Many of the projects are in park-deficient neighborhoods and communities of concern
SAN DIEGO – Nineteen park projects in the City of San Diego will receive approximately $15.9 million in capital-improvement funding as part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s Parks for All of Us initiative. On Monday, March 11, the San Diego City Council approved Citywide Park Development Impact Fee (DIF) allocations to support the 19 projects, including land acquisition, improvements to existing parks and new construction.
Parks for All of Us provides for a more equitable funding process that helps ensure everyone has access to safe, clean and thriving park spaces.
“All San Diegans deserve easy access to high-quality parks,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “These funding allocations show how my Parks for All of Us initiative is working to create new and better parks in the neighborhoods that need them the most.”
The funding allocations approved today will provide nearly $15.9 million in Citywide Park DIF funds to 19 park projects, with an additional $363,000 in community-based DIF funds. The Citywide Park DIF program was established in August 2021, as part of a long-awaited update to the Parks Master Plan. Previously, DIF funds could be spent only in the communities where the fees were collected.
Many of the neighborhood park projects are located in a park-deficient community and in a Community of Concern. Projects include: Beyer Community Park in San Ysidro; Carmel Mountain Ranch Pool Facility ADA in Carmel Mountain Ranch; Chollas Creek Oak Park Branch Trail in Oak Park; Chollas Triangle Neighborhood Park in City Heights; Clay Neighborhood Park improvements in Rolando; Ellen Browning Scripps Park Expanded Walkway in La Jolla; Golf Course Drive improvements in Balboa Park/Golden Hill; hard court improvements across four communities in Council Districts 4 and 8, such as Emerald Hills, Encanto, Southcrest, Skyline and Otay Mesa; Howard Lane Park in San Ysidro; John Baca Park in Linda Vista; Land acquisition for parks across six communities in Council Districts 4, 7, 8 and 9; Marcy Neighborhood Park improvements in University City; Memorial Community Park field and security lighting in Logan Heights; Montezuma Neighborhood Park in College Area; North Chollas Community Park improvements in Oak Park; Rancho Bernardo Dog Park in Rancho Bernardo; Robb Field Park GDP Amendment in Mission Bay/Ocean Beach; Southcrest Community Park lighting in Southcrest; and Sunshine Berardini Park GDP in City Heights.
“It’s important that all San Diegans have equitable access to park and recreation resources,” said Andy Field, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department. “Today’s action will allow us to continue our work to ensure that more parks are available to more people across our city.”
The projects approved for funding as part of Monday’s action are in various phases of the design, engineering, bid, or planning processes.
Additionally, as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget process, Council members included 46 park projects (existing and new projects) in their Council priority memos. The Parks and Recreation Department currently has 187 existing capital improvement projects in its inventory with a funding need of over $500 million. There are numerous other projects that will be candidates for Citywide Park DIF funding once they reach a project phase that requires additional funding.
(City of SD Release) n
