Walnut Creek PROS Commission Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
Walnut Creek PROS Commission Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
On Monday, June 1, 2026, the Walnut Creek Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Commission held a regular meeting at 6:00 PM (time inferred from agenda template). Chair Sharon Pinkstaff led the meeting with all commissioners present. The meeting included presentations from the Walnut Creek Watershed Council, Boundary Oak Golf Course, the Arts and Recreation Department, and an open space update from staff. Public comments raised concerns about PGE vegetation clearing in Lime Ridge and light pollution from the golf course driving range.
Consent Calendar
- Commission unanimously approved the minutes of the April 6, 2026 PROS Commission meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barbara Yenis (resident since 1996) reported that PGE or its contractors cleared approximately 20 Mount Diablo Manzanitas (down to stumps) and chaparral in Lime Ridge in July 2025 without prior notification to the city, despite a communication agreement. In May 2026, additional clearing occurred. She requested assurance that PGE will coordinate with the city to protect endangered plants such as Aristolochia (Ariasrum).
- Bob Weed (Walnut Creek resident, golfer) praised Tim Roberts and the golf course management, but raised concerns about light spill from the new driving range LED lights into Lime Ridge open space. He requested a photometric study and biological assessment of impacts on wildlife, citing research on artificial light at night.
- Elizabeth Hudson supported the previous speaker, noting that the open space was set aside for minimal human impact and that lights disrupt wildlife and plant circadian rhythms.
- Barbara Guinness (resident since 1996) requested regular status updates on open space projects previously discussed (drone ordinance, e-bike ordinance, social trails to official trails, Bram Hall Pond restoration, and Fossil Hill restoration), noting that some projects had not been updated for long periods.
Discussion Items
- Presentation by Walnut Creek Watershed Council (Bob Simmons): Bob Simmons, former commissioner, presented an update on the Walnut Creek Watershed Council's restoration plan (funded by a $300,000 federal Bureau of Reclamation grant, due December 2026). He described the 146-square-mile watershed, 90 restoration projects, and 20 named creeks in Walnut Creek. Key opportunities included Heather Farm Park restoration, Hazard Pond off-site mitigation (with 30 trees, 50 shrubs, and 1,000 grass/forb plugs), Tice Creek erosion in Rossmoor, and fish passage at drop structure No. 1 (where salmon once migrated). The plan aims to guide restoration for 20–30 years. Commissioners discussed partnering for capital budgets and youth involvement (e.g., Friends of Concord Creeks).
- Presentation by Boundary Oak Golf Course (Tim Roberts, Arts & Recreation): Tim Roberts reported strong financial performance (outperforming budget, two reserve accounts totaling ~$1.75 million), a new driving range (opened one year ago) with LED lights and a practice putting green, and a full-service food and beverage program. The course does about 76,000–78,000 rounds per year and is the second busiest in the Bay Area. Roberts noted tree management (1,300 trees, native replanting), water use from Ignacio Canal (up to 500,000 gallons/night), and wildlife programs (Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, bluebird boxes, raptor relocation). A new shade structure for the driving range is in design, expected completion by end of 2026. The golf course supports the PGA HOPE program for veterans and First Tee youth golf. Commissioners asked about course condition improvements, marshaling, debt (tap house loan ends 2028, general fund loan of ~$4 million for driving range at 2.75% over 15 years), and light hours (range open until 9 p.m., same as before).
- Summer Program Updates (Chris Farrow, Arts & Recreation Director): Chris Farrow highlighted upcoming summer programs: Lesher Center productions (Jagged Little Pill), summer concerts (Summer Sounds), camps, swim lessons (Clark and Larkey pools, new pool construction at Heather Farm), senior services, and drop-in sports. Over 100 seasonal staff are being hired. Commissioners asked about new specialized recreation aquatics programs, picnic reservations, and soccer field access (fields locked to preserve turf, staff supervision required per council direction; pilot program had issues with scooters and dog waste).
