Agenda Item Wording:
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Neighborhood park development - Recommendation and approval for the conceptual designs of two new neighborhood parks at the Elliott Property (west side of Roben Street south of Tulare Ave) and the Pearl Wood Property (one-quarter mile southeast of McAuliff Street and Cherry Avenue).
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Prepared by: Jason Glick, Parks and Recreation Director (559)713-4042, jason.glick@visalia.gov
Department Recommendation: Staff recommends the Visalia City Council approve conceptual design number three (3) for the Elliott Property and conceptual design number three (3) for the Pearl Wood Property, with reduced amenities including Musco field lighting, restrooms, and parking lot. Staff also recommends transferring funds from existing projects as outlined to fund the project shortfall.
Summary:
As part of the Visalia 2030 General Plan, the City studied key community elements, including the development and maintenance of parks, schools, and other essentials for future neighborhoods. A map was developed to identify desired park locations, ensuring adequate park space to support future community growth. As new neighborhoods are built, development is now occurring around these identified park locations.
There are two locations now in development: the Elliott Property, planned for 225 single-family residential homes, and the Pearl Wood Property with 273 single-family residential homes. City staff anticipated the planning of these future neighborhood parks and included them in the Capital Improvement Project six-year plan starting in Fiscal Year 2022/2023.
In the planning process for these new housing developments, City Staff coordinated with the developers to determine the location, size, and construction plans for the new neighborhood parks. The Elliott Property is being developed by San Joaquin Valley Homes and the Pearl Wood Property by D.R. Horton Homes. As part of the agreement, the parks will be constructed by the developer with the City reimbursing for the construction costs. This approach will expedite park development while allowing the City to provide input on and direct the design.
To develop conceptual park designs, D.R. Horton engaged Quad Knopf for the Pearl Wood Property, while San Joaquin Valley Homes selected Wood Architecture for the Elliott Property. Each firm collaborated closely with City staff and the community through three public meetings per site, held in Spring 2025.
These public meetings focused on gathering input for the two future neighborhood parks: the Elliott Property (at Tulare and Roeben) and the Pearl Woods Property (at Road 148 and Cameron Creek). Community members provided feedback and voted on preferred amenities, helping guide each design team in creating three conceptual design options per park.
After reviewing three conceptual designs for each park, staff determined that conceptual design #3 for the Elliott Property, as well as conceptual design #3 for the Pearl Wood Property, offer the most recreational value to the community. These designs incorporate several of the top-rated amenities identified during the public outreach process.
On September 9, 2025, the Visalia Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the conceptual designs and recommended to the Visalia City Council conceptual design #3 for the Elliott Property and conceptual design #3 for the Pearl Wood Property.
At the December 2, 2025 City Council meeting, staff identified several funding shortfalls affecting multiple capital projects, as summarized in Tables 1 and 2 below. To address these gaps, staff is proposing to reallocate funds from currently budgeted Park projects that are also experiencing funding shortfalls. The primary goal of this effort is to fund the Pearl Wood Property Park. The Inclusive Park will be addressed at a later date.
Currently, no additional funding is required for the Elliott Property Park. The project is fully funded, with a cost estimate of $4,780,800 and a total of $5,197,370 already allocated.
Table 1 - Park funding shortfall
Four projects listed in the current budget will need additional funding to move forward in this fiscal year are shown in the table below
Table 2 - Park & Recreational Facility Impact Fee Fund Projects
The five-year projection for projects funded by the Park and Recreation Facilities Impact Fee Fund. Fiscal Year 2025/26 is the only year with a current budget appropriation; funding for FY 2026/27 through FY 2029/30 will need to be addressed in future budgets.
The Pearl Wood Property currently has an approved project budget of $3,042,372, resulting in a funding shortfall of $4,525,128 based on the original total project cost of $7,567,500.
At the December 9, 2025, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, the Commission recommended that the City Council eliminate the following amenities at the Pearl Wood Park location: Musco field lighting ($600,000), restrooms ($250,000), and parking ($47,000). These reductions would generate cost savings of $897,000 and reduce the total project cost to $6,670,500.
To address the remaining funding gap, staff propose the following actions:
• Approve the Parks and Recreation Commission’s recommended reductions.
• Transfer $2,240,000 from the Victory Oaks property in fiscal year 2025-26 and appropriate these funds to the Pearl Wood property project.
• Transfer $1,388,200 from the Riverway Sports Park North parking lot project in fiscal year 2025-26 and appropriate these funds to the Pearl Wood Property project.
These actions will fully fund the Pearl Wood Property Park project at a revised total cost of $6,670,500. Staff further recommends moving both the Riverway Sports Park north parking lot project and the Victory Oaks property park project to the outer fiscal years.
