In November of 2025, plans were proposed to the public by the City of Sunnyvale to renovate Las Palmas Park, a popular park in Sunnyvale, CA. Las Palmas Park was built over 50 years ago, and is composed of a large grass field, two playgrounds, a picnic area, dog park and much more. It is a beloved spot of the surrounding Sunnyvale community, and used for a variety of reasons, like hosting events at the picnic tables, hanging out with friends or playing friendly games of volleyball out on the grass.

“I think it’s a great park,” FHS junior Annabelle Buteau said. “It’s always so nice. There are people there who are always so friendly, and it’s just a very safe park.”

Although the plans to renovate the park are still underway, they have been narrowed down to two concepts. Both designs include revamping  the recreational building, shrinking the size of the pond, implementing shade structures, improving the picnic area and repairing the grass area. Concept one has plans to add lighting to the field, create more pathways, add passive recreation, add additional tennis courts and add other sports related additions to the field. Concept two proposes a bathroom near the dog park and creating a water play area.

“Our goal is to update the park’s amenities, enhance its use for recreation and ensure its sustainability for the future,” project engineer Connie Phan said via email.

The idea from option one to add fencing and lights to the park has faced some backlash from the community due to concerns of things like exclusivity and wildlife. To combat this renovation idea, several community members formed Green and Serene. The group has gone from three members to over 200 in the last month, and has created a website, petition and even held an event at the Las Palmas Park to showcase how much the community cared about it. Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein and councilwomen Linda Sell both attended the event. While the organizers had originally hoped for at least 50 people to attend, that goal was surpassed with over 300 people coming out and supporting.

“This is an open space that is so rare and so shared,” founding member and community organizer Angela Hinson said. “We share it. It’s a shared community. […] So if you have a fence, then you’re not allowed in. And that sends such a powerful message. The message is, you can’t come in.”

Hinson also mentioned that Green and Serene have spoken to the natural bird alliance, which are worried about the effect that the newly implemented fence could have on the parrots that come to Sunnyvale, and also the impact the field lighting could have on the owls that live in Las Palmas Park. However, Hinson says that their group is willing to compromise on the lighting.

“We’re willing to work with the city if they say, okay, lights for winter so that people can play and then turn off at seven,” Hinson said. “[…] You know, as far as lights, we don’t want to destroy the peace and quiet, but we understand if they want a little bit more use in wintertime, for for using lights.”

According to Hinson, her and her group are supportive of the other ideas proposed for the park. Hinson and her organization agree that areas such as the pond and community room should be updated.

“It’s a big pond,” Hinson said. “It’s broken. It’s expensive. Shorten that up. They still said they’d have a water feature for the kids. We totally support that. The other thing they’re talking about [..] was redoing the clubhouse or the community room. It’s dated, they absolutely need to [renovate] that. We totally support them in that we really want to work with the city and what they want to do.”

Although the plans for the park are still being developed and public input is still being considered, the project is guaranteed to happen, according to Phan. She noted that the timeline will be altered to ensure that the public input is considered.

“When we conclude the public input phase, we will present a conceptual design for the park’s renovation to the City Council for their approval,” Phan said via email.