Residents offer ideas for Oakley regional park

By Chris Campos Staff Writer

OAKLEY The City Council spent about 90 minutes gathering residents’ input on the plans for the city’s Community Regional Park on Wednesday, March 29, at the city’s Recreation Center.

The outreach open house meeting, led by Brian Fletcher of Callander Associates, design consultants hired by the city, kicked off the master planning process for the future 55-acre park at the north end of Sellers Avenue. Attendees were asked to offer comments, ask questions, and participate in interactive activities that will provide an updated vision and direction for the future development of the park.

Since the previous master plan was completed in 2019, the city has continued to grow, recreational needs have continued to change and the construction of the Dutch Slough Tidal Restoration project, including the levee system adjacent to the site, has been completed.

Kevin Rohani, the city’s Public Works director, said following the meeting, that the event “went very well and drew a lot of public participation. We collected the public input and will work on preparing for the next open house sometime later in May.”

Council member Hugh Henderson said last Friday, “It was nice to see about 50 residents at the meeting. It seemed like people were looking at sports fields like softball/ baseball and soccer fields. There was also discussion about access to the water by boat or kayaks. Overall, it was a great kickoff.”

Council member Shannon Shaw added via email Friday, “The turnout was great. So many ideas from residents. Baseball fields were a hot topic. The consultant having a map that residents could move to different scaled fields and other potential uses around was a popular table that really showed the limitations of trying to get everything squeezed into this space… some of the things that were mentioned to me were wanting to see baseball/ softball fields, Frisbee golf, kayak and paddle boarding options, a community garden and covered picnic areas.”

Shaw finished by saying,”Yes, I fully support this park”

Vice Mayor Anissa Williams said last Friday, “ Overwhelmingly we got comments, especially from the sports teams, that this is desperately needed. A lot of people want a lot of things in this space, and the people I talked to were grateful to have a forum to express their desires, and they also hoped the project would move along finally.”

Council member George Fuller, who had earlier expressed some skepticism about the park plans, offered a variety of comments via email after the meeting:

• “One person heavily involved in the preservation of the Delta voiced an opinion that the parkland could be best used in its natural state, enhancing river recreation in the process.

• “I heard that the parents of Little League players were concerned about the location of the new ball fields. Parents expressed an interest in having them moved closer to the city population centers, with greater access to the areas from those locations. The parents were not keen on the dual usage of the fields with soccer teams.”

• “There were many insights I gained from attendance at the gathering. One was the remoteness of the park. The area is a distance away from the populated areas of the City. There is no public transportation available to access the remote park. Marginalized people in the City will be further marginalized by not having access to the park. The marginalized groups would include disabled people and socio-economically impacted people in Oakley.”

• “In reflection, I did not hear enthusiasm for the park but a resignation that it was better than what exists now for recreational use…I did gain insight that our City is growing and consequently does need increased recreational areas for play, especially for the children. We have a vibrant community dedicated to the best interests of children. I would like to see the fields relocated into the City, allowing for single-use on natural turf. Also, the recreational services of the regional park moved into the population centers. The move would allow greater access to the facilities by our marginalized groups in Oakley.”

For more information: https://www. ci.oakley.ca.us/55-acre-community-meeting/