Andy's Unity Park - Project Detail

Project Process

Design Development & Construction

Based on the approved Master Plan, Regional Parks worked with a design consultant along with members of the community team develop the detailed design plans for the park.

The Park Steering Committee met on May 26, 2016 to update members on the administrative progress made to date including project funding and environmental permitting efforts. The Committee was also engaged in a discussion regarding key areas and features of the park including the Teen Zone, play area, kiosco area, and the memorial landscape. Members offered suggestions, helped to refine the agenda, and proposed materials for the first of two Design Development Community Workshops.

Download Graphic: Andy's Unity Park Overall Plan, October 27, 2016

The construction documents were developed based on input received at the above series of public workshops and steering committee meetings. Design and engineering drawings and bid documents were completed and put out for competitive bidding in October, and four bids were received on November 9, 2016.

Due to a bid protest following the evaluation period, the County Board of Supervisors elected to reject all bids in December 2016, and directed Regional Parks to revise and re-release an the project plans for bidding.

Updated plans and bid documents were advertised for bidding at the end of January 2017, and the project was awarded in March to the low bidder, Argonaut Constructors. Construction began on May 30, 2017 and was completed in May, 2018. The opening celebration was held on Saturday, June 2, 2018.

Master Planning & Naming the Park

Prior to the Design Development and Construction Documents phases, a draft Master Plan was created for the neighborhood park on the corner of Moorland Ave and W. Robles in unincorporated Southwest Santa Rosa. Regional Parks contracted with Royston, Hanamoto, Alley and Abey (RHAA) along with Shared Spaces to lead a participatory, community-based design process. After meeting with various stakeholders and neighborhood residents the team organized a steering committee who met regularly and participated in the leadership of the project along with Regional Parks and the design consultants. The steering committee helped to plan and de-brief a series of four public workshops outlined below that took place during the fall of 2015.

Each workshop was designed around the particular phase in the process to maximize the community’s participation in the key decisions that will define their park. In the beginning the process was clearly outlined, and important project parameters, such as budget and site constraints, were described. When limitations existed, information was shared up front and participants engaged in considering the trade-offs. Whenever possible and appropriate the team started with a blank page, rather than a proposal, and throughout the process the project team utilized a variety of communication techniques to be sure everyone’s voice was equally heard.

In addition to all the work that went into determining what elements would be included in the plan, and how best to lay them out on the site, a significant amount of discussion time in the meetings was also devoted to the question of how the park should be named.

While the working title for the Master Planning project continues to be ‘Moorland Neighborhood Park’, it became clear that the community desired a name for the park that reflects the neighborhood and importantly pays tribute to the life of Andy Lopez who was shot and killed on the site. Various name proposals were forwarded during the process, and at their last meeting on December 3, 2015, the steering committee earnestly attempted to reach consensus on a name to propose for the park plan. After three rounds of voting and much discussion the two names with the most support from the group were “Andy’s Unity Park” (receiving 71% support) and “Andy Lopez Memorial Park” (receiving 43% support). Both names were considered along with the Master Plan at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC) Meeting on January 25, 2016.

County Meetings

County Review Meetings

County Environmental Review Committee Meeting (ERC): The meeting was held on January 5th and the committee unanimously agreed that the Mitigated Negative Declaration was the correct environmental document and recommended to proceed pursuant to CEQA.

Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission meeting (PRAC): The project was presented at the January 25th meeting of the Commission. The meeting was well attended by members of the public. After a number of public comments and some discussion, the Commission unanimously voted to recommend the Draft Master Plan with the preferred park name of “Andy’s Unity Park” to the Board of Supervisors for approval.