Jim Friedl talks about the process
It was another good turnout at Wednesday’s community input meeting for the Lang Ranch Community Park Conceptual Recreational Use Plan process. This, the third of four meetings, was aimed at further prioritizing the list of potential uses supplied by community members.
Another great turnout
Approximately 75 attendees were given maps of the planned park site and were encouraged to indicate locations where they thought they might want to put certain amenities. On the back of the maps were lists of potential uses, divided up into three categories; Green: Those the agency (Conejo Recreation and Park District, CRPD) felt were appropriate uses based on the plan’s criteria; Red: Those that did not meet the criteria; and Yellow: Those that were “on the bubble” and could go into either the Green or Red categories. Attendees were divided into five groups with two facilitators each and provided input on any amenities that were missing, as well as any amenities that should move from one category to another. Afterward, groups summarized their input.
Based on group summaries, bicycle related amenities, including a pump track and skills features, were still a high priority. A new term came up in the list of prospective bike amenities, “dual slalom course,” which while new to the process, is not a new concept. It’s basically the same thing as slalom ski racing; two parallel downhill courses run through gates with jumps and berm turns. Sort of like downhill BMX (but it can be done on mountain bikes as well).
Members of the public talk about their proposed changes
CRPD facilitators reminded attendees that this is still very early in the process and that they are in “big picture” mode. To quote Jim Friedl, CRPD General Manager, “We’re not yet looking at the gnat’s eyebrow at this point.” The next and final community meeting takes place March 21, and from there CRPD staff will produce a report and recommendation to present to the CRPD board. According to Friedl, an optimistic estimate for delivering that presentation could be 4-6 months.
