Calabasas Council Boosts Funding For Brandon's Village Renovation

CALABASAS, CA — In the end, it came down to a red-tailed hawk.

The City Council last week debated whether to provide the Brandon's Village/Gates Canyon Park playground project an additional $156,786.52 needed to complete the project as designed.

Several council members were miffed that the project went over budget: The council last year approved $1.12 million for the overhaul of the accessible playground, with an understanding that any shortfalls would need to be made up through private fundraising.

The additional money would be needed to "do it right," Community Services Director Erica Green said — through "enhancements" to a standard design. Those include more treehouse structures, a gabled roof, an upgraded multi-child swing, elevated sandbox and climbing structures.

But just when it looked like the request for more money would fail, Councilmember Alicia Weintraub came up with a compromise — approve all the additional money except for $100,000 for a custom red-tailed hawk sculpture meant to match Calabasas' iconic raptor.

The council approved the plan on a 4-1 vote.

First built in 2006, the current Brandon's Village is a Western-themed playground named after Brandon Kaplan that was spearheaded by his parents.

Last year elements of the park — which had become regionally renowned for being accessible to children with disabilities — had to be removed due to safety issues, while sinking and shifting issues mean the entire area needs to be monitored for safety.

Now, the Kaplans, city officials and accessible-playground nonprofit Unlimited Play are planning to dramatically overhaul the playground with new equipment and a new theme, a treehouse above the clouds.

The new playground will be 100 percent accessible to children of all abilities, with sections for 5-12 year-olds, 2-5 year-olds and toddlers.

Before the vote, Weintraub was particularly concerned that the full ask of additional money might come at the expense of other parks that are in dire need of renovation and set to be improved over the next two years. Councilmember Peter Kraut raised concerns about the procurement through Sourcewell, which makes it difficult to determine exactly how much individual items in the plan will cost.