Beginning in the middle of July, the city of Beverly Hills will begin a public engagement plan to gather feedback for La Cienega Park improvements.

Community outreach that will be conducted over La Cienega Park improvements this fall. (photo courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills)

Addressing the city’s needs at La Cienega Park was one of the priorities the Beverly Hills City Council had adopted for fiscal year 2017-18.

The budget for the park will be approximately $8-9 million, city staff told the council during its final June study session. Councilwoman Lili Bosse said it’s important for the city to avoid a previous scenario at Roxbury Park, when projected costs for improvements were “fluctuating.”

“The numbers were fluctuating and some of the proposed conversations and ideas were taking the renovation to $20- to $30- to $40-million and numbers that went on and on and on,” Bosse said. “I’m happy to see that we’re not leading the witness, that we’re essentially taking in and learning what the vision is of our community. But I also want to know we have a specific budget.

“I don’t want to have this go awry,” she continued. “I want to make sure we understand what we’re looking at.”

The city has a four month engagement plan that includes focus groups, town hall meetings and an online survey tool. Groups the city will seek feedback from include city commissions, homeowners associations and the mayor’s strategic planning taskforce.

“As we continue, if there are any ideas about how we can make the process more inclusive, we’ll do that,” Vice Mayor John Mirisch said. “And it’s time. La Cienega, any time you go there, we recognize something needs to be done.”

La Cienega Park has undergone plenty of changes since it became a park in 1928, according to city staff. Olympic swimmers trained at a pool in the park for the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Today, it accommodates two large fields for fall sports in a space that is converted to three baseball diamonds each spring. Beverly Hills American Youth Soccer Organization, Beverly Hills Little League and the Beverly Hills High School baseball team use the park. It also has four picnic tables.

The park’s playground equipment was installed nine years ago, with an expected lifespan of 12-15 years, according to city staff. An outdoor fitness equipment area was added four years ago. Its community center, built in 1981 and used for a wide array of city programming, has an auditorium, dance room, meeting room and a city-operated preschool room. Over the past two years, its roof has been sealed, and heating and air conditioning systems have been repaired.

Later during its regular meeting, the City Council unanimously approved an agreement between the city and California State University, Sacramento, for the school’s College of Continuing Education for public outreach. Council members said the university will bring a measure of impartiality to consider the best options for the park.

“[The college], along with the Community Services Department, will provide content about planning, park design, and associated program elements and requirements throughout the process with the intent that collected data is neutral and not influenced by any specific architectural or landscaping vision for the site,” said Nancy Hunt-Coffey, the city’s director of community services, in a report to the council. “Staff feels that the primary purpose of this project should be to focus on what the Beverly Hills community and its constituents envision for La Cienega Park.”

Town hall meetings, which will include visits to PTAs and other local groups, are scheduled to begin in September and October. A final report to the City Council is scheduled for late October.