The RPE Joint Use Park officially opened January 17th, 2022!
If gates not opened/closed as per the below schedule, email Dave Lee, Area Manager for the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department:
DavidL@sandiego.gov
Report off-leash dogs to San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement, 619-299-7012 (press 1).
Normal hours for community use:
School day:
- AM: Sunrise or 6:15 until 7:10
PM: 2:30 until dusk
Early dismissal school day (Wednesday)
- AM: Sunrise or 6:15 until 7:10
PM: 12:40 until dusk
School work day (staff only, no students)
- AM: Sunrise or 6:15
PM: Until dusk
Non-school day, including holidays and weekends:
- AM: Sunrise
PM: Until dusk
City holiday, but still a school day:
- AM: Sunrise or 6:15 until 7:10
PM: 2:30 until dusk
Friday, December 17th, 2021 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
One decade after the Rolando Park Community Council (RPCC) advocated for a field and park at Rolando Park Elementary, Principal Anthony DeLuca and students joined San Diego Unified Interim Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson & Board of Education President Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne to celebrate two new joint-use fields .
Also part of the celebration were former City Councilmember Marti Emerald, current Parks and Recreation Director Andy Field, former RPCC President Betty White, current RPCC Co-President Lynn Edwards, and San Diego Unified Chief Facilities Planning & Const. Officer Lee Dulgeroff.
Find more photos on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RolandoParkCommunityCouncil.
November 2021 update
On November 5, the School District and Design Team for the park made the decision that the general contractor needs to extend their sod maintenance an additional 4 weeks prior to turnover to the City. The new tentative date is now December 15.
September 2021 update
Representatives from the City of San Diego’s Parks and Recreation department have completed their walk-through of the park and the tentative date to turn the park over to the city is November 22 (as long as the turf stays healthy).
July 2021 update
- All trees and shrubs have now been planted.
- Sod was installed July 12-15 and the long-standing issue with the city water main has been resolved.
- Now officially in the contractor’s maintenance period (120 days) to allow the sod to establish.
- We will have a firm date in September for the end of the maintenance period, the date that the city assumes responsibility for maintenance, and hopefully, a date for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and formal opening of the park.
May/June 2021 update
- The school district has addressed concerns about the lighting in the parking lot:
- Lights are now on a timer and shut off at 10pm nightly
- Lights now have shields to reduce glare and aim the lighting downward
- The city’s request to modify the original approved plans to the water mainline have caused a 115-day delay to the schedule.
- There are continued issues with the top soil. The landscaper has been sampling weekly and is leaching the soil before sod can be installed. Sod is now scheduled to be installed in early July.
- Opening date for the park is now delayed until November.
–March 2021 update–
- On schedule to complete construction by end of May
- Sod will be installed, reducing the maintenance period
- Waiting for city review to resolve water supply issue
–November 2020 update–
- Demolition and grading are now complete. The old parking lot is gone. As per requirements, the elevation of the upper field was raised four feet! That explains all of the trucks coming and going the last two weeks.
- Drainage and irrigation pipes are now being installed and both are scheduled to complete by November 20th.
- The original plan was to seed the grass, but the school district has put in a change request to install sod instead. This will shorten the period of time after it’s installed before it can be used.
- Construction is still on schedule, although our upcoming rainy season could impact that.
Questions or concerns about the park? Email contactus@rolandopark.org and we’ll get an answer by the next update.
–Moving Forward, Fall 2020–
The last approvals before construction starts:
- On September 9, the City Council Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods approved the annual maintenance budget for the park. The city provides the park maintenance for the next 25 years.
- September 22, the Board of Education awarded the construction contract.
Starting September 28, the contractor will start mobilizing the site over the next few weeks:
- Bringing in their equipment and temporary facilities
- Installing storm water protection and runoff devices
- Installing temporary fencing
- Performing a survey of the site
- Potholing to locate all the existing utilities
- Starting demolition of the existing parking lot, the existing backstops, and fencing that is being replaced.
After this, the grading for the new fields will begin.
