Palmdale announces firstrecreation master plan

nA boost for more green space
By OW Staff
Palmdale has a Parks and Recreation Master Plan, representing a blueprint of sorts for detailing where parks and recreation programs stand today and how they will continue to develop into the future. It’s the city’s first such endeavor.
“Our first detailed plan for our Parks and Recreation Department, so I’m really excited to have this available to guide us,” Parks and Recreation Director Keri Smith said in presenting the plan to the City Council for approval on Wednesday.
The master plan aligns with the parks and recreation aspects in the city’s 2045 General Plan and further refines the goals and priorities of those elements, Smith said.
The city contracted with BerryDunn in February 2023 to develop the plan with extensive input from the community.
This information was used to develop a long-range vision for the city’s parks and to inform future funding, staffing and capital improvement projects.
The city has nearly 400 acres of developed parkland, all inventoried in the plan, with opportunities for future acquisition of additional parks land identified. One example of this is converting vacant city-owned properties into neighborhood pocket parks, Smith said.
The city’s parks facilities also include DryTown Water Park, the Palmdale Amphitheater and the Palmdale Playhouse.
“Our parks are certainly something to be sought after,” Mayor Austin Bishop said. “I think our parks get better every year.”
Mayor Pro Tem Richard Loa credited residents’ choice to tax themselves to support the city’s parks and recreation programs and facilities.
Through the community outreach, the common comments included a desire to expand and improve on existing parks and facilities, adding new amenities to existing parks, continue to make parks a priority and to increase the number of small neighborhood parks, Smith said.
Members of the community also named as priorities for services more special events, outdoor recreation, senior services, aquatic programs, youth services and leagues, she said.
The 275-page master plan not only looks to the future, but also takes stock of the current state of the parks, inventorying “down to every bench,” and grading each item to help guide future maintenance and replacement needs, Councilmember Andrea Alarcón said.