PRIORITIES • Effort to create framework for future
following a competitive bidding process, to create a scoring system to assess and prioritize identified park needs. In its 77-page bid, AEA Consulting said its work will take 18 months to complete at a cost of $289,960.
The company is being tasked with making sense of decades-old planning documents, a litany of park-related reports, past facility assessments and results from community-member surveys in order to come up with a mechanism for ranking park priorities.
The impetus for the prioritization work dates to the 2019 collapse of the Plaza de Panama project. The project, which was a partnership between the city and an Irwin Jacobs-chaired nonprofit, sought to divert car traffic from the Cabrillo Bridge and create an underground parking garage. After years of setbacks and legal challenges, Plaza de Panama ultimately died because construction estimates, which ranged from $84 million to $118 million, exceeded approved spending on the project by millions.
In its wake, the city’s advisory Balboa Park Committee gathered members of the public and stakeholders in February 2020 for what was characterized as a pre-planning workshop meant to inform a long-term vision. The visioning process, which was
tabled for several months during the pandemic, has since evolved into what the city’s parks and recreation department is calling Balboa Park’s “Framework for the Future.”
The prioritization work is one of four initiatives baked into the broader framework, which also includes ongoing community outreach, creating a traffic and transportation plan, and developing new financing models for park needs.
Wednesday night’s State of Balboa Park address was organized in part to commemorate the park’s 155th birthday. The plots of land that comprise what was initially known as City Park were formally set aside by the city on May 26, 1868.
Gloria used the event to tout the progress of the Botanical Building’s restoration, celebrate the philanthropically financed transformation of the Mingei International Museum, and call out recent state and federal investments into park projects.
The mayor also recognized famed park advocate Betty Peabody, presenting her with a Key to Balboa Park award. Peabody founded the Balboa Park Millennium Society in 1999, which went on to be known as Friends of Balboa Park. The nonprofit merged with the Balboa Park Conservancy in 2021, and the combined entity is now known as Forever Balboa Park.