By Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Lewis Park playground
The Claremont City Council approved a new playground design for Lewis Park Tuesday following months of chatter on the issue.

After a brisk presentation by Community Services Director Jeremy Swan and supportive testimonies by community members, the council unanimously voted, 5-0, to approve about $550,000 from the city’s park dedication fund to cover the installation of new equipment.

The decision was welcomed by Anna Jacobsen, a Claremont resident and member of Better Claremont Playgrounds, who praised the city’s efforts to clue in its youth on infrastructure they’d like to see at Lewis Park.

“I hope that moving forward, they’ll continue that process,” Jacobsen said. “I hope that as they develop the park improvement plan, they’ll think about how we can creatively fund playgrounds and how we can make sure to engage the community and ensure voices are heard.”

City staff settled on creating a park improvement plan that will address concerns beyond just play structures. In July, Swan said he hoped to bring such a plan before the Claremont City Council before the end of the year.

Tuesday’s decision comes after the Community and Human Services Commission voted unanimously on October 2 to send the Lewis Park playground improvements to the City Council. The decision also follows two community workshops this past summer that helped inform city staff about the playground retrofit.

A concept rendering for a new playground for older children at Lewis Park by recreation equipment designers and manufacturers Kompan. Image/courtesy of Kompan

At the July 31 workshop, residents voted highly in favor of a concept design developed by recreation equipment designers and manufacturers Kompan. Constructed of robinia wood and featuring unique amenities for users ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12 years old, the design was approved by the City Council Tuesday.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Swan said the current equipment in Lewis Park “was installed in 1995 and is old, outdated and does not meet current American with Disabilities Act, or ADA standards.” The updated playground will be ADA compliant and feature play spaces for both younger and older children.

“Throughout the public engagement process, we have heard from community members that want this playground surfacing to be more inclusive to children of all needs and all abilities,” Swan said. “Staff is recommending 100% pour-in-place, or PIP. PIP is a rubberized playground surfacing that creates a seamless barrier between the ground and playground equipment, reducing injury risk and making it easy to clean and maintain.”

Swan anticipates completion of the project by spring of 2025.

Once Kompan orders the requested equipment, delivery is expected to take about 10 to 12 weeks, according to Swan. “Demo and installation of equipment and base materials is expected to take four to six weeks. Some of those weeks will overlap as I was talking to our designer and the last couple weeks, or at least especially the last week when they expect to receive the equipment, they’ll start shutting down the playground, working on the demo so that there’s a very, quick, seamless transition from the equipment arrival and then they start the installation,” he said.

Eleven-year-old Noah Jacobsen thanked the council Tuesday for allowing the community to give its input on the Lewis Park playground design. The design by Kompan was approved by the council later that evening. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Blaisdell Ranch Preserve
Following the council’s decision on the monthslong park item, members considered a nearly four-decadeslong one, Blaisdell Ranch Preserve. The issue involved the anticipated requirements should the city seek to relinquish ownership of Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association.

“This report involves sort of a different approach, whereas the last one looked at improving a park, this one looks at taking a park that exists and shifting ownership of it so that the city would give up its rights to public access of the park and fully privatize the park,” Patterson said. “Right now it’s fully open to the public and has been since the 1980s and that’s because in 1985, the city acquired a non-exclusive easement in the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve as a condition of development of the surrounding neighborhood, which is a … 95-lot subdivision.”

Patterson explained that the purpose of the easement was for the development to obtain a density bonus under the then-existing code.

“Back then, you could get a density bonus in exchange for providing park land,” she said. “Under the density bonus and the agreements that went along with it and the permits that went along with it, the city and the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association agreed that in exchange for the public access, they would split the maintenance, repair and improvement costs on a 25-75 split.”

Since 1985, the city has covered a quarter of the park costs, while the HOA has absorbed the remaining three-quarters. Patterson said that between 2020 and 2024, the city also paid $104,071.96 toward maintenance.

“In addition to that, the easement agreement requires the city to indemnify the HOA for any claims that arise as a result of public use of the park that are over and above the HOA’s general public liability insurance,” Patterson said.

Patterson added that while nearby residents have expressed concerns about the public’s use of the park, the City Council directed staff to explore the options to relinquish the city’s easement as one of its 2024-2026 priorities and objectives. Patterson stressed that to relinquish the preserve, the city and HOA must act in tandem on the item.

At the end of the hourlong discussion, the City Council directed staff to identify cost estimates for potentially relinquishing the city’s easement and ensuring that the Blaisdell Ranch HOA is aware of the process. The item will return to council once conversations with the HOA have taken place.

If the city relinquishes its easement, amendments must be made to the city’s general plan, to Blaisdell Ranch’s land use entitlements, to the easement and maintenance agreement, to the letter agreement for the preserve, and to the HOA’s declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions, all of which would cost money and require staff time. Initial estimates range from $15,000 in staff time, to between $25,000 and $50,000 in legal fees. If a California Environmental Quality Act review is also required, the costs for the project could easily reach six-figures.

The next meeting of the Claremont City Council will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 22 at council chambers, 225 W. Second St., Claremont.