Commission hears citywide parks CIP update; council-backed plan adds pickleball courts at El Cerrito

Public-works staff provided a midyear capital-improvement (CIP) update for parks and open space, reviewing completed FY25 projects and outlining new and carryover projects for FY26. Completed work highlighted included ADA improvements and several playground and splash-pad projects funded in part by Community Development Block Grant dollars.

Staff said City Park design drawings are at 90% and in plan check; an architect will present final design to the commission and the council in January. Griffin Park Phase 2 was identified as a state-grant-funded project that will add exercise equipment and a rocks-and-ropes play element. The LMD Zone 20 project will address deferred landscape maintenance including plant materials and irrigation adjustments.

On pickleball, staff reported the council-approved plan to install pickleball courts at El Cerrito by repurposing existing tennis courts into eight pickleball courts and using an adjacent undeveloped lot for four additional courts. Border Park will be returned to two tennis courts and one basketball court. Staff said USA Pickleball standards were considered and that they have consulted with the local pickleball community for court layouts. The project will be phased to reduce user impacts: resurfacing at El Cerrito and Border will be done concurrently (estimated surfacing/restriping timeline: a few weeks to a month), then the new pad construction will follow after full design work.

Commissioners asked about noise mitigation where courts abut a middle school; staff said they will evaluate sound-attenuating fence treatments and have identified a product used in another city as a possible solution. Additional CIP items described included new branded trash cans (first order ~96 units), playground replacements at several parks, shade installations at multiple fields, and Skyline Trail amenities (seating, trash cans, a restroom at the trailhead). Staff said scheduled reopenings for renovated fields are mid- to late January depending on site start times.