MASTER PLAN AND HISTORY
In the heart of the City of Salinas, amidst expanses of urban concrete, lie 480 acres of agricultural land, formerly part of the seasonal wetlands known as Carr Lake. In the early 1900s, Jesse D. Carr drained the 100-year floodway and transformed the site into agricultural fields. In 2017, Big Sur Land Trust acquired 73 acres of this property to restore the original wetland state and create a traditional park space for the community.
BFS Landscape Architects was selected to craft a master plan to optimize the parcel’s use for the benefit of both the land and the community. Throughout this process, Big Sur Land Trust actively engaged the Salinas community, collaborating with residents to develop a vision for the park and open space. The community’s active involvement in the 15 well-attended meetings from 2018 to 2023 has been instrumental in shaping the project and ensuring it meets their needs, empowering those directly connected to the project’s outcomes to have a substantial voice in its development.
These community conversations had a profound influence on the design. When residents expressed a desire to see wildlife return and requested trails that would not impede the restoration area, the team promptly adjusted the design direction. The community’s strong desire for a safe and inviting place to walk and recreate with family dogs led to the inclusion of walking trails, pathways, and a dog park facility. They also wanted a space that reflected their culture and created a vibrant, happy oasis. In response, the team designed colorful play equipment, custom benches, and signage. A sunbeam motif became a consistent design element throughout the park, featured on the entry archway, bandshell, custom benches, and an enhanced entry feature with decorated concrete paving. These elements are clear examples of the community’s influence, and the final master plan beautifully integrated these community aspirations.
On September 14, 2021, Big Sur Land Trust presented its design proposal to the Salinas City Council. The community attended the meeting to support the program, and the council unanimously approved the project. BFS then partnered with the city to coordinate CEQA approval and a zoning change that required amendment to the General Plan.
The FEMA review was successfully concluded in early 2023. By April, crucial permits were attained, including the Incidental Take Permit and the Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The project gained momentum in the summer as the US Army Corps of Engineers bestowed the Nationwide Permit.
Achieving the dream of the Ensen Community Park and Open Space project was made possible by the visionary leadership of Big Sur Land Trust and the people of the City of Salinas, with significant support from a diverse range of public and private funders. The project secured a Proposition 68 grant through California State Parks, an Urban Greening Grant from the California Natural Resources Agency, an Urban Streams Grant from the California Department of Water Resources, and funding from the California Coastal Conservatory. This broad support underscores the project’s appeal and its potential to benefit a wide range of stakeholders. In the Fall of 2023 the traditional park received building permits and construction started in the spring of 2024. In the Winter 2023, the Open Space project achieved 100 percent design completion, laying the foundation for construction to begin in Spring 2025.
THE PARK
Ensen Community Park is a traditional park designed as a vibrant and inclusive space that meets the aspirations and needs of the local community. Despite the challenge of situating the six-acre park outside the 100-year floodplain, which limited its size and location within the master plan, the park remains fully usable and accessible year-round. Being outside the floodway allowed for the construction of essential structures such as parking, restrooms, shade structures, and fencing, ensuring comprehensive support for park visitors.
The park offers traditional programming and amenities, including play areas, recreational spaces, sports courts, picnic areas, a dog park, walking trails, and an amphitheater. A key objective was to establish a connection to the adjacent Salinas Education Center to the south and provide direct access to the community neighborhoods to the north and west. A north-south trail system for pedestrians and bicycles runs parallel to Sherwood Drive, creating a safe travel corridor.
The site’s long-term agricultural and drainage practices flattened the land. BFS reversed this process by designing a landscape rich in topography and visual interest. The restructured landscape restores a more natural, gently rolling terrain.
This restoration involved repurposing removed soil to build the amphitheater bowl and an earthen “Kite Mound” in the park’s center, adding depth and character. Additionally, bioswales and other natural features were incorporated to promote sustainability.
Ensen Community Park exemplifies the power of community vision and collaboration. It began as an aspiration and was meticulously planned before Big Sur Land Trust secured the funding. Through active engagement, the community shaped every aspect of the park Their input and ideas were crucial in creating a cherished recreation, connection, and environmental education space.
OPEN SPACE
The Open Space Restoration Project at Ensen Community Park focuses on enhancing the climate resilience of 67 acres of former agricultural land by transforming it into seasonal wetlands pond, inset floodplains, and upland habitats. This initiative aims to mitigate flooding caused by seasonal variations and climate change through habitat reconstruction and rebalancing the land’s flood management capabilities.
Situated in a designated floodway, the project team, led by Balance Hydrologics, explored various options through extensive modeling and selected a methodology to implement hydrological infrastructure that effectively addresses flooding and restores the land.
The two creeks flowing through the site’s 73 acres, Gabilan and Hospital, will undergo dechannelization. Hospital Creek will be diverted into a long, winding backchannel designed to capture trash and debris and address water quality concerns. This backchannel will flow into a seasonal wetland, which will discharge into the Reclamation Ditch during significant storm events. Gabilan Creek will be redirected into a large inset floodplain with meandering, finger-like depressions. This inset floodplain will also feed into the seasonal wetland.
BFS crafted a planting and irrigation strategy and collaborated with the team biologist Biotic Resources Group (BRG) to develop a comprehensive planting plan for site restoration. The selected planting materials were chosen based on several criteria, including their endemic occurrence within the Salinas watershed and coastal region and their suitability to the site’s varied conditions. These conditions range from areas expected to receive week-long inundation and continual water flow to high-lying areas affected only by significant storm events (20 years and larger).
After developing the extensive planting palette and plan, Big Sur Land Trust selected Hedge Row Farms to provide all seed and plant material for the project. BFS worked alongside Big Sur Land Trust and Hedge Row Farms to develop a strategy for collecting local seed from native plant material throughout the region. Collection occurred at Fort Ord, Garland Ranch and several Big Sur Land Trust properties. After the seed collection is completed, Hedgerow will propagate all the needed seed for the project site in large growing fields and then harvest the seed which will then be applied through the hydroseeding process on site. In addition to the collection of seed, Hedge Row will also collect native plant cuttings to propagate into container plantings for the project as well. Having local, endemic seed and plant material will support preserving local genetic stock and enhancing the diversity of plants within the region.
In coordination with Balance, the multi-use trails were thoughtfully integrated to connect the traditional park to the open space area and to blend seamlessly into the wetland design. This included the addition of large span bridges across newly developed channels to facilitate park user and maintenance and safety access in the open space. Through modeling the trails were designed to ensure they would not be inundated during a five-year storm event.
The restoration project aims to establish a new hydrology infrastructure for the land. Balance Hydrologics’ engineering plan and BFS Landscape Architects’ site design address emerging environmental challenges and offer innovative solutions that can serve as unique models for other cities seeking to mitigate flooding and restore native habitats.
