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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem C MEMORANDUM December 13, 1999 TO: MAYOR YOST AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: KEITH TILL, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: Status Report on Bixby Tennis Club Site SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATION: Council to hear presentation on Summary Report of Old Ranch Tennis Club Site Committee; receive and file report pending additional input from the Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission. BACKGROUND: Based upon lack of City support, Bixby Ranch Co. withdrew plans for a mixed use, residential and commercial development plan in 1995. New plans were submitted in early 1996 calling for demolition of the tennis club site to make way seven acres of commercial development including the Marriott Senior Assisted Care Center. The City resumed discussions with Bixby, and ultimately the plan now pending the March referendum resulted. The development agreement for the Bixby Town Center calls for dedication of the 7-acre tennis club site to the City, along with $1 million for improvements. The City Council authorized the appointment of a citizens committee from College Park East to provide the first level of input on possible uses of the tennis club site. The committee has worked approximately nine months on its review, and has arrived at a preliminary consensus that. should additional facilities be incorporated into a tennis club, the configuration should be as shown in the attached site plan. The committee is to be commended for the considerable time and effort put into a very thoughtful set of options that can now be considered in greater detail. RECOMMENDATION: City Council to approve a motion commending the Tennis Club Site Committee for their efforts, and to receive and file the report pending further input from the Parks and Recreation Commission and the citizenry. Agenda Item C MEMO To: Keith Till, City Manager FROM: Nancy Beard, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services DATE: November 27, 1999 RE: Summary Report of Committee Findings — Old Ranch Tennis Club Site The Bixby — Old Ranch Tennis Club Site Ad Hoc Committee began meeting March 29, 1999. Eighteen volunteers were given the assignment to look at this site and determine its best use for the community. The committee's first order of business was developing a purpose and a mission statement. They are as follows: It is the purpose of this committee to develop recommendations for the use of the Old Ranch Tennis Facility following the dedication of the property to the City of Seal Beach. The recommendations will be presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The Commission will then present its recommendations and findings to the City Council for their review and final guidance to the development, or non-development, of the property. Mission Statement This committee will develop recommendations for the best and highest use of the Old Ranch Tennis Club property for the community. It is the intent of the committee to present options for the site to the residents of College Park East. Following the community's selection of one of the alternatives, a presentation will be made to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The committee began by getting very familiar with the existing tennis facility. Each meeting was held on site at the clubhouse. The committee met approximately 9 evenings for two hours each meeting as well as completing "homework" assignments as needed. The members studied the financial records of the existing operation made available by the Bixby Company. They met with their fellow community members, potential tennis club site directors and landscape architects to capture a broad vision of the possibilities for this seven-acre site. The committee developed site ideas and landscape plans for possible development options. The current Old Ranch Tennis Site is seven acres. It contains sixteen tennis courts, twelve of which are lighted: a 2,100 square foot clubhouse including a kitchen, lounge area, pro shop and office area: a 3,200 square foot locker/shower and 1 restroom facility and a 1,000 square foot work out room. The club is landscaped both within and outside its walls. The committee learned that with the dedication of the club site, the Bixby Company would give the City one million dollars to renovate the facility as the community desired. The committee began with developing a "wish list" comprised of elements the members believed to be important in a community serving facility. Each element was ranked by importance, by each committee member. The full committee agreed upon a final ranking. Concurrently, the group went forward with a Request for Qualifications from Tennis Site Directors, to assist them in determining the viability of the site as it currently exists with sixteen courts or in a smaller configurations of 12 or 8 courts. The group heard back from four potential operators. Research developed from the Request for Qualifications demonstrated that the most desired configuration for operating the club was as it currently sits with sixteen courts, however, most of the operators believed that they could also benefit from a smaller configuration of twelve courts. Some were even willing to try to make a go of eight courts. If the tennis site were to be combined with community recreation activities, the committee was ready with the