After nearly 30 years, Scotts Valley has a parks master plan. Now the city needs to figure out how to fund the improvements.
The City Council approved its Parks Master Plan on Aug. 8, although many priorities contained inside the document remain unfunded.
Nevertheless, Mayor Randy Johnson said he is pleased that the city is committed to increasing access to recreational amenities for residents.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “We will find a way to fund these things because they’re that important. We will find a way to make sure they get implemented.”
The last time Scotts Valley managed to develop a parks master plan was back in 1996, the year before Netflix was founded in the city. Since then, Netflix moved its headquarters to Los Gatos; the Recreation Division was disbanded during the pandemic; and Scotts Valley contracted with Odell Engineering to develop the new Parks Master Plan.
The document developed an inventory of existing parks, compared Scotts Valley to other benchmark cities, produced a “needs assessment & analysis,” and delivered a series of recommendations.
Councilmember Jack Dilles noted that the parks plan is based, in part, on feedback collected from community surveys.
And, he said, there’s an emphasis on creating connectivity between neighborhoods and parks.
“I love seeing that in there,” he said. “I also really like this concept of expanding partnerships and joint use agreements.”
Councilmember Derek Timm said he is disappointed some of the priorities weren’t funded.
“I want to see us have a really wonderful resource for the rest of our county,” said Timm. “Ithink it’s a big draw, it’s a reason people want to come to our town.”
Johnson commented that, despite some of the challenges Scotts Valley faces, by some metrics, Scotts Valley was on par—or better—than its peer jurisdictions.
“I think Scotts Valley compares quite favorably,” he said, noting that Capitola only has .02 miles of trails. “That’s not a lot.”
Plus, he notes that Scotts Valley didn’t used to have fields at Skypark.
In fact, he says, that area at one time was “kind of a spooky area” of town.
“There was no playground equipment. There were no offices,” he said. “It was literally like walking into a haunted house. Because there were spiders. And it was dark.”
Now, he noted, you’ll find people playing bocce ball and soccer in an area that’s serviced by irrigation that’s provided “ without affecting the aquifer” because the water’s recycled.
“I want to thank the members of our Recreation Commission (for) the work that they’ve done,” he said.
Councilmember Donna Lind moved approval of plan, with Dilles seconding it.
It was approved unanimously.
“Everybody’s invited to this party,” Johnson said, referring to extending recreation options in the community. “It is good. But, as we move forward, it’s great.”