Periodic updates will be provided here as we receive them.
Announcement from SDUSD today about the park.
On January 18, 2018, the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Council approved the final General Development Plan (GDP) for the Rolando Park Elementary Joint Use Park. The GDP is now being transitioned to the San Diego Unified School District Facilities Planning and Construction. Stay tuned for details as they become available.
Phase 1, which is the top field in the drawing should be completed in early 2019. Phase 2, the bottom field is dependent on city funding for completion.
Our District 4 City Council representative, Council President Myrtle Cole, has made the additional funding to complete the park one of her top priorities for 2019.
Updates on the joint use park:
September 30, 2015
Colina del Sol Recreation Council Park and Recreation staff gave an informational update at the last Recreation Council meeting. Currently, Parks and Recreation staff are preparing bids to go out for the consultant and design team. Once bids are received and a contractor is chosen, the design and build contractor selected, will meet with the community for input. This process takes approximately six (6) months. Look for a scheduled public meeting in Spring of 2016, perhaps in April.
September 14, 2015
At the September 2015 RPCC meeting Mr. Jimmie Slack announced that a planning meeting regarding the joint use park will be held at Colina del Sol. The budget for planning the park is $380,000. Ms. Cole’s office will inform us of the date of the planning meeting so neighbors can attend and express opinions.
2014
The park appeared on the Mid-City Community Plan for 2014 with no funding and only turf and a sprinkler system mentioned. Given the drought in the State of California at this time, the RPCC Board questioned the wisdom of having turf and a sprinkler system installed on this site.
History of the Joint use Park:
At the January 2011 RPCC planning meeting, then Rolando Park Elementary School principal Kim Meng, suggested a dog park be established at Rolando Park Elementary School on a flat piece of land immediately west of the primary school grounds. Fully fenced, and overlooking Zena Canyon, the site was finished with some baseball backboards and decomposed granite. The park became an RPCC priority at this time.
A meeting was held with Marti Emerald, Kim Meng, RPCC President Betty White, Vice President Lee Rittiner and Member at Large Kim Burcham. After touring the site, Councilmember Emerald discouraged the use of the site as a dog park, stating that the City would consider it a frivolous request. Ms. Emerald suggested a passive park with a Portland Loo, including a drinking fountain, playground equipment for children and a baseball field.
After review by the membership and a vote on the suggested contents of the park, letters were sent to Councilmember Emerald and our school board representative at the time Sheila Jackson. As it became clear that Rolando Park was going to be moved from District 7 to District 4 a planned joint meeting with Councilmember Emerald and Councilmember Tony Young to tour the site and bring Mr. Young up to date on the project was repeatedly cancelled and never held. President Betty White did provide a copy of the request letter to Mr. Young’s office.
This is a copy of the body of that letter:
Where is the community park in the neighborhood of Rolando Park? It exists only in the hearts of the families who live there. At a meeting of the Rolando Park Community Council (RPCC), a not for profit all volunteer organization serving the residents and businesses of Rolando Park, the residents selected the establishment of a multi-use park as a neighborhood priority.
We are proposing a joint venture project between the City of San Diego and the San Diego Unified School District, with the support of the Rolando Park Community, to create a joint use park with existing underutilized land at Rolando Park Elementary. This large, flat, fenced field on an upper field behind the school currently consists of decomposed granite and four baseball backstops.
Here is the RPCC wish list for this wonderful space which would serve elementary students during school hours and be accessible to neighborhood families on weekends and after hours:
- Playing fields for use by youth sports teams and neighborhood families
- A fitness course
- A Portland Loo with exterior water spigot
- Landscaping and maintenance thereof
- A passive park area with tables and benches
- A Dog Park with waste disposal bag stations
The families of Rolando Park deserve a community park. We are very excited about this proposal. As our District Councilmember we are asking for your support. The land is there, waiting for happy families to make use of it.
Rolando Park ES Aerial This is a link to an aerial shot of the school grounds. The flat, square to the west of the immediate school grounds is the proposed location of the Joint Use Park.