most valued uses. The highest ranking activities included: Community meeting space, after school opportunities for school age children, a small community pool, a community message area, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Additional opportunities identified included a tot lot, roller blade and skate boarding rink. Site Development Now the committee had information to work with. They began to narrow down the options available. The most obvious option was to leave the site intact with sixteen courts and hire an operator. The development funds that were to come with the site could be used to upgrade the club and saved for future developments. An alternative site was worked on for many meetings encompassing as many of the high ranking activities as possible but keeping within the million-dollar budget. It was the intention of the group to develop a couple of site plans. Through the process, the committee took all the top priority ideas and developed one site plan with alternative site options. The mixed site plan includes leaving eleven tennis courts and the shower/dressing room to an operator. Additionally, 1,000 square feet of the community center would be set aside for office space and a pro shop if desired. The remaining site would be developed into a community recreation facility. It would begin with an expansion of 2 the 2,100 square foot clubhouse to a 5,000 or 6,300 square foot facility. This is one of the site options. This building would open up to a tiled outdoor staging or performance area overlooking a green pasture or park area. The facility would open up to Basswood and Aster Streets giving the near by residents a beautiful park to view as opposed to a cinder block wall. The park area includes trees, a hardscape path used for a variety of activities including bike riding or walking. Included is a tot lot play area and picnic shelter area. The pay for play area options includes a skate park and splash pool. The splash pool would be approximately 40 by 60 feet and a zero depth pool with spray equipment options. This size pool would be a seasonal operation with the opportunity for young children swim lessons. The second option to this site plan is to eliminate the pool and replace it with another set of half basketball courts. The committee was greatly concerned with meeting the needs of the school age children. Eight hundred and four public school children live in College Park East. Parking concerns were discussed next. The club currently has 77 parking spaces. It was anticipated that additional space would be needed to accommodate the clubhouse expansion and the community uses. There are no existing code regulations imposing a specific ratio of parking spaces to a recreational site. Identifying additional parking options was a monumental task. An option was developed which the committee felt might solve the two issues. Directly adjacent from the tennis club site on the Aster Street side, is Bluebell Park. The community has been struggling with what to do with the old tot lot site and the picnic shelter area as it is deteriorated beyond repair. Additionally, the existing basketball court, also in need of resurfacing, lies directly adjacent to a home. The remainder of the park is fenced in and lighted. By taking all of the play elements currently in need of repair and placing them in the new park directly across Aster Street, thereby losing no play activities, a new landscaped area with twenty parking spaces may be created. This suggestion takes no green space from Bluebell Park and does create an alternative to the often-dangerous street parking options for those accessing the park. This option takes approximately one fourth of the existing acreage at the 1.3- acre park. The committee offers these options for consideration: 1. The current 16 tennis court configuration 2. Combined community center site with a smaller tennis club site (11 courts). 2a. Includes a 5,000 square foot community center 2b. Includes a 6,300 square foot community center 2c. Includes a splash pool 2d. Substitute an additional half basketball court for the pool 3. The creation of a 20 space parking lot at Bluebell Park 3 Additional comments from the committee members include holding on to the million dollars dedicated to the project from the Bixby Company for a period of two years. This would give the city an opportunity to collect interest from the money. The hope is to gain enough interest over the two-year period to completely pay for the cost of the re-modeled facility. It was also suggested that some of the funding be set aside for improvement of the existing courts and the shower/locker rooms. 4 TENNIS CLUB SITE COMMITTEE Schelly Sustarsic, Chairperson Denise Anderson Constance Blac Marty & Bob Bolling Pam Borcich Betty Forster Audrey & Al Kime Steve Meltzer Lorraine Navarro Beth Pepper Cheryl Saunders Clauda Shaw Ethel Tesser Paula Teweles John & Sally Unrath Henry Eager Santos Nafarette 4 .. iti I II 1 i , Q VP:,...:,•Ner:,‘Neel- Ko-iw:-NieeeriW-NINIIIeejiVrKl.rroi,.:eel.eeeiar',,,-:411• # * , — - ASTER STREETel • - -- -- ate,. 411116 � dia. aa -\ .-- - ".1 ..' 11ailii a a�. ergigilr-0 - � .0r_.dikile°414 44,1 • . : ty: ••... ow L j .... ,...‘ li It- • iiroiNli 11I • ' % �p,�ju.►° —_ it 1. '1 r 1‘ liri . ip*INIfilIL- '"•-:- 4,4111111111 • , le .64-0.0,401i . ..: i °° �'�: t • ! �' ' . ." X11 0 W ,,,,,. . -,46.,• , i 1 rib , ,s4 00 . i ...-. , .-.. .:, . 1.4.4 , r. , u.) 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