To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Breyana Brandt, Parks & Recreation Director
Prepared By: Breyana Brandt, Parks & Recreation Director and Ali Koenig, Parks Planner & Project Manager
TITLE:
Title
Mountain Bike Use at Alston Park
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Receive an update on the Change of Use Request brought forward by the Napa County Bicycle Coalition regarding expanded mountain bike use at Alston Park and provide direction to City Staff regarding the recommended process.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this discussion is to review relevant information related to the Change in Use Request brought forward by the Napa County Bicycle Coalition regarding expanded mountain bike use at Alston Park. This information includes background on Alston Park’s form and use, and the history of Alston Park-including an overview of Alston Park’s Conservation Easement. The discussion will include the recommended process to proceed with the proposed Change of Use Request to align with current and past practices of facilitating a change of use in City parks.
Alston Park Type and Existing Uses
Located in Northwest Napa, Alston Park is made up of 157 acres of passive open space. Allowed uses include conservation of natural resources, hiking, biking (paved area), horseback riding, cross-country running, nature study and both on and off leash dog areas.
Alston Park is categorized as a Natural Area and Open Space Park. As per the adopted General Plan 2040, natural areas and open space parks are defined as undeveloped areas that are utilized primarily for their natural resource value, and secondarily for recreational use. These parks may preserve or protect environmentally sensitive areas, such as unique or endangered plant species. These spaces can provide opportunities for nature-based recreation, such as trail use, bird watching and environmental education.
History of Alston Park
Overview of Park Acquisition:
The City of Napa acquired the 157-acre parcel now known as Alston Park in 1978 from the Alston Land Account. In 1981, a $4.7 million dollar park development bond measure that included proposed funding for the first phase of development of recreation facilities at Alston Park was defeated. Subsequently, on May 31, 1988, the Napa City Council unanimously passed Resolution No. 88-143, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the Alston Conservation Easement and Declaration of Restrictions. As a result, a conservation easement was placed over Alston Park by the City in collaboration with the Land Trust of Napa County. The property was later annexed into the City in 2001 and has since served the community as a highly utilized Natural Area and Open Space Park and home to the City’s largest off-leash dog park.
Overview of major events related to Alston Park planned uses:
The use and development of Alston Park is governed by the City of Napa through ordinances and resolutions in conformance with Napa City Charter and a conservation easement with the Napa County Land Trust. Use and development of the park is limited to recreational activities that will not destroy, impair, or interfere with the natural, scenic, recreational, open space, and agricultural features of the property.
From initial park acquisition, key measures and efforts to protect Alston Park’s natural area and open space form and function have been put into place at various points in time given public feedback, including:
• 1979: A conceptual master plan was developed that included several recreational amenities including sports fields and facilities.
• 1981: A $4.7 million bond needed to develop the conceptual master plan and other parks plan failed. Opposition developed to leave the park as an open space area.
• 1988: The City granted a conservation easement to Napa County Land Trust to ensure that the land remain as park and recreation space or open space that does not adversely impact the natural features of the property, and to prohibit inconsistent uses such as commercial activities.
• 1989: Alston Park was annexed into the City of Napa.
• 1990: Alston Park was opened to the public for passive use in July.
• 1999: Voters approved the adoption of City Charter Section 180, which incorporated the 1982 General Plan definition of the Rural Urban Line as a charter prohibition. The Alston Park property is located outside the Rural Limit Line.
• 2003: Voters approved the adoption of City Charter Section 185 which limited the use of the Alston Park property to “passive recreation and open space” to petition against the development of lighted ballfields, to remain in effect until January 1, 2018.
• 2007: City Council discussed the interpretation of Charter Section 185 and the Conservation Easement, in light of the complaints by members of the public regarding the landing of private hot air balloons in Alston Park. The Council concluded that the regulated landing of private hot air balloons in Alston Park was not a violation of Charter Section 185 or the Conservation Easement if the private balloon companies complied with reasonable regulations imposed by the City Manager.
• 2008: Residents petitioned the City in the form of a Change in Use request to make Alston Park’s all 157 acres a fully “off-leash” dog park. City Staff evaluated the request through a community engagement process to gauge how the park is used, who is using the park, and to provide a section for public comment. As a result, the recommendation was made to the Parks and Recreation Commission to not move forward with considering Alston Park as a fully off-leash park.
• 2018: City Staff held a community meeting to engage park users in the planning process of the approved Capital Improvement Program project: Alston Park restroom and amenity improvement. The original scope of work for Alston Park included a two-unit restroom facility and picnic gathering area. In response to the proposed plans, public input gathered through the community engagement process was not supportive of creating any ‘new’ uses like the picnic site as it would conflict with the natural state and existing uses of the park. This step in the planning process guided future plans and limited the project to exclude picnic areas.
