A newly-built playground is open for play at Creekside Park. The renovation was initiated four years ago, in 2020. Via the City of Cupertino website, construction was scheduled to begin in June 2022. However, the playground appears to have undergone renovation much later, in 2024.
The new playground brings a much-needed revitalization to Creekside Park, which is home to both a weekly farmers market and many sports and recreational activities. Below are photos and videos of the new playground:
On April 3rd, 2024, the Cupertino City Council approved a plan to renovate Memorial Park. The plan promises a plethora of amenities for the community to enjoy, from an all-inclusive playground to eight new pickleball courts. The only catch? An $84M price tag, which remains entirely unfunded and does not have a timeline.
Currently, Cupertino does not have any funds available for the $84M Memorial Park Plan. To address this, staff proposes splitting the construction costs into six phases, over an indefinite time frame. While building the park in phases might make the costs more digestible for a city in a budget deficit, it actually increases the overall cost of the project. According to the Memorial Park Specific Plan, “Though the possibility exists that the cost of construction could come down, it is expected that costs will increase based on inflation rates and other market conditions.”
In order to fund the project, staff is exploring:
Memorial Park was built in the mid-1970s, and at 22 acres, is the largest park in Cupertino. In 2020, Cupertino first presented its Parks & Recreation Master Plan to better serve the community. The plan included the goal of making Memorial Park more of a “community hub.”
In July 2022, City staff hired Gates and Associates to create a renovation plan for Memorial Park. They gathered community feedback, and found that the most-liked features of Memorial Park were its walking paths, natural areas with trees, and festival and event space. The most-desired features were:
Gates then presented design concepts that entirely reimagined Memorial Park (save for a few key features like the historic Veterans Memorial and gazebo). These plans were brought to Council in June 2023 (read our prior article for background).
Throughout the years of Memorial Park discussions, one thing has become clear: satisfying all stakeholders is a very difficult task. The June 2023 meeting was dominated by dozens of Softball and Dog Off Leash Area (DOLA) supporters protesting the elimination of the softball field. With the softball field secured in the latest plans, this group is now largely silent.
Meanwhile, a new group has emerged: pickleball players. Pickleball supporters filled the meeting hall on April 3rd, serving snacks and passing out supporter pins in the lobby. Via public comment, about half of the local Pickleball Whatsapp group lives outside of Cupertino. The diverse crowd came from far and wide to attend the Cupertino City Council Meeting, ranging from Marin and the North Bay to Union City in the East Bay. Many of the comments expressed passion for the health benefits of pickleball. Several also lobbied to ask for the pickleball courts to be expedited into an earlier phase of construction.
Part of the allure of Cupertino’s pickleball courts is that they are free. Many neighboring cities, including Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Santa Clara, and Mountain View, charge for reservation of their courts. Residents receive lower rates, while non-residents receive higher rates.
Cupertino residents questioned why noisy pickleball courts would be located next to homes. One major concern was noise from the pickleball courts. Staff measured the noise level of pickleball at about 50 decibels, which is the same noise level as the street. However, pickleball noise is sharper than traffic noise, occurring when the ball hits the paddle.
Residents also expressed concern about the loss of open space at Memorial Park. Some proposed converting existing tennis courts to pickleball courts to preserve the existing green space.
Councilmember Liang Chao proposed a friendly amendment for staff to explore reducing the cost of the Memorial Park plan. However, Mayor Sheila Mohan rejected the amendment, stating, “We’re talking about big numbers here. And we have not identified… the funding sources for this entire conceptual plan. So I don’t think the time for talking money [is now].”
Staff also agreed to explore alternate locations for the pickleball courts. “I’m very concerned about the individuals who are going to be living near where these courts are going to be,” stated Councilmember Moore. Considering that nearby De Anza College has a large number of tennis courts that can potentially be re-striped to pickleball courts, as well as parking space, Memorial Park is not the only feasible location for pickleball courts.
Given that the city cannot even afford to maintain pavement quality, sidewalk quality, or street trees for its residents, it is unclear how the $84M Memorial Park plan will ever receive sufficient funding to reach fruition.
