Landscape Architect Articles

Rebuilding Coffey Neighborhood Park03-28-22 | News

Rebuilding Coffey Neighborhood Park

Santa Rosa, California
by Curt Nichols, Carlile Macy

Carlile Macy, Landscape Architects of Santa Rosa, California, designed the 5.8-acre 2020 Coffey Park rebuild after a destructive wildfire destroyed the original park. The park's landscaping includes primarily low water use and native or adapted plantings. Plantings were selected for their attractive form, color, and minimal maintenance requirements. The park is irrigated with subsurface drip tubing with in-line emitters, flood bubblers at trees, and large rotors for the turf. The system utilizes a weather-responsive, central control system that city maintenance staff can access and control via their mobile phones.

The fourth-grade class at Schaeffer Elementary, who learned about park design and presented their ideas and master plans at the neighborhood workshops, asked for native and fire-resistant plants as well as habitat for wildlife (whose homes, they pointed out, also burned in the fire). This idea was embraced by the neighborhood, and now the northwest corner of the park is home to a pollinator garden which will be maintained by the students and neighbors. The garden features a wide variety of Sonoma County-native plantings that provide year-round color. A short loop of permeable paving takes the visitor through the garden, beneath surviving redwood trees to several concrete benches (designed to look like wood benches) by Outdoor Creations, Inc.

The park's northeastern entry a year after the fire shows damaged trees, melted park signs, and failing pavement. Besides the fire damage, walkways in this corner of the park were out of compliance with current accessibility guidelines. The cul-de-sac (right of image) did not have adequate lighting and was partially screened from the major thoroughfare, Coffey Lane.

Wellspring, an art installation by the artist Wowhaus, features three raindrop-shaped concrete chairs and a tile mosaic reminiscent of ripples of water. The concrete raindrops feature a blue glass terrazzo pattern and spin in place. The concrete beneath the raindrops includes ripples of glow-in-the-dark aggregate that gently illuminates the drops at night. The art piece is integrated into one of the park's stormwater treatment rain gardens.

After the fire, the park was covered in fire debris and toxic materials. The soil surface was scraped to remove hazardous matter, and the remaining soil was then treated with organic compost, nutrients, and arbuscular mycorrhiza to regenerate the soil and support existing trees and new vegetation. The park was created to be fully accessible, accommodate new park amenities, and improve sightlines.

A walking and jogging path runs along the park perimeter forming a roughly quarter-mile circuit with bronze markers at 100-meter distances along the route. Six fitness stations by Ross Recreation and Landscape Structures, Inc. are spaced along the pathway. The stations include a variety of exercise equipment, from handcycles and balance steps to chest and back press with resistance dials, to provide a full-body workout for all users. The fitness stations were possible through a generous donation by Kaiser Permanente.

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On Sunday, October 8, 2017, California's most destructive wildfire to date descended upon Sonoma County. The Tubbs Fire started near Calistoga that evening and, driven by winds reported to be in excess of 70 miles per hour, by dawn on October 9 had taken the lives of 22 people and destroyed 5,643 structures, including 1,422 homes in the City of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood.
Coffey Neighborhood Park was also destroyed by the fire with trees and amenities burned and toxic debris blanketing the area. Nevertheless, the park emerged as the neighborhood center where residents could check-in, share stories, and discuss how to move forward. Recovery from such an unprecedented disaster was daunting, but the Santa Rosa community and its leaders dug in and got to work right away.
The Redesign Process
City of Santa Rosa staff started planning for the Coffey Neighborhood Park rebuild shortly after the fire and held a first community meeting in the Summer of 2018. A grassroots neighborhood group, Coffey Strong, created a park committee to assist in moving the park rebuilding effort forward. Students from Schaeffer Charter Elementary School, approximately two blocks from the park, also took an active interest.

Carlile Macy, a local landscape architecture, civil engineering, and land surveying firm, was selected by the city to prepare a master plan and construction documents for the park's re-design in October 2018. Through a series of neighborhood workshops, meetings with Coffey Strong representatives, and coordination with City staff, Carlile Macy prepared a neighborhood-supported master plan which was approved by City Council in April 2019. Construction documents were finished and construction on the park began by Fall 2019. After some delays due to the pandemic and additional wildfires, the rebuilt park was opened to the neighborhood in October 2020.

The Redesigned Park
The original 5.8-acre park, built in 1986, included a large open turf area, two children's play areas, and picnicking spaces. A concrete walkway meandered around the park connecting the various amenities. In the new master plan, the neighborhood expressed a preference for rebuilding the park in a similar layout with some modern amenities and updates.
Neighborhood priorities included picnic areas, plenty of seating, and a generous amount of shade. To assist with long-term park maintenance, the neighborhood requested durable and attractive site furnishings. A pollinator garden and "ninja warrior" play equipment were championed by neighborhood kids. Also, new amenities for all ages of park users were added including fitness stations, table tennis and chess tables, a dog park, and a portable restroom.
In addition to stakeholder feedback, grading considerations also influenced the redesign. The park was originally designed to provide stormwater detention in its open turf area, so maintaining the same volume of detention while also providing stormwater treatment in line with current state regulations and allowing for continued use of the park during or after storm events was very important. Likewise, providing accessibility to all areas of the park was vital. Other considerations, like improving visual site lines through the park for safety and striving for a balanced site, informed the grading design.
Concurrent with the park rebuilding process, the city selected local artists Wowhaus to create public art for the park. Through a series of additional neighborhood workshops, they developed their concept for Wellspring, a composition of three interactive sculptures in the form of water droplets. Carlile Macy Landscape Architects collaborated with Wowhaus to locate the interactive sculptures in one of the park's stormwater rain gardens.

Rising From The Ashes
The redesign and reconstruction of Coffey Neighborhood Park has been central to the rebuilding and rebirth of the Coffey Park community as it serves as the geographical and symbolic center from which the neighborhood derives its name and identity. The rebuilt park has become the most visible symbol of the neighborhood rebuild which is approximately 90% complete as of January, 2022, some four years after the fire.