July 1, 1999

Dear Friend of Parks and Recreation:

This letter is being sent to those individuals who have communicated to the Department of Parks and Recreation an interest in being kept informed regarding the Department's current Park Capacity and Use Study Issue.

Attached for your use is staff's revised Work Plan for that Study Issue. Please note that this is a multi-year study, with the first year devoted to determining whether or not the City's parks are taxed beyond capacity. A professional consultant firm has been hired to help answer that question, and that firm is in the process of developing its information-gathering strategies. A good deal of data gathering will occur during the coming summer months, when the parks are used to their fullest. Please also note the opportunity to attend future Parks and Recreation Commission/City Council study sessions on this subject. While no public comment is received at study sessions, interested members of the public are encouraged to attend in order to stay informed.

Two side notes: First, the Parks and Recreation Department has received for many years occasional concerns from park neighbors regarding such issues as noise, dogs off leash, and illegal parking. These are not park capacity issues and will not be directly dealt with by this study. The City will, however, continue to work with residents in an attempt to be good stewards and to resolve related issues operationally (both on a case by case basis, and via review of related administrative policies). There is also a more pertinent Study Issue governing Park Enforcement Issues which the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council will consider studying in the year 2000.

Second, we have heard lately from several citizens a concern regarding the use of Sunnyvale's parks by non-residents. As a result, the current study will seek to determine not only whether the parks are used to capacity, but the extent to which that use is influenced by non-residents. If the initial phase of this study indicates there is a park capacity problem, staff will be prepared to identify how much of that problem is related to non-residents. If, on the other hand, the initial phase of this study indicates we do not have a park capacity problem, the issue of non-resident versus resident use would become a separate, unrelated topic for possible future study.

If you would like more information regarding the Park Capacity and Use study, please call Superintendent of Parks, Curtis Black (730-7596) or myself (730-7516). We'd be happy to discuss related issues with you.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Walker
Director of Parks and Recreation