Ortega Park Community Update to be Held on November 12

The City's Parks and Recreation Department will host a community event to provide an update on the Ortega Park Renewal Project and the evolution of the park’s design over the past year. The Department will also use the event to gather any final public input to refine and finalize the design before drafting construction drawings for the future park.

The event will occur on Saturday, November 12, at 1 p.m. at the Ortega Welcome House. Spanish translation services will be provided.

Updates provided by the Parks and Recreation Department will include details on the following:

--Murals and Public Art: Four community meetings informed the locations for 12 existing murals and 12 new murals.

--Community Pool: The 25-yard pool increased from 4 to 6 lanes to support expanded programming options.

--All-Wheel Park (formerly Skate Park): The skate park now has an all-wheel design suited for skateboards, scooters, bikes, rollerskates, and rollerblades.

--Community Gathering Space: The community gathering space has been expanded to support large-scale community events. This change required the removal of the bocce ball and cornhole courts, and ping-pong tables. The splash pad has also been removed, and splash features have been incorporated into the wading pool within the community pool area.

--Fencing: Fencing will be used around the pool, all-wheel park, and multi-sport field to ensure safety. The perimeter fence allowing the park to be secured after-hours has been removed.

All design refinements have been guided by public request and feedback.

Outreach for the Ortega Park Renewal Project began in 2018, and the Master Plan was released in January 2019. From there, the project moved through the planning and design review process with extensive community engagement before receiving final approval from the Planning Commission in September 2021. The November 12 meeting aims to confirm public agreement on the community-driven refinements made to the plan since the 2021 approval. The Parks and Recreation Department will then complete final construction documents and obtain building permits.

Members of the public who are unable to attend the in-person event may submit public comments by email to JVanMullem@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.