The Menifee Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission raised concerns at its Thursday meeting over a proposed access road through Spirit Park that would serve the Boulders II apartment development.
Boulders II is a proposed 240-unit multifamily development on approximately 10 acres north of Newport Road and east of Berea Road. The project would have two access points, one through the existing Boulders I development and another connecting directly to Newport Road through a portion of Spirit Park.
Commissioners ultimately deferred a decision on the project’s Quimby assessment to a future meeting, citing concerns about the loss of parkland, safety and the proposed dog parks.
Planning Manager Ryan Fowler said the project was initially proposed with access through Harzburg Road, but city staff asked the developer to instead connect to Newport Road after hearing concerns about directing traffic through the existing neighborhood.
“We understood from the community and also our engineering department that we did not want to send 240 residents down through the existing residential community,” Fowler said.
The proposed road would take up approximately one-tenth of an acre of Spirit Park in an area that currently consists of passive turf and landscaped slopes. As part of the proposal, the developer would build separate public dog parks for large and small dogs on approximately one acre of parkland east of the new road.
The dog parks would count toward the developer’s required parkland contribution under the city’s Quimby ordinance. Under the assessment presented Sept. 3, the developer would receive 1.03 acres of credit for the public improvements, along with credit for private recreational amenities within the development, and pay remaining park fees.
Commissioners questioned whether the dog parks would make up for the impact to Spirit Park.
Chair David Foust said the proposed dog parks appeared undersized and questioned how useful they would be to the public because of their location and limited nearby parking. He also noted that another dog park is located nearby at E.L. Pete Peterson Park.
“Are we compromising that just to be able to say we did something here in this park?” Foust asked.
Commissioner Tom Giedroyce expressed concern about losing passive park space when the city already has less parkland than its goal of five acres per 1,000 residents.
“This doesn’t add anything to that. It detracts from it,” Giedroyce said. “A dog park is also, in my mind, very specific to a group of people exclusively. It doesn’t give the community at large a benefit, and even passive park space is a general benefit to everyone.”
Commissioners also questioned whether allowing a road through an existing park could set a precedent.
When asked whether the city had previously bisected a park for a development, Fowler said he could not recall a similar situation during his approximately 15 years with the city.
Commissioner Laz Peterson raised concerns about whether the city was taking on too much of the impact to accommodate the development and suggested looking at other possibilities.
Commissioners also raised concerns about pedestrian and bicycle safety where the proposed road would connect with Newport Road. They asked staff to look into additional public outreach.
The Boulders II public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9. The project will also require City Council approval.