Background Discussion:
The Elliott Property project was publicly noticed through mailers each time it was presented to the Planning Commission and City Council. The Visalia Planning Commission approved the project with a 5-0 vote on August 12, 2024, followed by City Council approval on September 16, 2024 (5-0 vote). The Elliott Property is approximately 4 acres in size.
Staff conducted public meetings for the Elliott Property Park parcel on March 11, 22, and 27, 2025. Two of the meetings took place at Sunset Park, and the final meeting was held at City Hall West during the monthly Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. During these sessions, the community was presented with a variety of amenity categories and asked to provide input on their preferences through a voting process to prioritize the desired park amenities.
The Pearl Wood Property project was publicly noticed through mailings prior to all Planning Commission and City Council meetings. Notifications were distributed to residents within a 300-foot radius of the project site. The Planning Commission approved the project on June 12, 2023 (5-0 vote), and the City Council approved it on July 17, 2023 (5-0 vote). The Pearl Wood Property is 5.5 acres in size.
Staff conducted public meetings for the Pearl Wood Property Park parcel on May 3, 8, and 13, 2025, with two meetings hosted at Kiwanis Park and one at City Hall West during the monthly Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Following the same format for public input as the Elliott Property, residents were invited to review conceptual amenity options and vote on desired amenities for inclusion in the final park design.
The public had the following amenities to choose from for the Elliott Property and the Pearl Wood Property below.
Traditional Sports Amenities:
Multi-Purpose Lighted Athletic Field (Soccer, Baseball, Flag Football and Softball), Lighted Pickleball Courts, Lighted Tennis Courts and Lighted Basketball Courts
Community Amenities:
Amphitheater, Demonstration Garden, Botanical Garden, Butterfly Garden, Interpretive Signage and Public Art
Active Amenities:
Traditional Playground (2-5, 5-12) w/ Shade Sail Structures,
Adventure/Nature Playground w/ Shade Sail Structures, Obstacle Course Parcourse Equipment, Disc Golf, ½ Acre BMX Pump Track, Cornhole, Lighted Walking Path, Mini Pitch Court and Outdoor Handball Court
Site Amenities:
Solar Pedestrian Lights, Restrooms, Seating Areas, Parking Lot and Drinking Fountains
The voting results for the Elliott Property and the Pearl Wood property are as follows:
Elliott Property top six amenities are as follows:
Amenity Votes
Walking Path w/ Lights 72
Restrooms 65
Pickleball Courts 56
BMX Pump Track 42
Parking Lot 36
Botanical Garden 28
Pearl Wood Property top six amenities are as follows:
Amenity Votes
Walking Path w/ Lights 49
BMX Pump Track 45
Pickleball Courts 42
Restrooms 36
Adventure Themed Playground 27
Amphitheatre 22
The top ten voting amenity totals for both the Elliott Property and the Pearl Wood Properties combined are as follows:
Amenity Votes
Walking Path w/ Lights 121
Restrooms 101
Pickleball Courts 98
Pump Track 87
Parking Lot 57
Botanical Garden 47
Athletic Field Space 47
Amphitheater 37
Traditional Playground 45
Adventure Playground 43
Basketball Courts 16
Mini Pitch (Pearl Wood Only) 8
The design teams used the feedback gathered during the six community input meetings to create three conceptual designs for both Elliott property and Pearl Wood property. In addition to the valuable input provided by the public, the design teams, working in collaboration with City staff, carefully considered several other key factors. These included park size, fit, available space, compatibility of amenities with the surrounding neighborhood, overall functionality, initial construction costs relative to the available budget, and the long-term cost and complexity of ongoing maintenance.
Fiscal Impact: The engineer’s estimated total cost is $4,780,800 for the Elliott property and the revised estimate is $6,67,500 for the Pearl Wood property. The estimated annual operation and maintenance costs are $30,000 for the Elliott property and $38,000 for the Pearl Wood property. Funding for the construction of both neighborhood parks will be provided through the City’s Park Impact Fees, which are designated for the development of new recreational facilities. The maintenance for each park will be funded by the General Fund.
Prior Council Action: None
Other: N/A
Alternatives: That the Visalia City Council make a different recommendation on one of the proposed conceptual designs for both the Elliott Property and Pearl Wood Property other than conceptual design number three (3).
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I motion to approve the conceptual design number three (3) for the Elliott Property and conceptual design number (3) for the Pearl Wood Property. Additionally, eliminate the following amenities at the Pearl Wood Park location: Musco field lighting ($600,000), restrooms ($250,000), and parking ($47,000) to reduce the overall project cost to $6,670,500; and transfer $3,628,200 from existing projects outlined in the report.
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Deadline for Action: 1/20/2026
Attachments:
1. Elliot Property Conceptual Design and Pearl Wood Property Conceptual Design. 2, Elliot Property Presentation
3. Pearl Wood Property Presentation