime that happens in the upper part of the park (see picture). According to locals, this area attracts all sorts of undesirable elements and the Police aren’t doing enough to control the situation. Some of the ideas to counter this problem included

• Increase Police patrol
• Create a road so that Police can drive their cars into the area
• Increase lighting
• Add surveillance cameras
• Put up security fence
• Convert the area into a fenced dog park
• Level the area

In addition, residents discussed ways to improve the existing park and new amenities that could be added. Here’s the list of the main items that received the most requests from residents

• No bathroom
• Better lighting
• Better security
• Shade for playground area
• Add trash bins

The reasons given for so many residents rejecting the idea of a bathroom, was the fear that undesirable elements would be attracted to the park to use the bathroom. This is unfortunate since there were some residents, especially those with young children, who wanted a bathroom for the kids to use.

The next workshop will be January 21.

Parks workshops will continue through February. The consulting firm will prepare a report for the Parks Commission who will prepare recommendations for the Council to consider in our budget meeting later this year.

Here’s the remaining schedule –

Cherry Park, Darrin Park, Pebble Creek Park

• Meeting Date: January 21, 2017 at Cherry Park at 10 a.m.
• Address: Cherry Park ( 22651 Cherry Avenue)

Peachwood Park, Rancho Serrano Park

• Meeting Date: February 11, 2017 at Rancho Serrano Park at 10 a.m.
• Address: Rancho Serrano Park (20842 Paseo Sombra)

Borrego Overlook Park, Regency Park

• Meeting Date: February 25, 2017 at Regency Park at 10 a.m.
• Address: Regency Park (Regency Lane and Osterman Road)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in February at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.