California State Parks Recommends $35.6M for Land and Water Conservation Funds

For Immediate Release: 12/4/2023

Contact: [email protected]

Funds would help create outdoor recreation opportunities.

California State Parks today announced recommendations to the National Park Service (NPS) for $35.6 million in Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants for 16 local park projects. Funding would provide public agencies with the ability to acquire land and/or develop recreational amenities such as playgrounds, sports fields and courts, exercise stations, dog and skate parks.

Cities such as Santa Ana in Orange County would receive funding to build a new park and construct a shaded playground, exercise area with shade, walking path, a skatepark and half basketball court, picnic area, gathering area, and lighting and landscaping throughout the park. Funding for Chico Area Recreation and Park District in Butte County would help them build a new aquatic park that includes a new competition pool, wading pool with water slides and play equipment, permanent cabanas, shade sails and a parking lot.

State Parks evaluated more than $154 million in LWCF funding requests, for the available $35.6 million in this application cycle. Today's recommended applicants will proceed with post-selection federal requirements prior to the projects being forwarded to NPS for review and federal funding approval.

The recommended projects (listed bythe countyand citywhere projects are located) are:

Alameda County

• Hayward:Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, D & Clay Streets Neighborhood Park: $1,306,580 to create a new park that will include an approximate 800-foot segment of the paved Foothill Trail, natural play area, open lawn area for sports and games, picnic areas, a bridge, walking paths, resting areas, benches and preservation of Sulphur Creek.

Butte County

• Chico: Chico Area Recreation Park District,Chico Aquatic Park: $6 millionto create a new competition pool, wading pool with water slides and play equipment, pool decks, cabanas, shade sails, parking, fencing, landscaping and lighting throughout the park.

Humboldt County

• Eureka:City of Eureka, Grace Marton Memorial Park:$619,989to create a new playground, game area, picnic areas, drinking fountains, signage, landscaping, extend and renovate the trail and amphitheater.

Kern County

• Shafter:Shafter Recreation and Park District,Shafter Community Park:$904,135 to create a new dog park, community garden, fitness course, tennis/pickleball courts, outdoor gym, picnic area, parking lot, restroom, landscaping and lighting throughout the park.

Lake County

• Cobb:County of Lake,Cobb Community Park Acquisition:$207,500to acquire approximately 12.88 acres to create the new Cobb Community Park in the town of Cobb.

Los Angeles County

• Santa Clarita:City of Santa Clarita,Via Princessa Park: $6 million to create a new park including four full-sized multipurpose fields, pickleball courts, shaded plaza/gathering area with seating, shaded nature-themed playground, natural play area with wooden bridges, shaded picnic shelters, monument signs, walking pathways, signage, bike racks, and lighting and landscaping throughout the park.
• Pico Rivera:City of Pico Rivera, Smith Park Aquatic Center: $6 million to construct a new pool deck, competitive pool lanes, diving board, racing platforms, fixed interactive water features, bleachers with shade structures, turf seating, scoreboard and clock, perimeter fencing, storage and chemical room, and lighting.
• Los Angeles:Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Children's Park Development Project: $1,450,000 to create a new park with play areas with seating, a junior basketball court, stepped seating feature, open space lawn area, tyke track, walkways, lighting and landscaping throughout the park.
• Lancaster: City of Lancaster, Avenue J Neighborhood Park: $2,460,097 to create a new drought-tolerant demonstration garden, shaded playground, pedestrian/bike trail with lighting and benches, shaded plaza/picnic area, fitness course with exercise stations, shaded open space area, monument signs, perimeter fencing and landscaping.
• Glendora: City of Glendora, South Hills Bike Park Project: $1 millionto create a new pump track with jump lines, multiuse trails, downhill bike-only trails, shaded picnic area, bike fix-it stand, trailhead kiosk, signage, restroom and parking lot. Renovate existing access road.

Orange County

• Santa Ana:City of Santa Ana,10th and Flower Street New Neighborhood Park:$2,250,000 to create a new park including a playground with shade, exercise area with shade, walking path, skatepark with lighting, half basketball court with lighting, picnic area, gathering area, fencing with landscaping and lighting throughout the park.

Riverside County

• Wildomar:City of Wildomar,27-Acre Park Phase I:$2,837,500 to create a new 1.1-mile hiking trail, bike park, bike plaza, playground, synthetic turf field, shade structure, windmill, fencing, three decomposed granite parking lots with landscaping throughout the park.

Sacramento County

• Galt: City of Galt,Walker Park Phase II:$2,650,000to expand the park by creating three new lighted baseball/softball fields, restrooms, storage building, bleachers, pedestrian connection path, landscaping and parking.

San Bernardino County

• Colton:City of Colton,Chavez Park Improvement Project:$1,015,200to create a shade structure over the playground, new ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) walkways/trails and sidewalk for connectivity, landscaping, trees, lighting throughout the park, and six hydration stations. Renovate two tennis courts into a futsal court, playground, and an outdoor fitness circuit with lighting.

San Luis Obispo County

• Cambria:Cambria Community Services District,Cambria Skatepark:$600,000to create a new skatepark facility with a seating section with shade structure, landscaping, parking lot and restroom stall.

Santa Clara County

• Milpitas: City of Milpitas,Delano Manongs Dog Park:$301,516to create a new dog park for large dogs by installing asphalt and decomposed granite, concrete paving, fencing, signage, site furnishings, landscaping and irrigation throughout the park.

Following NPS approval, granteeswill participatein a mandatorygrantadministrationworkshop, receive grant contractsfrom State Parks, andbegin work to complete theirprojects.

Since 1965, this grant program has provided funding to cities, counties, eligible districts and state agencies to create outdoor recreational resources.

State Parksdevelops grant programs to providefundingfor local, stateandnonprofitorganization projects.Since1964,morethan 8,000 local parksthroughout Californiahave been created or improvedfrom grantfunding. Since 2000,the department hasadministeredapproximately$3 billion in grantfundingthroughout California. Formoreinformation,please visitparks.ca.gov/grants.

Four of every 10 Californians have no access to open space within walking distance of their home, and six of every 10 Californians live in park-poor neighborhoods. Programs such as the LWCF help advance the "Outdoor Access for All " initiative championed by Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the Natural Resources Agency's "Outdoors for All" initiative. This effort expands outdoor access to all Californians through focused investments in open space infrastructure, outdoor programming, and improvements to permit applications, with a priority to expanding access in underserved communities.

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California State Parks provides for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high quality outdoor recreation.

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