On Monday, May 7, the Rec Department presented a plan to renovate Linda Beach playfield to the Piedmont City Council. Recreation Director Sara Lillevand lead the presentation and answered questions about the 35% Conceptual Design for the Linda Beach Master Plan.

The plan is only 35 percent complete, as the Rec Department is still working with the community and GROUNDWORKS Office, a landscaping company, to complete the design. Senior Associate of GROUNDWORKS Office Will Smith explained the initial layout and goals for the project. 

The main goal of the renovation is to relocate the daycare facility, known as the Tot Lot, repair the tennis courts, and build a skatepark, Smith said. In addition, two new picnic areas will be built along with an open, public space where the Tot Lot is currently located. This plan will make no changes to the play field itself or the walkway from the field to the main campus. 

Lillevand said the idea for renovations to Linda Beach field arose in 2016 and progressed from there. 

Before going to the City Council, Lillevand and her team held two meetings with residents and community members to hear their comments and suggestions for the plan. Lillevand also sent out a survey to the community and heard over 300 resident’s voices before arriving at the 35 percent plan.

“It will be weird to see all these changes to Beach,” said senior and former Beach student Ben Fujita. “Whatever they end up doing will be a big change.”

In his presentation, Smith said each component had an intended purpose: the movement of the Tot Lot to make parents able to watch kids on the field and at the daycare center at the same, the redesign the layout of the tennis courts to better incorporate pickleball players, and the creation of the skate park due to the demand for a more accessible one in Piedmont.

“[We want] to create a logical and flexible plan to meet the present and future needs of the City of Piedmont within the context of the neighborhood,” Lillevand said.

At the meeting, many citizens spoke out, all but a few in disapproval of the plan. The majority of the concerned citizens were there object to the skate park and idea of pickleball at the Linda Beach tennis court.

The citizens said that these two features would greatly disrupt the neighborhood as a whole, creating lots of undesirable noise that can be heard throughout the area. 

While the plan is not final, Lillevand said they will continue to listen to feedback from the community and hope to have a final, 100% complete plan by Oct. 1. Once a final design plan is reached, Lillevand and her team will start looking for funding and creating a schedule for renovations.