After a year of research and community outreach, plans for a revitalized Memorial Park are moving closer to completion. The new design will provide recreational opportunities for all ages and abilities, improve upon dated facilities, and increase connectivity with more bikeways and walkways.
What’s Changing
Many of the park’s new features will occupy space that is currently not in use. The plan would turn many areas of empty lawn or plants into a multi-age playground and nature play area, additional picnic areas, upgraded bathrooms, a passive garden walk, and a bocce court. It would also include more bike paths and walkways throughout the park.
What’s Staying the Same
Some of the park’s most prominent features will remain unchanged. These include the Veteran’s Memorial, tennis courts, main event lawn, amphitheater and stage (with upgrades), gazebo picnic area, and Quinlan Community Center & Senior Center.
Source: Memorial Park Preferred Draft Concept, Presented 6/21/23
Next Steps
In order to move forward, the Cupertino City Council must approve the final Memorial Park plan. While most of the park plan put forth by city staff appears to have council support, one controversial feature generated much debate during the June 21st City Council meeting: the proposed elimination of the softball field.
Reasons for keeping the softball field:
High usage from at least 16 teams per week, including the Cupertino Girls Softball League and senior groups
Desirability of Memorial Park softball facilities versus neighboring fields (has lighting for nighttime games, a larger size appropriate for adult slow-pitch softball, and home run fencing)
Positive revenue impact for Cupertino from players who frequent its businesses before and after games, and pay fees to the City
Cost savings for Cupertino due to reduced scope of construction
Reasons for eliminating the softball field:
Community feedback. In the initial survey, respondents ranked the softball field as their least favorite feature of the park. However, via public comments during the June 21st council meeting, residents argued that not enough people had taken the survey to make it representative, and that the nature of the survey questions was flawed.
Freeing up space for other features, such as basketball and pickleball courts
After hearing public comments, the Council voted to have staff present a schematic plan including the softball field. Councilmember Kitty Moore suggested piloting a DOLA in the current softball field, since it is already unofficially frequented by many dog owners. This would help address the need for a DOLA in Memorial Park, and ensure it is kept in the final park plan even if the softball field is kept. Others suggested having fewer new parking spaces or decreasing event lawn space (formerly the drained ponds) in order to make way for the basketball and pickleball courts.
When can we expect Memorial Park renovations to begin?
During the June 21st meeting, City Manager Pamela Wu stated that we can expect construction to begin “as early as two years from today”. This would mean mid- to late 2025. However, significant changes to the plan would result in delays. The revised schematic plan is expected to be presented in a December 2023 or January 2024 City Council meeting.
How much will the Memorial Park renovations cost?
While cost estimates have not been provided, one should expect such a large-scale renovation to cost significantly more than the Jollyman Park playground renovation, which will cost about $5M for a much smaller footprint. The only portion of the project that has been funded is the design phase, with a $650,000 budget. Given that Cupertino is currently in a budget deficit and is cutting events and services, it remains to be seen how the city will fund such a large-scale park reconstruction.
“The City is facing a very tight budget now, so I hope that staff can come back with a more economical version of the plan,” stated Council Member Liang Chao during the June 21st meeting. “This has been done before. Usually in the first round, people propose a lot of ideas, and it’s very costly. Then usually we will come back with a more realistic and economical plan. That has happened for the Stevens Creek Corridor before, that has happened with the City Hall.”
Chao also questioned whether such a large-scale reconstruction was necessary. “We tried to pack in a lot of stuff in the proposed plan, but we don’t have just one park, we have many parks. Many of these nice features, even if they don’t get implemented in Memorial Park, they can get implemented in other parks in the city,” said Chao. For example, instead of replacing the highly-demanded softball field with basketball courts, residents could use the brand new basketball courts at Wilson Park.
“We spent $1.7M filling in the ponds and replacing them with grass,” said Chao during the meeting. “We should be in no rush to make a decision.”
Learn more about the Memorial Park specific plan here.
Background: The Jollyman Park All-Inclusive Playground (AIPG) project is expected to be completed by June 2024, and is fully funded. Via the city’s website, residents can expect to enjoy “supportive play theories and practices to appeal to people of all ages and abilities.”
