The county Board of Supervisors Wednesday voted 4-0 to certify an environmental report and authorize a construction bid for a planned park in the community of Alpine.
Located near South Grade and Tavern roads, the county-managed park will be built in phases, and ultimately feature 25 acres for active recreation and 73 acres for an open-space nature preserve.
The first phase will begin next spring and completed in winter 2025, at a cost of $11.4 million. Features include utilities, trail connections, playgrounds, an off-leash dog and equestrian staging area, picnic spaces, a community garden, a park office and restrooms, sports courts, a volunteer pad and parking.
Supervisors also approved setting up an “all-way stop” traffic safety measure at South Grade Road and Calle de Compadres.
Future park phases will include utilities, grading, a multi-purpose grass area, baseball field, all-wheel area, a bike skills course, fitness stations, a multi-purpose building, a second restroom, and additional trails and parking.
When fully developed, the Alpine Community Park is estimated to cost $45.5 million, according to the county.
According to the county Land Use & Environment Group, the county Department of Parks and Recreation has been working with residents since 2019 on the park’s amenities. DPR conducted five community meetings from 2021 to 2023.
Residents said they wanted access to nature, playgrounds, mountain biking and restrooms, among other features. In April 2021, the Alpine Community Planning Group voted in favor of the park. During a public comment period, park supporters praised the park’s future recreational benefits.
Travis Lyon, chairman of Alpine Community Planning Group, thanked DPR for finding a suitable site and creating amenities that residents desire. He said the park is away from Wright’s Field, an ecological preserve.
“I live right across the street from this project, and I can’t imagine a better result for Wright’s Field,” Lyon said, adding the project is near the village core and can be accessed by an existing network of trails.
“This has received a ton of support in our community,” he said. “I trust you won’t let another generation of kids go without a proper park in Alpine.”
George Barnett, an Alpine resident and former planning group member, said the park will “address long-standing social inequity, and that is the sparsity of parkland for community health and outdoor recreation.”
Detractors said the park wasn’t a good fit for the location and asked the board to postpone its decision and review the environmental impact report. James Mason, a member of Preserve Alpine’s Heritage board, said the EIR is “fraught with error,” uses outdated population standards and has a faulty analysis on species impact.
He added there are also significant public safety issues, including wildfire risk.
Alpine resident Julie Simper said she and other opponents are not against a park, but expected a project half the size of what’s planned and more nature-based. Simper said that she and others were told that if they didn’t support the current project, they might not get anything or that the space would be used for low-income apartments.
“Every time you’ve asked for our public input, we’ve stepped up,” Simper said, adding that at least two-thirds of the community responded that they’re concerned over the design. “Doesn’t that count for something?” she asked. “Can’t we do better than this?”
Other opponents mentioned concerns over the park damaging native grassland, and pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Supervisor Joel Anderson, whose district includes Alpine, said the project was long overdue. Anderson said that as a 35-year resident of Alpine who has lived in the same house, a park “was promised to my children.”
“Now I have grandchildren, and I’d like for my grandchildren to play in it in my lifetime,” Anderson added. He said that while he appreciated all the rich people who live in a gated community across the street with their own play areas, “there are a lot of poor kids in Alpine who have no place to play.”
Anderson said he has hosted community coffee minutes, and listened to park opponents with an open mind.
However, Anderson said when he hears people say they want a park, but “not here, not with this, not with that,” it means they don’t support one.
“They’re looking for perfect, when really the community needs good,” Anderson said, adding that more Alpine residents with children didn’t have time to voice their opinion at Wednesday’s meeting, as they’re busy taking their children to other regional parks, including ones in El Cajon.
Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe said she didn’t believe there was a reason to delay the park project. “I think it will be a good thing for this community overall,” she added.
Board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was not present when the board voted to advance the park project Wednesday, but was in attendance later in the meeting.
City News Service contributed to this article.