SUNSET TO SHINE A New Light
	MARCH 2004

by Cindy Ehling
Photos by Brad Shifflett

In the movie Back to the Future, Marty McFly travels 30 years into his town’s past to discover that the place had changed so much that he could hardly recognize it. The same sense of dislocation would happen for somebody traveling from a future Brentwood to today’s version of the town except that, at the current and projected rate of development, fewer than 30 years will be necessary in order to effect the same kind of change.

A person returning to Brentwood a mere ten years from now would be astonished by the changes that the decade of development had produced. In 2014 we won’t be able to remember what some parts of this town even looked like.

Craig Bronzan, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Brentwood, shared with me some pretty exciting plans.

Outdoor Fun for All
By the end of next summer outdoor sports enthusiasts will welcome an 8-acre neighborhood and community park located next to the Brentwood aquatic center. Thanksgiving was the ground-breaking for the new site, which will include:

• An interior 100-car parking lot
• A sand volleyball pit
• Two horseshoe courts
• Four competition bocce ball courts with oyster shell surfacing
• Open grass areas
• Covered picnic tables
• Picnic facilities for groups of up to 100 people
• Restroom facilities
• A ten-foot wide concrete path system
• A playground with climbing structures for preschool and
elementary school children

An even bigger step in effecting the change that will make Brentwood a confusing place for visitors returning a decade from now will be taken during the next year in creating a premier sports facility.

Not Your Grandfather’s Baseball Diamond
The most exciting news that Craig shared, I think, is that Brentwood will soon have its own sports park called the Sunset Athletic Park, which will be located on 38 acres between Sunset and Sellers. A 274-space parking lot to be located at the end of Garin Parkway will provide a number of first-class sports venues, including:

• A competition soccer field and stands
• Three regular soccer fields
• Four softball fields
• A Mustang/Bronco baseball field
• A Pony/Colt baseball field
• A concession stand
• Two restroom buildings at either end of the park
• Playground areas with climbing structures and swings for preschool and elementary school children
• A mile-long loop surrounding the park for horseback riding, walking, jogging, and bicycling
• Electric batting cages
• A parking lot for equestrians

The equestrian parking lot will be on Elkins Way, which is named in memory of Carroll Elkins, a longtime chief inspector for Brentwood Public Works, who passed away April, 2002.

The Sunset Athletic Park has been in the works for a couple of years. It was designed by a committee made up of representatives from local organizations, including:

• East Diablo Youth Soccer League
• The Brentwood Pony Baseball League
• Two members from Parks and Recreation
• Two members of the City Council
• One representative from the Adult and Youth Softball Organization

Members of this committee, together with the city staff, worked 18 months planning and designing to develop the plans for this remarkable sports park. The project is being funded by developers and city funds.

My brother-in-law, Ed Martin, who umpires for the Pony/Colt baseball league, is excited about this — as is everyone who is interested in promoting and playing local sports.

Sunset Industrial Park
The Sunset Industrial Park, adjacent to the Sunset Sports Park, has been in development for more than three years.

I spoke with Gina Rozenski, the Brentwood Redevelopment Manager, who says she is very excited about this project because of its wonderful potential for solving a problem that has been affecting Brentwood and its residents for many years.

Gina explained that certain businesses could not operate in Brentwood because of conflict with local zoning restrictions. Developers, of course, wouldn’t purchase property in areas that weren’t zoned for the kinds of businesses that might otherwise be interested in developing on the site.

As a result, Gina explained, Brentwood was continually losing revenue because these businesses kept relocating outside of the city. So Brentwood, in partnership with Gina’s Redevelopment Agency, devised a strategy to purchase and develop 25 acres of adequately zoned industrial parcels that could subsequently be sold to businesses.

The agency developed the necessary infrastructure, subdivided the property into separate parcels, and sold every one. The proceeds from the sale paid off the agency’s costs and even earned a profit, which the agency is plowing back into its general funds which can then be used for future development.

The new property is zoned for light and medium industry which will include the following businesses:

• Brockman Engineering
• California Stone
• Cannon Enterprises
• Eco Water
• Five-Star Plumbing
• Henson Plumbing
• HW Construction Supply
• Pizzagoni Towing
• Pottery World
• R Brothers Concrete
• Thorpe Design
• Town & Country Roofing
• Woodmore Painting

There is a single heavy industrial parcel allocated for Brentwood Ready Mix.

On the basis of the plans for the Sunset Industrial Park, the city has been able to approach businesses that were located in less-than-prime areas. By enticing them to their new locations, old spaces can be freed up for the more appropriate commercial zoning. Escrow is due to close on most of these parcels by April, 2004.

I really get excited, even thrilled, when I work on this column. Particularly this month I’m impressed with how intelligently Brentwood is planning its development projects. It will be fun to see these three projects get finished.

I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Cindy Ehling is a contributing writer for 110° magazine. You can reach her at cindy@110mag.com