Item 13 - City of Santa Ana 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report_20240313225459475

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19 Access to Parks Park space is a limited and valuable resource that provides multiple benefits to those living and working in Santa Ana. It provides a place of relaxation and reprieve from the urban environment. It also offers a place to gather, celebrate, learn, or exercise, whether one is alone, with friends or family, or with other members of the community. The City boasts a variety of resources and provides hundreds of acres for public open space and recreation. However, many neighborhoods in the city continue to lack public parks in the amount and proximity needed to adequately service residents. The City’s General Plan provides goals and policies to explore ways to provide parkland at a ratio of three acres per 1,000 residents citywide and a more equitable distribution across the many neighborhoods that make up Santa Ana. New Park Development The General Plan and the Parks Master Plan (PMP) have stated goals of providing parkland within a 10-minute walk of all residents, and a ratio of three acres of parkland per 1,000 residents citywide. In an effort to work toward the General Plan and PMP objectives, the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency added Ed Caruthers Park to its inventory. This new 1.18-acre neighborhood park is located on two City-owned parcels at the northeast corner of Raitt Street and Myrtle Street. This project includes on- site storm water Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to infiltrate storm water runoff not only from the park itself but also from the surrounding neighborhood. When it rains, storm water runoff from the surrounding neighborhood and new park will flow into the Bioretention Basins and subsurface infiltration system and will percolate back down into the ground. The project is designed to capture approximately 5.3 acre-feet per year of storm water from the 10-acre drainage area, helping to improve water quality in the Newport Bay watershed, enhance local water supplies, and reduce flooding. The official ribbon cutting was on October 17, 2023. Open Space Acquisition The City continues to make strategic investments in parks and open space to provide capital improvements and neighborhood amenities. During the course of 2023, the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency acquired eight parcels at 10th and Flower »Above: Ed Caruthers’ Park Tot Lot.