The playground is designed by MIG, a local firm specializing in inclusive play that has also designed imaginative new playgrounds in San Jose’s Children’s Discovery Museum and Emma Prusch Farm Park. The budget for Jollyman Park’s new playground was $4.5M.
Council Decision Sparks Debate
During the May 2nd City Council meeting, Item 8, the City Council approved moving all $338,146.86 in the Art In-Lieu Fee fund into the Jollyman Park AIPG project fund. This would bring the park’s total budget to $4.9M.
The decision fueled questions over both the cost and definition of “artwork” under our Municipal Code 19.148.030 and .040. The proposal would have designated playground elements like viewing binoculars, a scavenger hunt, or multilingual tactile signs as art. Several residents raised doubts over whether these elements are unique, original, and promote artists.
City Responds With Reduced Art Proposal
The staff presented a modified proposal for Jollyman Park artwork to the Arts and Culture Commission on May 22nd. It consisted of 3 pieces, eliminating some of the more controversial items previously proposed at the City Council meeting. The commission gave guidance to staff to design the items to allow more simultaneous users, and include artists from the Bay Area if possible.
The staff will return for commission approval when designs are completed and they hope to have remaining funds which could be returned to the Art In-Lieu Fund. In addition, the commission requested that a policy procedure be developed to address the use of these funds as soon as possible.
What is the Art-in-Lieu Fund?
In 2009, the city passed an ordinance that required any large (10,000 sq. ft. or larger) new public or private development or remodel to include artwork on their property. The intent was to “enhance community character and identity,” provide the public with attractive art and “stimulate opportunities for the arts through cooperative relations between local business and the City.” If a project, for some reason, cannot provide the artwork, they are required to pay 1.25% of the construction value into the Art In-Lieu Fund. However, this option has been strongly discouraged. If they do provide the artwork, the minimum artwork value is reduced to 0.9-1.0% of the construction valuation.
Since 2009, there have been many projects required to provide artwork on their properties. Some of these projects you may be familiar with such as the Apple 2 Headquarters, Main Street, Westport Union, Marina Plaza and Public Storage. Usually, the artwork appears close to or after project completion. In fact, the Apple 2 artwork, a sculpture entitled “Mirage” is being installed now in the olive orchard of the Apple 2 Visitors Center (see plans here). The Target Remodel has yet to install their artwork (see plans here).
Public Storage is the only project since 2009 to pay the art in-lieu fee rather than provide artwork. They made their required payment of $338,146.86 about 1.5 years ago.
The Jollyman Park AIPG artwork proposal originally intended to use the entire $338,146.38 for the following interactive elements:
Decorative sun kaleidoscope feature
Interactive Musical Bench
Nature-related art, such as a bird-watching scavenger hunt, viewing binoculars, ad colorful peeking windows
Multilingual Tactile Sign
Stair Mural
Now, the funding will be limited to three pieces of art. Examples of these proposed elements can be seen here.
Issues brought up during the discussion were:
All these items must be considered “artwork” under our Municipal Code 19.148.030 and .040. Artwork is supposed to promote artists, be unique and original
Distributing the funds across multiple parks or locations was not considered
The playground’s total budget will now be nearly $5M
References
May 2, 2023 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 8: Staff Report and Attachments
Cupertino Municipal Code Section 19.148: Required Artwork in Public and Private Developments
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/cupertino/latest/cupertino_ca/0-0-0-95948
This muni code contains the following aspects of the artwork required:
Section 19.148.010 Purpose and Intent
Section 19.148.020 Applicability of Regulations
Section 19.148.030 Permitted Artwork
Section 19.148.040 Ineligible Artwork
Section 19.148.050 Application Procedures for Public Artwork
Section 19.148.060 Design Criteria and Artist Qualifications
Section 19.148.070 Minimum Artwork Value
Section 19.148.080 Maintenance Requirements
Section 19.148.090 In Lieu Payment for Artwork is Discouraged
Apple 2 Headquarts Artwork
Explanation of what the artwork represents
