05c Mace Ranch Park Passive Recreation Area - City Council - City ...

DATE: June 12, 2012
TO: City Council
STAFF REPORT
FROM: Elvia Garcia-Ayala, Community Services Director
Rob Cain, Urban Forest Manager
David Luckscheider, Parks Manager
SUBJECT: Mace Ranch Park Passive Recreation Area
Recommendation
1) Approve the attached final design for the Mace Ranch Passive Recreation area.
2) Approve Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into the formal bid process for
project construction and to award a contract to the lowest qualified contract bidder.
Fiscal Impact
The funding for the project comes from parkland development fees paid by the developer of the
Verona subdivision pursuant to the Verona Subdivision Development Agreement through which
the City has retained $110,000 for development, construction and design drawings and
development impact fees totaling $52,400, which has been added to help with the construction
phase of the project. The construction costs will be $100,000.00 as estimated in the attached
construction estimate compiled by Michael P. Scheele the Landscape Architect for the project.
No negative fiscal impacts to the General Fund are expected for the construction of the project.
A minimal increase to the open space maintenance budget will be incurred by the project.
Current costs to maintain the area as is has been about $1,200-$1,500 per year depending on the
amount of weed abatement required for that year. It is estimated to cost about $2,000-$2,500 per
year to maintain the new area. The increase is due to the increase in mowing time around the
planted areas and to use targeted IPM weed control in the area around the other plants in the
landscape. This increase will be realized after the initial three year establishment period that is
being funded through the Verona subdivision agreement monies.
Council Goal(s)
Sustainability: Enact policies that conserve resources and improve environmental quality.
Background and Analysis
The passive recreation area approved with the Mace Ranch Community Park in 2004 is now
ready to be developed and constructed. For the past eight years, this area had been set aside as a
habitat area for burrowing owls, which no longer inhabit the area. After three consecutive years
of monitoring by staff, it has been determined that no owls have been sited in this area and it is
now ready to be developed into a passive recreation area per the approved master plan for the
Mace Ranch Community Park.

Mace Ranch Passive Recreation Area
The City of Davis Parks division has initiated the initial design phase for this area. The initial
design phase consists of conceptual drawings prepared by Michael P. Scheele Landscape
Architect, two public input meetings, which have been held, and, final design drawings to be
approved by the Recreation and Park Commission and City Council prior to construction. The
budget to fund the project comes from the Verona subdivision impact fees of $110, 000 and an
additional $52,400 in development impact fees from the Parks Master Plan.
Two community input hearings have been held to date. One meeting was held on December 8,
2011 and one on February 1, 2012. The meetings guided the design process so that staff and Mr.
Scheele had the necessary vision of the community for this new passive recreation use of the
area. The over arching vision for the area as communicated in the meetings was to have as
natural an area as possible for this parcel. The attendees expressed the need for a less formal area
for the Mace Ranch Park where truly passive recreation could take place, such as free play for
children, meditation-type areas, and places for wildlife to again reside and use. The idea of
excluding human use was even a topic for discussion so that it would remain completely natural
and more of a viewing area than a passive recreation use area.
Staff and Mr. Scheele used the public comments and internal discussions to prepare the current
conceptual design. The design incorporates low water use vegetation and trees. The plant palate
uses many native species, but is not an all inclusive native plant palate. The plants used for the
design have been chosen for their low water use and low maintenance growth habits. In choosing
these types of plants, the design intends to keep maintenance costs and impacts on the area to a
minimum. The plants will also function as natural habitat for area wildlife and be used as
sustainable landscaping. The consensus of both the public and staff was to incorporate the
existing fence into the design to help set aside the area as a “special use” area and to help control
the traffic through the area to help maintain it as more natural. The design uses three of four
existing entry points through the fence as starting points for paths to access the area and lead
users to a central gathering\meeting area. This central gathering point will have boulder type
seating and could also be used as a teaching area as well for the neighboring elementary school
and science center for nature programming. Some interpretive signage is being proposed for
areas along the path that could describe the habitats and area’s natural history.
The construction schedule for the project is proposed to be completed by early 2013. The first
phase of construction will be to perform weed abatement treatments on the area. This will be
completed by in-house staff in the summer of 2012. The Request for Proposals and bid process is
proposed to begin in August 2012. Contract awarding and construction shall begin in September
2012. The construction phase is planned to be completed by March of 2013. The area would then
be opened to the public after a 90 day initial maintenance period.

Mace Ranch Passive Recreation Area
The conceptual design was unanimously approved by the Recreation and Parks Commission at
the April 19, 2012 meeting. The Commission made one change to the conceptual design which
was to add the planting of some trees around the center gathering area for shade during the
summer months. The Commission felt the design was a good fit for the area and agreed with the
native and low water use plant palate. The Commission did express concern about the possible
fire hazard of the grass mix areas, the possible use of the area by dog owners, and the possible
overcrowding of the plants.
The project has been reviewed by the Fire Department with no issues being brought forth. The
dog use problem will be handled in two ways, first by posting the park rules at the site and also
by a possible volunteer docent being placed at the site for the first couple of months after the area
opens. The planting overcrowding only appears so on the planting plan. The plants are shown at
mature size distances and will be growing at differing heights to allow for visual site lines
through the area
Attachments
1. Final design
2. Construction cost estimate
3. Authorizing resolution
P:\PARKS\Projects\Mace Passive Rec\CouncilSR_Mace_Ranch_passiverec_6_12.doc