Standard Pacific Park heads to Planning Commission

Commissioners will consider the major use permit, design review permit and coastal development permit for the proposed Standard Pacific Park in Leucadia on the southeast corner of Piraeus and Olympus streets.

Staff is recommending approval, as the park has received little public opposition as it has breezed through several previous hearings. Most recently in March 2018, the City Council unanimously approved the park’s design concept.

The city purchased the sloping, 3.1-acre property in 2000 with the intent to transform it into a park for the neighborhood east of Interstate 5 and north of Leucadia Boulevard.

The final design includes a basketball/pickleball sports court, a dog park, a skate park structure, an “adventure path” up the 68-percent grade slope between the western and eastern segments of the park, a 100-foot zip line, playgrounds, shade structures and terraced seating.

But officials said the most unique amenity in the park is the all-wheel pump track, a bicycle track with rolling jumps and turns that, according to one website, “teaches the basic skills of carrying momentum, balance and speed by using your arms and legs to pump your bike/board/scooter around the track.” The track can be used by riders of all levels.

City officials said the property’s somewhat steep east to west grade made some of the park’s more unique features, such as the pump track, zip line and adventure path, possible.

At a recent City Council meeting, staff informed the council that construction is now expected to begin during the first part of 2020, with the park expecting to open in the fall of 2020.

The Planning Commission meets 6 p.m. Thursday, June 6 at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue.