Honoring Community Needs + Preserving Ecological Heritage
Flood Park serves a range of communities as well as regional visitors, providing a venue for picnics, gathering spaces, play equipment, sports, passive recreation, birding, and more. The County and CMG developed a robust community engagement strategy that focuses on equity and reaching a broad audience from across the community of park users. The outreach included virtual and in-person workshops, a series of pop-up events, an online survey and an advisory Working Group representing various stakeholder interests. To maximize opportunities for community members to give feedback, events were held online, at local community centers and at the park and all materials are available in English and Spanish. Almost 800 people responded to the online survey, and several hundred provided feedback during the first Realize Flood Park workshop and subsequent community events at Casa Circulo Cultural in North Fair Oaks and a Movie Night at the park.
(1) Drop-off/Arrival; (2) Focal Element; (3) Gathering Plaza; (4) Preserved Administrative Office; (5) Amphitheater; (6) All Abilities Play Area (7) Adventure Play; (8) Seating; (9) Ballfield/Multi-use Sport Field; (10) Multi-use Sport Field; (11) Basketball; (12) Tennis/Pickleball; (13) Sand Volleyball; (14) Pump Track; (15) Trail W Exercise Station; (16) Reservable Picnic Area; (17) Renovated Oak Picnic Area; (18) Demonstration Gardens; (19) Restrooms; (20) Existing Parking Lot; (21) New Parking
The outreach and survey responses indicated strong support for each of the park programs while minimizing tree removals and preserving the heart of the historic oak woodland. The revised design honors the community’s interest in preserving the native landscape and the oak woodland by reconfiguring the layout of facilities and pathways to reduce the removal of existing heritage trees. Through this new plan, Flood Park will improve the diversity and resiliency of the urban forest, rehabilitate and expand recreational facilities for youth and families, accommodate simultaneous use by organized sports teams and drop-in play, and illustrate important histories and stories of the communities who have shaped the land.
