On a warm night in late August at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, six children kick around a soccer ball in the unmarked field as a woman jogs along the sidewalk, a small group of friends sit at one of the picnic tables and a nearby church holds a Spanish service.
A few feet away in the park’s community center, over 50 residents—many of whom grew up at the park and its surrounding neighborhoods—put the finishing pieces on “A Dream for King Park,” the vision plan for the 5-acre park’s future Tuesday night.
The visioning process began this year and has included over 10 steering committee meetings, community workshops, surveys and audits. Almost 500 responses and suggestions have been collected through these efforts.
While Long Beach has created 10 vision plans for various parks in the past 10 years, Public Works Director Eric Lopez told the Signal Tribune that it’s the first time funding has been identified and approved before the vision plan is complete.
Long Beach has set aside $2.5 million for the MLK Jr. Park Vision Plan through Measure A funds and Park Impact Fees, a fee developers are required to pay the city when undergoing a project in Long Beach. The city is waiting for Congress to approve another $3 million that Robert Garcia requested in April.
“There’s a lot of interest and community engagement already,” Lopez said. “That usually happens during and after the master plan, so it’s coming together really quickly and really well.”
Lopez added that the “unique timing” of proposed federal appropriations has also helped move the process along.
“If you live here, you can’t complain about something you don’t show up for.”
Forestine Young, Central Long Beach resident and longtime MLK Jr. Park attendee.
Residents were joined by multiple City officials who wanted to commemorate the closing of the visioning process and remind people that the process is just beginning.
“These things take time but they get done,” said Mina Roades, director of landscape design with City Fabrick. The developing firm has been working on the MLK Jr. Park Vision Plan since the first city-run community meeting in October.
Mayor Rex Richardson gave opening comments about the need for improvements at an area in the city that has historically served its Black residents. He said the park will serve to “recognize Black legacy in Long Beach” and allow residents to “walk in the same footsteps as the people who built this community.”
Two options of vision plans were presented with roughly 20 design elements and residents were asked to fill out a feedback card choosing their preferences for each design.
Design elements included new or improved baseball fields, a new or improved concession stand, a cultural walk or cultural plaza, an expanded playground or an activity lawn, removing the perimeter fence or improving access along the fence and more.
Forestine Young stood among two of her longtime neighbors, whom she referred to as Ms. Park and Sister Katherine, mulling over their options. The trio reminisced on amenities at the park that have since disappeared or gone out of use, such as handball courts and a concession stand, and contemplated which options would give people the most access.
Young has been going to the park for over 30 years, and her father used to play baseball at Martin Luther King Jr. Park before that. She attended nearly every community workshop to hear about the plan and give her feedback.
“If you live here, you can’t complain about something you don’t show up for,” Young said.
She said the indoor pool and playground area have been renovated, but the community center has never been updated and is “long overdue for a refresh.”
The Houghton Park Vision Plan was referred to multiple times as a fair comparison for how long the process of full renovation may take.
The plan was approved in 2015 and received $1 million to kick off updates. Since then, Houghton Park has received $23 million towards its new community center, a digital reader board, upgrades to the Veterans Plaza and a soundgarden.
Richardson proposed another set of funding for continued updates to Houghton Park in his Elevate ‘28 plan: $2 million for a sports complex and $500,000 for community center improvements. The city is also in the designing process for a playground and is planning to install a soccer field with seating and another field with soccer overlay.
The MLK Jr. Park Vision Plan will now be sent to a steering committee before the final plan is sent to the Parks & Recreation Commission. Following its approval, the plan will be presented to the City Council.
Lopez said in his experience, park vision plans take about a year to 15 months to get approved. Since the plan was officially kicked off by the city in October 2022, a rough estimate for approval by the City Council would be January 2024.