- Open Space Summary (Mike Vickers, Assistant Public Works Director): Mike Vickers provided detailed status of open space properties: Acalanes (200 acres, goat grazing, off-leash dogs), Howe Homestead (49 garden plots, 5–6 year waitlist), Lime Ridge (1,200 acres, cattle grazing, off-leash variations by zone), Borges Ranch (20 acres, 10–12 weddings/year, camping for nonprofits), Shell Ridge (1,500 acres, cattle grazing, Fossil Hill restoration project—poppies did not superbloom in 2026), Sugarloaf (smallest, cattle grazing, off-leash dogs). Paved trail system (Ignacio Canal Trail, 5.5–6 miles). Staff is upgrading trail signs (200 total, 60 installed). Bram Hall Pond desilting (seventh pond) pending Fish and Wildlife permit, planned August/September 2026. Drone policy update delayed due to Heather Farm project; e-bike rules follow state guidelines for class 1 and 2; social trail formalization ongoing with Concord (two trails recently authorized). Commissioners discussed cattle grazing (rotational grazing ended due to cost and fence cutting; one aggressive cattle incident in 5 years), water availability at trailheads (cost prohibitive, ~$70k-$80k per drinking fountain), and pond desilting schedule (Bram Hall 2026, Twin Ponds 2027, Indian Valley Pond by 2029–2030).
Key Outcomes
- The consent calendar (minutes) was approved unanimously.
- Staff will follow up on the public request regarding a photometric study and biological assessment of light impacts from the Boundary Oak driving range, with an update at the next PROS meeting.
- Staff will revisit the open space mineral rights inquiry with legal and provide an update at the next meeting.
- Staff will continue monthly coordination with Concord on formalizing social trails.
- Commissioner requested that staff bring a status update on the drone ordinance to the next meeting.
- Youth Commissioner Eli attended his last meeting; commissioners thanked him and presented a token of appreciation.
- The next meeting will include staff updates on the light study decision and open space action items.
Commissioner Announcements
- Youth Commissioner Eli departing; appreciation expressed.
- Upcoming Art and Wine Festival at Civic Park on Saturday and Sunday (noon–8 p.m. Saturday, noon–6 p.m. Sunday).
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I'm Sharon Pinkstaff, Chair of PROS Commission. Welcome to Monday, June 1st, 2026, regular PROS Commission meeting. Commission Secretary Mike Vickers, would you please call roll? Yes, student commissioner Conson. Here. Commissioner Oler. Here. Commissioner Garland. Here. Commissioner Brockhouse? Yeah. Vice Chair Sasser. Here. And Chair Pinkstaff. Here. Let the record show that everyone is present. All right. Next on the agenda is public communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda. Under the Brown Act, the Commission cannot act on items raised during public communications but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed. Request clear clarification or refer the item to staff. Written comments submitted have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record. Any public comments? Yeah, you have two uh minutes to comment on item and state the name and just city of residence for the record. You can fill out the card, Barbara, afterwards. Hello, my name is Barbara Yenis. I've been a resident of Walnut Creek since 1996. Um you may or may not know that uh areas around the um power lines in Lime Ridge were cleared by probably PGE or PGE contractors. This was back in July 2025. Um when they cleared, they cleared about 20 Mount Diablo Manzanitas down to the ground level and just left stumps, and chaparral was totally cleared in another area where there's a California endangered native plant called the Ariasrum. Uh I have I put I wrote an email and gave you some information on the uh ranking of these plants and shrubs. Um apparently there was a uh apparently city staff did not uh or has an agreement with PGE that would that PGE would contact them before they do any work within Lime Ridge, but in early uh July 2025, this did not happen. Um in late uh July 2025, city staff met with PGE representatives and city staff uh assured that an agreement email stating uh the need to communicate more often and communication with PN PGE will continue to improve and this will help prevent future challenges. Then in May 2026, just just happened, uh apparently PGE workers or contractors, I think, although I haven't verified this with city as I haven't been contacted. Uh they went up there and did further clearing around the power lines down to the ground level. So there were things that were growing back and took them all down. I uh citizens notified staff on 522 is right before labor day or memorial day, and um uh appears, additional clearing except for a small area was was not continued. So um, okay. I just have a remaining question. If uh city staff uh uh it doesn't have the okay from PG and E that they're gonna contact them before something needs to be done to protect some of the endangered plants and things. Thank you very much. Sorry for being out of breath. All right, thank you. Commissioners, um, any questions the public comments? Thank you. Any other public comments? No. All right. We'll move to the next portion of the agenda, consent calendar.
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