Representatives of a landscape architecture firm work with Murietans on the park's amenities.

A new park began to take shape Thursday evening when neighbors met with landscape architects to talk about what they want the 2.6-acre site to offer. The park site was carved out of a 21-acre lot in the Greens subdivision in Murieta South that includes wetland and tree-mitigation areas.

"The master plan is really the most important part of the project because it's where you spend all your time programming what needs to go into the park," said landscape architect Jeff Ambrosia of Yamasaki Landscape Architecture.

The park, with access from Jigger Court, is small in size, roughly a third of the size of Riverview Park, according to Ambrosia.

It and Riverview would be the only parks in Murieta South at present.

Sara N. Fix of Yamasaki told the audience of seven residents, Parks Committee members and RMA staff that community parks like Riverview and Stonehouse are intended for "active recreation. ... You have sports fields, lighting, just a lot more activities going on that don't fit into the smaller neighborhood parks."

Neighborhood parks serve the immediate neighborhood, and the Greens park is "only supposed to serve the half-mile radius around it, which is just the Greens neighborhood," said Fix. What the smaller park has going for it is "beautiful views ... that you really want to take advantage of" and a connection to a natural environment, she said.

The park will emphasize passive recreation. "There's a difference between passive recreation and active recreation," said Ambrosia. "Passive recreation is more like walking dogs. You're going to go out, you're going to wander through. We're going to have natural trails that meander through this area. It's a place where you can sit down on a bench and enjoy the foothills, enjoy the views. It's a place for kids to play in the tot lot."

The park won't have electricity but it will have water for drinking fountains and turf irrigation. It will also have a parking area with six or more spaces, and portable restrooms.

The landscape architects offered suggestions for passive recreation, including a basketball half-court, shade structure, nature path and gathering area for meetings. Then they looked to the audience for input.  A tot lot for ages 2 to 5, a separate "adventure area" for ages 5 to 12, picnic tables, shade structures, swings, a bike riding area and an open play area emerged as popular elements. Everyone wanted benches.

As the group warmed to the possibilities of the new park, a garden area with deer-resistant plantings and low-water requirements was suggested as well as other projects that local groups like the scouts and clubs might be interested in carrying out.

After the presentation, the audience was invited to fit shapes representing various components into a map of the park site to get a sense of what the space would accommodate and provide direction for the park designers.

There will be second meeting on the master plan design, and the entire design phase could take six to nine months, Ambrosia said. "Realistically, construction probably wouldn't begin until next summer sometime," he said, adding, "That's a pretty conservative estimate." The park will probably be finished in late 2009, he told the group.

The park is a Parks Committee project and parks funds would be used to build it. The fund is made up of contributions from developers on a per-lot basis. Smaller contributions are made by RMA members through dues. The fund has about $280,000 now and no additional funds are expected until development resumes.

The park site is owned by the Rancho Murieta Association, which would operate and maintain the park.