Marysville's plan for ex-Hollywood Trailer Park land draws fire

A proposal to designate the former Hollywood Trailer Park as "open space" for future development as a recreation area drew sharp criticism from Marysville residents on Tuesday at a City Council meeting.

The designation, according to city staff, would fulfill a requirement outlined in the Washington Square Commercial Project's environmental impact report.

Accusations ranged from lack of transparency on the part of the city's Parks and Recreation Committee to flat out immorality on the part of city officials in general.

Concerns were also raised about dozens of homeless people who live in the Yuba County part of Hollywood.

The city's proposal, according to Beverly Hayes of Citizens to Preserve Marysville Parks, "shows a complete lack of scruples."

"I was dumbstruck," she said, of the comparison between Hollywood, which lies between the Marysville Levee and the Yuba River, and the former Washington Square, southeast of the 10th Street bridge.

She referred to the former Washington Square as "a 158-year-old pioneer park in the heart of Marysville," and said it was in no way comparable to Hollywood, which lies in a flood plain.

After hearing a litany of criticisms, including those from council candidates Kelly Richcreek and Dale Whitmore, council members voted 4-1 to table the proposal, pending another review by the parks committee, which recommended it.

Councilman Jim Kitchen opposed the delay.

The city is required to identify .51 acres of land to help mitigate the loss of open space at Washington Square.

With construction for the Washington Square project completed, the parks committee recently considered options that included a combination of multiple smaller lots, such as .44 acres of privately owned land at the southwest corner of 9th and F streets and .16 acres of private land on the northeast corner of Third and D streets.

Options in the city, which is almost entirely built out, were extremely limited, said City Services Director Dave Lamon.

The city already owns 8.63 acres in the Hollywood park area, which, Lamon argued, could potentially be developed in the future as part of a contiguous swath of city and county-owned recreational park land.

That plan would have park land wrap around the southern part of Marysville from the east, and eventually meet with Beckwourth Riverfront Park to the west.

The city acquired part of the land with FEMA funding nine years ago.

After floods repeatedly damaged the trailer park there, FEMA deemed the area, which lies between the Marysville Levee and the Yuba River to be unsafe for year-round habitation.

CONTACT Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712 or at npasternack@ appealdemocrat.com.