Second Public Workshop Scheduled for Mast Park Master Plan Effort

The city of Santee is seeking public comment on a draft master plan to guide the future redevelopment of Mast Park, the city's oldest and, at 95 acres, its largest park.

A public workshop to discuss three design alternatives developed for the park by Schmidt Design Group has been scheduled for 7 p.m. August 17 at the City Hall complex, Building 7, 10601 Magnolia Avenue, Santee, CA 92071.

The workshop will be the second public meeting held to gather the public's ideas and feedback on the new master plan, which is intended to ensure the park meets the long-term needs of the community.

One focus of the plan is to incorporate a health and wellness element into future improvements and to consider new amenities that promote physical activity and improved public health.

Residents who attended the initial public meeting on June 2 offered numerous suggestions for improving the park, including:

• Installing additional picnic shelters to accommodate larger gatherings;
• Retain the rustic feel of the park;
• Add new features that appeal to adolescents and teens, such as a rock climbing wall;
• Divide the 2.4 acre off-leash dog park into two zones, one for small dogs and another for big dogs; and
• Consider alternative designs that would improve parking and safety.

Since that meeting, Schmidt Design Group has refind the ideas into three draft conceptual plans that, once narrowed to a preferred altnerative, would provide the city with a blueprint for redeveloping the park should funds become available.

The Santee City Council is expected to review and adopt a final master plan design later this year or in early 2012.

Funding for this project has been assisted by a Healthy Communities Planning Grant from the San Diego Association of Governments.  The grant is a component of Healthy Works^SM, a countywide initiative promoting wellness and addressing the nationwide obesity epidemic.

Healthy Works^SM is administered by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.