APB Archives

HOME AVENUE PARK SITE (Nov 02, 03)

WHAT IS IT? WHERE IS IT? Nov 02, 03)

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For a considerable time now, our neighbors in Islenair and Ridgeview and
Fairmount Park have been working on the expansion of the Central Police
Maintenance Facility. It is presently located downtown at 12th/J Streets, and
it has to move to make room for the new city library. It will come out to
where the Police Pistol Range is.
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For a considerable time now, a small group of neighbors has been pursuing the
purchase of that large parcel on the South side of Home Avenue, just below
Euclid Avenue, just South of the Home Handy and the apartments there. It is
almost six acres and has a branch of Auburn Creek flowing through it. The
group had been able to assemble about 2/3 of the needed money, but was not
able to get the rest scrapped together into one pot.
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To shorten a very long story, the Central Police Facility was required to make substantial park and open space mitigations as part of its approval process. The city decided (with some prompting) that the Home Avenue parcel would do the job. When the Central Police Facility was approved by the City Council, one of the authorizations was to purchase the parcel and put it to park and open space uses. The parcel was subsequently purchased and the escrow closed late in October.
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The job now is to find money to develop the site. The director for Parks and
Recreation has promised maximum effort to find money for the site, and I'm
sure the 4th Council District (the parcel is in CD-4) will help us find money. Some city money can be used, some grants and foundation money is available, State Proposition 40 money might be available, etc. It might also take a citizen clean-up effort, to get all the junk cleared out from the Auburn
Creek. We have done enough packer cleanups, that we know how to do it.
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