Larry Moore Park Improvements: Meeting #3
I’ve been waiting to hear word of a 3rd Larry Moore Park Design Open House Meeting, but I wasn’t hearing a thing. In a chance meeting with Council Member Beal at Paso Walk while having a coffee, she told me that she believed the 3rd event had already happened. So, I set out to find out when and why I didn’t hear about it.
Turns out, according to Angelica Fortin — Director of the Community Services Department for the City of Paso Robles — a 3rd Larry Moore Park Design Open House Meeting occurred on August 27, 2025. I’d link to the event announcement as in my past blog posts on this topic—if I could find one. From my investigation, it appears the city ‘dropped the ball’ on noticing this meeting to the public.
According to a statement by Ms. Fortin in an email in response to my inquiry, “Please see the attached postcard that was sent to Larry Moore neighborhood residents in advance of the meeting. The information was also distributed directly to athletic group representatives such as AYSO, Paso Robles Youth Baseball, Central Coast Softball, Dynasty Futbol, and more.”
It’s my understanding that sending a post card to Larry Moore Park neighbors was common among all the open house events. I’m not sure, but these post cards may only be sent to those living within 300 ft (maybe 500 ft) of the park. The neighborhood affected by people and car traffic that could result from the new plans for the park could of course be much greater.
Unlike the past 2 open house events, I find no city press release or event on the city website calendar. A press release or calendar event would result in notices from local news organizations including: KPRL radio, KSBY TV, and Paso Robles Daily News. Why the city failed to announce meeting #3 in the same manner as meetings #1 and #2 is unknown. So far—no one at the city is fessing up.
For both open house #1 and #2, I signed in with my email address. It was my understanding that I would be noticed of next meetings via email. Those notices never happened. -- To be honest, from my recollection, it never happens; I find those promised emails never show up.
Per information, again from Ms. Fortin, the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee reviewed park concept plans at their December 8, 2025 meeting. Those documents can be found here:
Larry Moore Park Concept Design - August, 2025
Review and Endorse the Larry Moore Park Concept Plan - December 8, 2025
According to Ms. Fortin, she plans to bring this effort to the City of Paso Robles City Council in April, 2026.
So—more to come as this post will be updated later.
Why is This Important?
When I first heard about this project back in 2024 or so—I immediately had concerns about how the people in these neighborhoods near Larry Moore Park would be treated by the city. Adding 2 baseball fields and a soccer field would bring a lot of people and vehicle traffic to these neighborhoods. From what I’d already seen, the city had a terrible record of working with the public, taking their input, and then responding to those needs. Recent city efforts like Short Term Rentals, Downtown Parking, and the Zoning Code Update (which included food trucks and home occupations) essentially, from how I saw it, put the public on the defensive with the city moving forward without proper public engagement. From my perspective, I find the city develops what I call an “illusion of public input”.
(Note: The following paragraphs are mostly taken from an email I sent to the City Council and City Manager about my concerns.)
The city’s failure to properly notice the public for this 3rd open house is, in my opinion, a serious failure. It is compounded by problems that had already surfaced with the project by open house #2. You can read those in my notes here: Larry Moore Park Improvements: Meeting #2
Ms. Fortin informed me there was a review with Park & Recreation Advisory Committee on December 8, 2025. This event at least did show up on the city calendar. I see in the meeting minutes that both the primary and alternate council liaisons were in attendance--as well as Steve Gregory, who I assume is Council Member Steve Gregory. More on the meeting’s attendance later.
It’s not clear to me the advisory group had any knowledge of neighborhood concerns because they aren't shown in the staff report. The staff report with the final concept diagrams is very brief. It mentions, "Community concerns, particularly related to traffic, parking, and neighborhood impacts, were central considerations in the design process." But it never elaborates on how it was taken into consideration. No evidence of any type of traffic study. And no mention of the homeless situation and any considerations for homeless concerns in this area, which was a major concern of residents at open house #1 and #2. --- Similar problems addressing public concerns were evident by open house #2.
Where is documentation of the public input and feedback from the open houses, including input from me, to verify that those public concerns are being addressed?
Back in 2024, I rigorously canvassed this neighborhood near Larry Moore Park. Many people had not heard of the city's plans for Larry Moore Park though there had been some city discussions about it. Others I talked with that knew about it were mostly pessimistic and not sure it was a good thing.
I'm told that this might be brought up to the council in April for a hearing. For that meeting, I hope the city will over-compensate for the poor notice of open house #3 --- and do a much better job of public notice. Something similar to what the city did with open house #1 and #2, and is doing with the upcoming 'Coffee with the City'. --- In the meantime, I will be doing what I can to inform that neighborhood and others of this upcoming hearing.
