The Malibu City Council agreed to implement an updated Parks and Recreation Master Plan on Monday, despite reservations over the size of the sample population surveyed to help create a new vision and a set of goals for the city’s parks and recreational facilities.
After 18 months of site visits, public meetings and surveying, the Parks and Rec department narrowed its list of goals for the next several years to three priorities: increasing the department’s visibility within the community, working to acquire land for development of more mixed use facilities and positioning the department as “an integral resource for Malibu residents.”
In input gathered through public forums and surveys, residents said they often were unaware of programs offered by the Parks and Rec Department. Many also believe the city lacks sufficient public recreational space for residents and visitors of all ages.
But counc i l member s expressed concern that the data gathered during the input process, particularly through city surveys, may have missed the younger demographic.
Of the more than 1,200 surveys mailed out to random households throughout Malibu, only 355 were completed and sent back to the city. Approximately 58 percent of anonymous respondents were over the age of 55. And based on survey results, 40 percent of Malibu’s population will be over age 55 by the year 2025—twice as fast a growth as the nationwide trend, according to Neelay Bhatt, a consultant brought on by the city to help implement the plan.
“In the neighborhood I live in, it’s literally the opposite,” said Councilman Lou La Monte. “There’s an influx of younger families with little kids, so I would have to take this part with a grain of salt.”
Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal agreed.
“We have a lot of people who aren’t in the 55 group,” she said.
Many survey respondents said they wanted more walking trails, bike paths and small neighborhood parks.
Stallings and Bhatt emphasized that the new plan is a “framework” of the department’s future endeavors and community input is always an ongoing effort.
“The purpose of the proposed Master Plan is to highlight strengths and opportunities for improvement within the Parks and Recreation Department, while identifying unmet community needs, offering strategies to improve the delivery of parks and recreation services, and providing the City Council with a guide for addressing unmet community needs,” according to a staff report.