Moraga's Parks Master Plan Needs Real Transparency

A Major Planning Effort Hidden in Plain Sight

Moraga’s Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan is not some small administrative exercise. It is a sweeping long-range planning effort that could reshape parks, recreation facilities, open space priorities, and potentially millions of dollars in future public investment for years to come.

And yet for most residents, trying to follow how this process has evolved has been nearly impossible.

After reviewing a full year of Parks & Recreation Commission agendas, consultant reports, appendices, presentations, and the Town’s own project materials, one thing becomes very clear:

The public has been given fragments of visibility, but not enough transparency for ordinary residents to meaningfully follow the project's evolution over time, nor an easy way to later reconstruct how major ideas and priorities emerged (or how the Commission actually deliberated on them).

To be clear, outreach has occurred. Surveys have been conducted. Workshops and pop-up events have happened. Consultant presentations exist.

But that is not the issue.

The issue is that residents have had very little practical ability to observe, in any meaningful and continuous way:

• how ideas evolved,

• how priorities were established,

• how concepts gained momentum,

• what alternatives were rejected,

• or how Parks & Rec arrived at potentially massive future initiatives and spending priorities.

Buried in the Agendas

Over roughly twelve months, nearly everything related to this enormous undertaking was buried deep in Parks & Recreation Commission agendas under vague references like:

• “Master Plan Update”

• or “PROS Master Plan Subcommittee.”

That was often the entirety of the public-facing description. No further detail. No staff report. No links to documentation.

Only recently, during a joint Parks & Recreation Commission / Town Council meeting, did the Town provide a livestreamed and recorded presentation along with a linked staff report regarding the Master Plan.

Ironically, that single meeting also highlighted how little comparable visibility existed throughout the yearlong process leading up to it and how opaque Parks & Recreation Commission meetings are by comparison.

Unlike Town Council, Planning Commission, and Finance Committee meetings, Parks & Recreation Commission meetings — where much of the discussion and recommendation-making for the Master Plan occurs — are neither livestreamed nor recorded. The published “action” minutes provide only limited detail regarding discussion topics and vote tallies.

Moraga already has the infrastructure and precedent to provide this level of transparency. Town Council, Planning Commission, and Finance Committee meetings are routinely recorded and archived.

No televised deliberations comparable to Town Council or Planning Commission meetings. No archived recordings residents unable to physically attend could later review. No practical way to follow the progression from vague “planning process” references to concrete concepts.

And yet, by spring 2026, residents were suddenly confronted with ideas that many consider deeply consequential to Moraga’s character:

• possible elimination or relocation of the Rancho Laguna dog park,

• sports fields replacing portions of quiet passive park space,

• pickleball courts near homes in one of the quietest corners of town,

• Hacienda redevelopment concepts,

• and even discussion surrounding potential community-center or recreation uses tied to areas many residents associate with Moraga’s rural and historic identity (e.g. Hacienda, pear orchards).

Whether one supports or opposes any of these ideas is beside the point.

The point is this:

Many residents had little ability to observe how these ideas evolved from early discussion into serious planning proposals.

These Are Not Just “Projects”

That lack of visibility matters even more because some of these spaces are not viewed by residents as interchangeable parcels on a planning map.

They are “sacred cow” community assets:

• quiet parks,

• passive open space,

• trails,

• gathering areas,

• scenic corners of town,

• and places people believed would remain fundamentally unchanged.

So when residents suddenly hear:

• “pickleball courts,”

• “community center,”

• “field expansion,”

• or “dog park relocation,”

the reaction is understandably emotional.

People are not simply reacting to individual proposals. They are reacting to the feeling that major changes appear to materialize out of a process they were technically allowed to attend, but realistically had very little (or no) ability to continuously follow either in realtime or in retrospect.

The Picnic Table Problem on a Townwide Scale

And this concern extends beyond the Master Plan itself.

The recent picnic table controversy at Rancho Laguna is another example. While unrelated to the Master Plan, it reflected the same recurring frustration: residents often feel significant park-related decisions emerge with little visibility until plans are already well underway.

The tables themselves were approved through routine processes, but the broader development and evolution of the project was difficult for ordinary residents to follow in real time. That pattern erodes trust.

For a project of the Master Plan’s magnitude, visibility should not require residents to:

• dig through obscure agenda packets,

• manually reconstruct timelines,

• search consultant appendices,

• or piece together months of disconnected references hidden deep in commission materials.

Why Is Parks Planning Less Visible Than Other Town Business?

Residents already receive far greater visibility into Town Council, Planning Commission, and Finance Committee deliberations. Those bodies are televised, archived, and easier for the public to follow in real time.

Why should a major long-range planning effort potentially involving:

• future capital expenditures,

• park redesign,

• facility redevelopment,

• open-space tradeoffs,

• and shifting community priorities

receive less transparency?

And perhaps most frustrating of all, when residents ask for greater visibility moving forward — including something as basic as video or audio recordings of Parks & Recreation Commission discussions tied to the Master Plan — the answer has effectively been “no.”

That is increasingly difficult to understand.

If Moraga already records other major public bodies, why should Parks & Recreation presentations, discussions, deliberations, and votes during a major long-range planning process operate under a lower standard of transparency?

If the Town genuinely wants broad community engagement and buy-in, making these discussions easier for residents to access would be an obvious place to begin.