With the new trail at Village H South getting significant use and positive reviews, the City Council decided as part of a strategic planning discussion on Oct. 11 to put the remaining improvements on hold for now to allow Parks & Recreation staff to concentrate on other priority projects. The remaining improvements included a trail connection to Tamarack Avenue, an off-leash dog area, and a parking lot and restroom.
Two of the larger parks projects that were prioritized include:
Veterans Memorial Park: The final design for Veterans Memorial Park, located near the corner of Cannon Road and Faraday Avenue, was recently adopted by the City Council. The city is working on construction plans, and after that the project will go out to bid for construction. The park is expected to open in 2025.
Robertson Ranch Park: Initial planning is about to kick off for Robertson Ranch Park, at the corner of El Camino Real and Cannon Road. The first step will be for the city to work with the community on the park’s conceptual design. This process is scheduled to start in early- to mid-2023.
See a list of other projects included in the strategic plan.
Background
Since 2019, city staff have been working with the community to design and plan a 1-acre off leash dog area, trail connection, parking lot and restroom at the city-owned property on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive. Because parts of Village H South are designated for habitat preservation and the site as a whole is an open space wildlife corridor, the proposed changes required environmental analysis, several stages of review and approval by outside agencies, and updates to city land use plans.
Although the project has been removed from the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, city staff will retain the work completed to date, including the detailed designs and initial construction plans.
The City Council created a 5-Year Strategic Plan to help focus city resources in five key areas:
Quality of life and safety
Community character
Environmental sustainability
Economic vitality
Organizational excellence and fiscal health
The plan will replace the annual City Council goal-setting process. The longer planning horizon of the strategic plan is designed to help the city build momentum around key initiatives, which often take many years to complete. Now that the plan is approved, city staff will develop performance measures that will be reviewed on an annual basis to track progress.
More information
Watch the discussion from the Oct. 11 City Council meeting (item 10 on the agenda)
Michael Tully, Park Planner, 442-339-5724, michael.tully@carlsbadca.gov