Overview of Conservation Easement:
On February 2, 1988, the City Council directed City Staff to draft an agreement granting the Napa County Land Trust (Trust) a conservation easement over Alston Park. Conservation easements preserve land for future generations by restricting or conditioning certain rights or uses. The agreement provides as follows:
• The City grants to the trust an irrevocable conservation easement over Alston Park for the purpose of preserving the scenic, recreational, open space and agricultural value of the property.
• The easement will “run” with the land: and be binding upon all successors in interest to the City or the Trust.
• Certain uses are identified as permitted and within the scope of the easement as follows:
o All public recreation activities determined to be appropriate by the City Council;
o Agricultural uses;
o Nature study and the conservation of natural resources;
o Development and maintenance of structures and infrastructure needed to support permitted uses; and
o Annexation of the property to the City of Napa.
• The easement identifies uses which are generally prohibited on the property within the scope of the easement:
o The subdivision of the property;
o Any commercial or industrial use;
o Construction of any permanent residential living units; and
o Any major changes in the general topography and the natural drainage property of the land.
Proposed Change of Use Request
In June 2023, the Napa County Bicycle Coalition brought forward an initial concept of expanded mountain bike use at Alston Park. Given Alston Park’s significant history of conservation and City ordinances, this request was reviewed in-step with all previous efforts to preserve and protect the park’s natural state. Following preliminary research, numerous considerations and challenges associated with a Change in Use to Alston Park were identified including:
• Napa Municipal Code includes a general prohibition of off-road bicycles in City parks that would need to be addressed. Link: Municipal Code 12.36.100 <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.qcode.us%2Flib%2Fnapa_ca%2Fpub%2Fmunicipal_code%2Fitem%2Fcity_of_napa_municipal_code-title_12-chapter_12_36-12_36_100&data=05%7C02%7Cbbrandt%40cityofnapa.org%7Caf9bc63105ef453e0fe208dc063ee95b%7C7c2235c73aee4099a6c4bde6470cfa85%7C0%7C0%7C638392114514873240%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oFtbhAb%2FrvCk1gQf%2B%2BFLoJDbaNWdd99lQt%2FJOkYZZyc%3D&reserved=0>
• The restrictions under the existing Conservation Easement to Napa County Land Trust, enacted in July 1988, would need to be considered.
• As a multi-use park, specifically an off-leash dog park, conflicts of use and competing priorities should be considered and appropriately mitigated. Preliminary research has demonstrated that this is a highly unusual pairing in close proximity, especially given the existing compliance issues at the park.
• Existing park users and the surrounding neighborhood should be engaged in a discussion regarding the proposed change of use. Park users and adjacent residents within 500-feet of the park have not been fully notified as per City standards of initiating Change in Use projects.
• Park master planning documents are intended to guide park use and development to align with community consensus and limit special interest intentions. Although current master planning documents do not identify a need for expansion of mountain bike trails, we aim to be flexible and responsive to changing community needs. Further exploration of general community and park user consensus should be pursued.
• As the City does not operate any existing mountain bike facilities or trails, there are concerns of the environmental impact and corresponding impacts to the trails (both existing and social) that may require additional maintenance in the future to maintain properly. It is unknown if additional budget allocations would be necessary.
Given these potential complications, other parks that are more underutilized should be analyzed and considered for the proposed use as part of the community engagement process.
Recommended Process
Change of Use Requests come forward from community members and community groups frequently. A typical change of use process would include the following steps prior to formalizing a recommendation to Council.
Step 1. Preliminary Research - Completed
This step includes reviewing existing uses and the history of the park to fully develop a project scope to address the various nuances related to change of use considerations. This work included conferring with other local and state jurisdictions, conferring with the Napa County Land Trust regarding the requirements of the Conservation Easement, and the City Attorney’s Office regarding the City’s authority to determine appropriate recreational uses of the property.
Step 2. Develop, Budget and Schedule Project Work Plan
As with all community groups interested in change of use proposals, the work is typically reviewed and weighed against other park priorities and then scheduled to align with the budget cycle. If there is an urgency to commence this item sooner, the work can be expedited. An important step of the work plan will be to analyze the potential impact upon the existing trails and the potential for future social trails and the level of maintenance required to keep trails in good condition.
