The Santa Ana City Council approved two agreements with the Santa Ana Unified School District Oct. 3 intended to transform a ragged lot at Willard Elementary into a community park.
The agreements — one for shared use of the park and the other to reimburse the school district for construction costs — are another step toward building a park in one of Orange County’s most park-poor areas.
“That zip code, 92701, we all know there aren’t too many parks, and it’s an area that really needs a lot of help,” said Councilwoman Michele Martinez.
The park will include a track, football-soccer field, tennis courts and play area. The city was recently awarded $4.4 million in Proposition 84 grant funds, money that the school district will be able to tap to build the park improvements.
Santa Ana has fewer park acres per thousand residents than any other city in Orange County except Stanton.