The Santa Clarita Planning Commission will hear the city’s plans for the third phase of the Central Park buildout Tuesday.
If approved, the 17-acre expansion to the park in Saugus would recommend adding a variety of new amenities. The Santa Clarita City Council will need to approve the project before breaking ground.
Estimated to cost $10.3 million to construct, the project would be the first buildout of Central Park since 2001.
The project’s central feature is four new regulation-size, multi-use sports fields for sports like soccer, rugby and flag football, according to a city staff report. Twelve 70- or 90-foot-tall light poles would surround the fields, with the lights positioned at 30 feet above ground.
“The current demand on the Central Park venue for field use, tournaments and special events far exceeds the available multipurpose field space,” according to the city’s justification of the project in its draft 2021-22 budget. “The addition of fields at Central Park will help accommodate these demands.”
A new parking lot would be placed east of the new fields. The lot would include 268 spaces for cars, including 10 pre-wired space for electric vehicles, eight accessible parking spaces and three dual charging stations, and 12 bicycle parking spaces.
Project plans propose relocating a basketball court to accommodate a new restroom building adjacent to the fields. The new court will feature 50-foot-tall light poles.
Central Bark, the existing dog park, would also see improvements in the form of two shade structures, picnic tables, lighting and nine new coast live oak trees. The project also calls for an exercise staircase, which would provide access to trails above the park.
Accomplishing these proposed changes to the park’s undeveloped southwest corner would require nearly 30,000 cubic yards of earth to provide a leveled surface. The 9-hole disc golf course would be closed during construction, then relocated within Central Park, according to the city staff report.
Santa Clarita-based Psomas designed the site plans for the expansion. In late 2019, the Santa Clarita City Council awarded the local design firm $543,142 to draw the plans.
To participate in Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, visit santa-clarita.com for more information.