Step 3. Conduct Community Engagement
The City would engage a consultant to conduct community engagement on the project including a community-wide survey, at least one public meeting, and preparation of reports related to findings and recommendations. The cost of this step is estimated to be approximately $33,000, depending on the depth of feedback received, and will take approximately 3 months to complete community engagement and analysis once the consultant agreement is in place. Anticipated tasks and costs include the following work at an estimated hourly rate of $210/hour for an Associate Principal and $190/hour for a Senior Associate consultant:
• Start-up Meetings ($1,600)
• Community Engagement Prep ($4,000)
o Document Review
o Presentation Materials
o Community Input Materials
• Community Outreach ($6,000)
o Community Newsletter & Survey
o Project Website
o Online Survey
o Outreach Event/Open House
o Translation Services
• Findings/Opportunities & Constraints Development ($8,000)
• Draft Recommendations ($4,000)
• Presentation to Parks, Recreation & Trees Advisory Commission ($800)
• Development of Final Recommendation for Napa City Council ($4,000)
• Presentation to Napa City Council ($800)
• Contingency ($4,000)
Step 4. Review Findings with Park, Recreation, and Trees Advisory Commission
As the Advisory Body to the City Council, review and discussion by the Park, Recreation and Trees Advisory Commission on the proposed change of use is highly recommended. The discussion will present a detailed summary of the community input gathered through the engagement process and include discussions on potential provisions or exclusions of e-bikes and enforcement logistics, and review of potential environmental and maintenance impacts to the park.
Step 5. Draft Final Recommendation for City Council Review and Discussion
Following steps 1 - 4, a final recommendation is drafted for City Council review and discussion. Per the Conservation Easement, “all public recreation activities as determined appropriate within the sole discretion of the City Council of the City of Napa”.
Project Considerations
While the majority of Step 1 has been completed, the work related to steps 2 through 5 is not currently part of the Department’s 2023-2025 work plan. As the City has one full-time Management Analyst II (Park Planner), the scheduled workplan for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 was developed to align with the Council’s priorities and include key infrastructure initiatives to replace and retrofit high priority park equipment across 7 identified parks. In December 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with Landscape Structures, Inc., for the Park Playground and Amenity Improvement Project in an amount not to exceed $1,374,778. This agreement is currently in development, and the design work and community engagement are scheduled to occur Winter / Spring 2024. The additional work necessary to proceed with the proposed Alston Park Change of Use request could impact the work scheduled and delay procurement of equipment and installation of priority playground equipment as scheduled in the Capital Improvement Program.
Typically, unless critical or urgent, Change of Use requests are considered to align with the budget cycle. The following expedited timeline could be met with a delay to currently scheduled work.
Expedited Timeline:
January - February: Develop, Advertise and Receive Responses to Request for Proposal from Consultants
March: Execute Agreement with selected Consultant
April - June: Conduct Community Engagement
July - August: Prepare Findings
September: Findings presented at Parks, Recreation and Trees Advisory Committee meeting to prepare recommendation to Napa City Council
November: Recommendation presented to Napa City Council
Pilot Program:
In recent months, the Napa County Bicycle Coalition requested a pilot program commencing in March or April 2024 to run through the summer months. The City operated a controlled pilot program through the issuance of temporary use permits to a small team of youth mountain bikers when they were displaced from Skyline during the fires. Based upon the hardship conditions, this was permitted in 2019, 2021 and partially in 2022 as the Skyline trails were rebuilt. This small group of riders were “supervised” as the coach was present on-site with the riders at all times. This created a controlled environment that limited use to short afternoon practices when the park was not at its busiest (i.e., no mornings, evenings, or weekend use).
Commencing upon a pilot program prior to the completion of appropriate public process that includes a community engagement component would result in unnecessary confusion by the community and impact existing park users. Given the park’s primary focus of conservation and its highly engaged base of park users historically involved in public discussions regarding park use, a pilot program is not recommended until the community engagement component-typical of any change of use consideration-is completed. Without proper analysis and planning, a pilot program is likely to require additional park ranger and police resources to address anticipated conflicts within the park.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Financial impacts related to the Change of Use Request at Alston Park would need to be evaluated to determine future capital and maintenance costs to the City. These costs would be determined through Step 2 and Step 3 of the Recommended Process in the Discussion Section of this Agenda Summary Report.
CEQA:
The Parks & Recreation Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not in-and-of-itself a “project” (pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) since it does not result in a physical change in the environment. However, the Recommended Action is a part of a larger potential “project” that will be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA at the “earliest feasible time” prior to “approval” consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15004 and 15352. CEQA requirements or exemptions related to the Change of Use Request would be determined through Step 2 and Step 3 of the Recommended Process in the Discussion Section of this Agenda Summary Report.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None
NOTIFICATION:
Parks, Recreation and Trees Advisory Commission