Roseville in Point Loma, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, will have a new pocket park thanks to a March 8 unanimous vote by the City Council.
The council action committed a total of $840,000 from Peninsula developer impact fees for design and construction of a new pocket park on a two-thirds-acre lot on Avenida de Portugal above Cañon Street.
“City parks are part of the reason why San Diego is a wonderful place to raise a family,” said 2nd District Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, whose district includes the Peninsula. “I thank my council colleagues for joining me in approving this new park that will give Peninsula families another place to take their kids, walk their dogs or just enjoy a beautiful San Diego day.”
The $840,000 project cost earmarks $328,889 for engineering, $390,648 for construction and $120,463 for contingencies. Park cost is to include $11,075 annually for ongoing maintenance, to be reflected in the city’s fiscal year 2019 Park and Recreation Budget.
It is the first public park approved in the Roseville section of Point Loma, which is “underparked” in terms of being well below the city’s population-based minimum standard of 2.8 acres in parkland per 1,000 population.
A local institution, United Portuguese SES, has consented to be the nonprofit buttressing creation of the new pocket park. UPSES and other local civic clubs are pledging money to help pay for extras the community wants in its next park.
Much of the credit for shepherding the new pocket park through the cumbersome city approval process goes to Don Sevrens and Jon Linney, community activists and members of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, who were working on their own behalves to fill a perceived neighborhood need.
“Just 28 years in the making, a new park is coming to Point Loma,” enthused Sevrens following the council vote.
Linney concurred.
“This is a big, big day for us and our team,” Linney said, noting he and Sevrens have led a 20-month effort to create the park.
Linney pointed out his and Sevrens’ work is far from over.
“We expect we will be raising $100,000 for the extras,” he said.
Possible park features include items reflecting the neighborhood’s history, culture and nautical connections. “Man at the Wheel” and “Woman and Children Awaiting the Fleet’s Return” statues are being promoted as well as a nautical play structure for children.
The Peninsula Community Planning Board has been protective of the site as a park for 26 years. It was instrumental in putting it in the 1987 Community Plan, thus making the site eligible for Development Impact Fees.
Though there was no public opposition March 8 at the City Council park hearing, there has been some local opposition to it.
Some neighbors on Canon Street have expressed concern that the park, as well-intentioned as it might be, could become a homeless hangout and add to traffic and parking congestion in the neighborhood.
Peninsula Community Planning Board member David Dick also stressed caution in using all available funds for this one proposed park, suggesting it might have been more prudent to do an assessment of other conceivable community needs before committing all available funding to a single project.
Now that the City Council has approved a pocket park on Canon Street, city park planner Robin Shifflet said Park Planning will send a transfer package to Public Works for the park’s design and construction. She said Public Works will then review the project for the best delivery method, and assign a Project Manager to prepare a contract for it.
Once the planning groundwork for the park project is laid, Shifflet said a bid package for its construction will be prepared, and all necessary permits will be obtained. The project will subsequently be advertised for bid, before ultimately being awarded to the lowest-responsible bidder.