PROJECT TITLE: Teen Our SPOT and Well-Being Projects at Lennox Park, Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, Mona Park, and East Rancho Dominguez Park
PROJECT LOCATION:
Lennox Park
10828 South Condon Avenue, Lennox, CA 90304 (Unincorporated Lennox)
Franklin D. Roosevelt Park
7600 Graham Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90001 (Unincorporated Florence-Firestone)
Mona Park
2291 East 121 st Street, Compton, CA 90222 (Unincorporated Willowbrook)
East Rancho Dominguez Park
15116 South Atlantic Avenue, Compton, CA 90221 (Unincorporated East Rancho Dominguez)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
In 2024, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) approached LA County Parks to collaborate on an ambitious two-year, $15 million Countywide program to create public spaces that promote social interactions and inspire community well-being in County parks. LA County Parks and DMH selected 14 parks based on several factors including existing year-round Our SPOT Teen Centers, park need based on the Countywide Park Needs Assessment, Office of Violence Prevention high violence scores, DMH equity data, and Los Angeles County Equity Explorer Index data.
LA County Parks and DMH partnered on a robust, multi-phase, year-long community engagement process at each selected park to inform the development of design elements to promote well-being. LA County Parks and their design team conducted onsite interviews with Our SPOT teens as well as popup engagements with seniors and park visitors to define each park’s project scope while creating a shared, program wide design vision. Subsequently, LA County Parks presented the resulting Our SPOT and wellbeing space designs for each park to DMH, Our SPOT teens, and local community members, leading to further design enhancements. The final designs emphasize accessibility, landscaping, seating, safety, shade and effective use of color.
Each park’s scope of work will include renovation of an existing outdoor open space as a new wellbeing space, including accessibility upgrades; trees and landscaping with irrigation; lighting and shade; seating elements including benches designated in an “Open to Chat” style to encourage conversation; informational signage; and, related improvements. Each park will also include the renovation of an existing unprogrammed area into an outdoor Our SPOT space that includes paving, landscaping, shade, lighting, security fencing, seating, and related improvements. While the thematic design elements and enhancements are similar program wide, each Well-being and Our SPOT space varies in design, shape, and size to reflect community input. The difference in project budgets at each park reflect these variances, including diverse site conditions and utility infrastructure needs
PROJECT APPLICANT: County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jui Ing Chien
Park Planner
626-588-5317
jchien@parks.lacounty.gov
EXEMPT STATUS: Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code:
Sections 15301(h), 15303(d)(e), 15304(b) and 15331
REASONS FOR EXEMPTION: The proposed Projects are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed Projects, which include the Well-Being Spaces component, which will focus on improving paths of travel, installing planting, shade trees, and irrigation, installing site lighting, shade structures, seating elements including ‘Happy to Chat’ benches, informative signage, and related general improvements, and the Our SPOT Spaces component, which will involve renovating existing paving and landscaping, providing shade elements, installing security fencing and lighting, creating seating areas, and related improvements to existing park courtyards or unprogrammed spaces, are within certain classes of projects that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment in that they meet the criteria set forth in sections 15301(h), 15303(d)(e), 15304 (b) and 15331 of the State CEQA Guidelines and Classes 1(c), 3(a)(b) and 4(c) of the County’s Environmental Document Reporting Procedures and Guidelines, Appendix G. The Projects involve restoration or rehabilitation of deteriorated or damaged structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment to meet current standards of public health and safety; installation of small new structures; new landscaping which will not involve the removal of healthy, mature and scenic trees; and maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, conservation or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (1995), Weeks and Grimmer . In addition, based on the proposed Projects’ records, each project will comply with all applicable regulations. There are no cumulative impacts, unusual circumstances, damage to scenic highways, listing on hazardous waste sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5, or indications that they may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource that would make the exemption inapplicable.