City Council combines Bernal plans for consideration City Council combines Bernal plans for consideration (February 18, 2005)

Commissions, public will review total designs as well as sports portion
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

Is anyone confused by plans for the Bernal property? The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to combine reviews on the five different plans for the total 318-acre park and the plans for the 50-acre sports portion to simplify the process.

"It would be a lot more efficient if we parallel the two," said planning consultant Wayne Rasmussen. "We could share meetings."

"We have one property with three planning processes," City Manager Nelson Fialho said. "It's highly inefficient for staff, and we're trying to merge into one."

The three planning processes are: € The draft Phase Two specific plan for the entire 318-acre city-owned site; € The community park master plan for about 50 acres; and € The Phase One baseball fields plan, with two lighted baseball fields and other public amenities that will cover about 10 acres of the community park. The council OK'd the fields plan last month and the bid documents should be ready for approval in late summer.

"Most people are really confused," said Jerry Thorne, who is running in the City Council special election in June, and who co-authored the Initiative to Save Our Community Park. "I did an informal survey ... of people who worked on the initiative with me."

The Initiative to Save Our Community Park was adopted by the City Council in July to guarantee the building of lighted sports fields in the northeast corner, although it was clarified Tuesday night that the arts center could also go in the northeast corner.

The council voted Tuesday to hold commission meetings to review both the five Phase Two specific plan alternatives and the draft community park master plan; then hold town hall meetings for community comments on both; then hold a joint study session on both. The original community park design by RRM Design Group and designs by the winner of the design competition, M.D. Fotheringham, Landscape Architects, will also be included.

Workshops are being scheduled in March for the Civic Arts, Youth, Parks and Recreation, and Planning commissions, and also by the Youth Master Plan Implementation Committee.

Councilwoman Cindy McGovern noted that she thinks it is important for potential homebuyers to know what it planned for the property.

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