Community Meeting to Advance Mast Park Master Plan Effort

The city of Santee is seeking public comment on a preferred alternative design that would serve as a blueprint for future improvements at Mast Park.

A public workshop to discuss the recommended design plan from Schmidt Design Group has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct 6 at the Santee City Hall complex, Building 7, 10601 Magnolia Avenue, Santee, CA  92071.

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

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 at two previous public workshops held in June and July provided valuable feedback that helped to shape the preferred alternative, which calls for:

• Retaining the park's natural, rustic character;
• Installing additional picnic shelters to accommodate larger gatherings;
• Replacing the restroom with one that is water and energy efficient;
• Dividing the 2.4-acre off-leash dog park into two zones, one for small dogs and another for big dogs;
• Constructing new picnic pavilions, creating an area for fitness equipment, installing a 1-mile-long loop trail; and
• Adding 60 new parking spaces.

The Santee City Council is expected to review and adopt a final master plan design later this year or 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, a countywide initiative promoting wellness and addressing the nationwide obesity epidemic.

Healthy Works 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.