Sunset Whitney Recreation Area Master Plan discussed

The Sunset Whitney Recreation Area's master plan was met with optimism and concern from the council at the Feb. 14 Rocklin City Council Meeting. The city of Rocklin purchased the former Rocklin Golf Club's 184-acres in 2018. That land located at 4201 Midas Avenue in Rocklin later became the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area Trails (SWRA Trails). Rocklin officials held a Sept. 12, 2022 public meeting at the Rocklin Event Center to discuss "initial ideas and proposed amenities for the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area," according to a city of Rocklin article, "COMMUNITY SHOWS ENTHUSIASM FOR SWRA MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS." About 175 residents attended. According to the master plan discussed at the meeting last September, the two prime areas for Sunset Whitney Recreation Area is Sunset Boulevard Park and The Hub. The Hub will include many amenities, including pickle ball, a Veterans' Memorial, a pedestrian path connection near its entrance and off of Midas Avenue, shaded seating areas and potential food retail opportunities, such as food trucks or a coffee house. There will be 14 pickle ball courts and two champion courts. The courts will have a 50-foot buffer from nearby housing and an eight-foot wall, according to the master plan. "There's a huge community need," for pickle ball, Rocklin Vice-Mayor Bill Halldin said. "But it is a noisy sport and I'm very concerned." Halldin suggested that the courts swap places with the Veterans' Memorial, since that is further from the houses. Rocklin Councilmember Jill Gayaldo agreed and said she "loves" that the master plan is conscious of the neighbors with the eight-foot wall and 50- foot buffer. But she "is still concerned" about noise. Rocklin resident Jerry Mitchell suggested during public comment that acoustic material be put on the block wall to absorb and reduce some of the sound. The Hub also has an area called East Plaza, which includes walking and biking trails and an outdoor event pavilion. Rocklin Mayor Ken Broadway asked if the designers considered other exercise and fitness station ideas in addition to the trails. The plan currently suggests that the natural environment such as rocks and log balancing be used for body weight exercise. The design team plans to ask the public how they feel about the current plans for body weight exercising and look into different ideas as they arise. Sunset Boulevard Park will have rock and rope climbing activities, a swing set and an open field area. Rocklin Parks and Recreation director Kevin Huntzinger said the play is made for "all age play and exercise." Also included in Sunset Boulevard Park will be a recreational structure called The Clubhouse. In the master plan, The Clubhouse could be either a fully indoor structure or a barn-like structure. Mayor Ken Broadway said he enjoys the fresh air during an event but suggested that designers create a hybrid between an indoor structure and barn-like structure. The design team will be looking to implement suggestions made at Tuesday's City Council meeting and will return with an updated master plan at a late March council meeting At a Nov. 9 2022 Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission meeting, a concept for the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area master plan was presented to the commission. The commission suggested that "play structures should include all-inclusive amenities, additional bike rack locations should be identified other than only near the flow track, and shade structure and lighting should be included with the pickleball court design," according to the staff report. Previously, Rocklin City Council approved a 30-year deed restriction for Sunset Whitney Recreation Area and was awarded $427,000 in state grants for Phase I at the Aug. 9 2022 council meeting, Gold Country Media previously reported in an article, "Sunset Whitney Phase I improvements nearly done."