Millbrae back to drawing board on Mills Estate Park design

That design would have sat at roughly $5.9 million total, paid for by a $4.5 million Capital Improvement Project budget as well as development impact fees. But councilmembers were in agreement that the project shouldn’t cost the city more than $4.5 million total.

“I think we should make our best effort to trim down our cost to a point we originally budgeted,” Councilmember Bob Nguyen said.

That cost reduction could potentially be achieved by removing the fitness structure — though it was intended to be paid for in part via grant funding — the dog park or other miscellaneous amenities, all of which were also pointed to as unnecessary and ill-fitting with the natural landscape.

“I agree with the community that the ping-pong table is not necessary here,” Vice Mayor Reuben Holober said. “The fitness court, I agree; probably not a great fit here. Maybe if there were a couple of smaller fitness machines that were a little bit more passive.”

One Mills Estate resident, Zach Georgopoulos, also voiced concern that the ping-pong table would be too loud and create a noise disturbance for neighbors.

“I was a little surprised to see the inclusion of ping-pong tables in the current plan,” he said. “One thing that the public was pretty clear about, especially us that live around the park, is that the sound from the park is very much like an amphitheater. We can hear a lot of things going on in the park.”

Plans for a dog park —theoretically separated into two areas for large and small dogs — might also be unnecessary and potentially inconvenient for residents in other areas of the city, Councilmember Stephen Rainaldi said, voicing additional concerns about the aesthetic of the park’s fencing.

The park should complement the natural landscape and not take away from it with unnecessarily modern elements and materials, he emphasized.

“Natural aesthetic, try not to take away from the natural beauty of the area, nothing too modern,” Rainaldi said. “If possible, thinking about taking some of these development impact fees, perhaps doing a dedicated dog park off of the Spur Trail would be my recommendation.”

Former Millbrae Mayor Ann Schneider also spoke at the meeting, advising the current City Council to be intentional about whether the new park will be a more regional location, featuring larger amenities, or designed largely with the local neighbors in mind.

“I think what you have tonight is a decision — is it a neighborhood park [or] is it a regional park?” she said. “You’ve already got a pretty nature-based environment … I think it should be natural.”

Other residents also emphasized that the city should preserve the natural elements of the 4.8-acre space — which has been largely untamed for the past several decades — by making conscientious plans for native plantings and anti-displacement strategies for local wildlife. Mills Estates Parks, sometimes referred to as Sebastian Park, is at Lake Street and Sebastian Drive.

The design consultant on the project, Verde Design, will now return to the drawing board and return to the City Council with a revised project plan at a later date.