Walnut Creek Parks and Planning Commission Meeting – May 14, 2026
Walnut Creek City Meeting – May 14, 2026
This meeting combined updates from the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Commission and the Planning Commission, along with public comments, staff announcements, and a decision on a food truck special use permit. (Note: The transcript includes a portion explicitly dated April 9, 2026, but the overall meeting date provided is May 14, 2026. This summary treats the entire transcript as the May 14 meeting.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barbara commented on Boundary Oaks golf course, stating it is not fully self-funding because the general fund provided a low-interest loan for the driving range. She also raised maintenance concerns about bike jumps at Diablo Shadows Park and along the Ignacio Canal Trail, asking that staff address them. Barbara deferred further open-space comments to the June meeting.
- Jim Harrison, representing the Model Railroad Club at Larkey Park, reported that parking lot lights are insufficient, creating a safety hazard for elderly patrons who may fall in the dark. He noted that one light is motion-sensored (staff clarified it is always on) and another was turned away from the lot. Staff acknowledged the issue and said it would be prioritized.
Discussion Items
- Parks and Open Space Update: Staff (Mike) reported that two new permanent pickleball courts opened at Heather Farm, bringing the total to five at that location and 13 citywide. Rudgear courts operate as drop-in play (no fee, structured by the Diablo Pickleball Club); Heather Farm courts have a fee and are more structured. San Miguel Park is underutilized; the dog park area has moisture issues leading to digging, and the park lacks restrooms, has a half basketball court in poor condition, and is not up to city standards. Staff suggested exploring improvements similar to the Northgate renovation. A previous community garden initiative at San Miguel (2014) was rejected by the HOA; similar gardens were built at Heather Farm and planned for Arbolato. Other parks discussed: Heather Farm’s museum (Wonder Creek Historical Society, used for youth programs and events), Tice Valley (recently lighted playground; potential pickleball relocation from Rudgear under consideration), Valley Verde (small pass-through park), and Walden Disc Golf Course (successful volunteer partnership, regional draw with 400–500 club members). The open-space portion was deferred to the June meeting for a deeper discussion on history and challenges.
- Planning Commission – Special Use Permit for Ignacio Center Food Trucks (1990 N. California Blvd): Associate Planner Curtis Sawyer presented a request from Hall Equities Group to operate up to four food trucks twice weekly (Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) in an existing pedestrian courtyard. No alcohol sales. The use is not classified in the zoning ordinance, requiring a special use permit. Staff supported the permit, finding it consistent with general plan goals for economic vitality and regional destination. The permit has no expiration date (staff corrected an earlier two-year reference). Public hearing was held with no speakers. The commission amended the effective date to 10 days after mailing (April 19, 2026). Motion passed unanimously (7–0).
- Mitchell Town Homes Update: Staff reported that on Tuesday of the same week, City Council upheld the Planning Commission’s February 12, 2026 decision, approved the project, certified the EIR, and denied both appeals.
- TransPAC Update: Vice Chair reported that the Central Contra Costa Transportation Authority is evaluating funding applications with twice the requests as available funds. Walnut Creek, Concord, Choice in Aging, and Rossmore presented transportation projects for limited-access populations.
- Staff Announcements: Community Service Day is April 18, 2026. Art and Wine Festival will be at Civic Park on June 6 and 7 (dates to be confirmed). The Planning Commission meeting of April 23 is canceled; the May 14 meeting will include items on short-term rentals, Galpa Gacho appeal, and Restoration Hardware.
- Commissioner Request: A commissioner asked about field visits to parks. Staff agreed to schedule dates for commissioners to tour sites.
- Leaf Blower Ban: A promotional video (featuring Ollie the owl and staff member Brandon) announced that the city banned gas-powered leaf blowers effective April 1, 2026, after resident petitions and letters.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Special use permit for Ignacio Center food trucks (7–0) with corrected effective date.
- Deferred: Open space discussion to the June PROS Commission meeting.
- Referred: Larkey Park lighting issue to staff update at next PROS meeting.
- Directed: Staff to arrange field visits for commissioners.
- Noted: City Council final decision on Mitchell Town Homes; leaf blower ban effective April 1, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
We opened up the two new courts at um permanent courts at Heather Farm and then we have three other courts that uh double on the practice court there. So basically about five courts uh at Heather Farm. So we're up to what's that 13 courts citywide. Um the challenge with the courts at Rudgear is I I'm sure there's gonna be more demand. I don't know if there's no more space or or not the space obviously isn't gonna grow, but I mean timing for more people to play because it is so active over there, it'd be interesting. And the pickleball courts at in Heather Farm continue to get more and more active too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's great. How does the pickleball is that uh pi picklewall courts preservation system work? Is it the same as the tennis courts? At Heather Farm? Uh at Rutgear. Uh Rudgear, it's just drop-in play. Oh, just walk. They they have the they have a uh I think it's a Walnut Creek or uh Diablo Pickleball Club, something along those lines that's pretty well structured, and so they they structure it themselves. That there's no fee to play uh at Rudgear. There is a fee uh to play at um at Heather Farm, and that's why it's more structured at Heather Farm, yeah. Yeah. So Sam Miguel, um, I was sharing this with the with the chair uh and vice chair last week. Uh Samigal's a challenge. Um it's it is a dog park uh from basically sunrise to nine, nine thirty, ten, ten thirty, eleven, somewhere in there. Um it's really nine, nine thirty, but it it drags on because the park is so underutilized. Um you know the the we get a lot of runoff from the hills around and so the grass can stay moist, which gives an opportunity for dogs to dig. Uh and they do I don't want to say damage, but they they're uh a maintenance challenge. The the park is really activated by the neighborhood um in terms of the dog use out there. I'm not proposing that we take away the dog use at all. Um but it would really be there's a lot of opportunity to improve this park. It is definitely not up to Walnut Creek standard. Um we we've had some uh conversations uh and some plans to improve this park in the past. We've had uh community conversations uh which didn't go very far. Um and so the park is kind of sat uh in the condition it is now. I mean we we resurfaced the tennis courts uh several years back. Um they're they're used. It's a it's a really great spot. Uh pickup spot. The challenge at at uh San Miguel Park is there's no restroom facilities. Um it's great for trail access, it's easy to get on the Ignatio Canal Trail and go for a hike. Um playground is is utilized um moderately. Uh the basketball court is a individual um uh basket, so it's a half a court uh and the concrete could be improved. Uh it it's definitely a a park I I think that we should explore other opportunities uh moving forward. It c it kind of reminds me of Northgate before we renovated Northgate. It could it could definitely be improved, yeah. Can you go back for a second? Yep. So um I noticed you said under opportunities it lists community gardens and in the tenure plan, there's a section at the back that talks about um additional work that they look at and one of the things that they looked at, for example, were was creek restoration, a parkour, bocce, but they also had community gardens, and apparently in 2014 the council city council asked pros to look into that and find out what the opportunities were. So I've never seen that report or anything, kinda didn't really even know they'd looked at it before, but um is there a report from that effort? Is that before your time or no, no, there's a there is a report that I can share. Uh it was one of these subcommittees that we put together. And and it was back when Mr. Simmons was still uh Bob Simmons.
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