Verdugo Park may be home to second all-inclusive park in Glendale

An all-inclusive playground for children with all types of abilities is planned to be built in Verdugo Park, following approval by the Glendale City Council last week to enter into an agreement with the nonprofit group Shane’s Inspiration for the project.

Shane’s Inspiration helps design and construct playgrounds that allow children of all abilities to play alongside each other and together using facilities that go beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, guidelines for accessibility.

The all-inclusive park proposal carries a $825,000 budget, but Shane’s Inspiration would then help raise an additional $150,000 to $200,000, making it a $1-million project. The vote on Tuesday asked only for $15,000 to work with the nonprofit for consulting, design and outreach.

“I’m really excited about this, and I know it’s expensive but it’s going to serve a lot of children. It’s going to do a lot of good,” said Councilwoman Paula Devine. “I hear nothing but positives in the community when I mention [the all-inclusive parks] coming to Glendale.”

The first is scheduled to be built in Maple Park.

The new playground is expected to be built in the northwest portion of Verdugo Park, new where there is currently an existing playground that was built roughly six years ago. The 6,000-square-foot playground would expand by roughly 12,000 square feet with construction of the all-inclusive site.

A grassy area would be replaced with new parking spaces, including some set aside for handicap accessibility.

Construction is slated to start by December 2018 and will take about one year. The completion date would align with the larger Verdugo Park rehabilitation project, which will add a new community building, restrooms, parking, and picnic areas, according to Onnig Bulanikian, the city’s director of community services and parks.

Mayor Vartan Gharpetian said he is worried that the planned location in the northern part of Verdugo Park doesn’t have enough visitors to justify a $1-million project and asked if a more active area, perhaps in the south, should be considered.

The first all-inclusive playground in California was built at Griffith Park in 2000. There are currently 56 of them, mostly in the United States, with about 75 more in development, Bulanikian said.

A community meeting with Shane’s Inspiration officials and a planning consultant to discuss the park and other amenities is scheduled for June 12.

The current design is conceptual and, after the first community meeting, a designer will return with three different plans using community input, Bulanikian said.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda

UPDATES:

4:10 p.m.: This article was updated after the date of the community meeting was changed from June 12 to June 17.

This article was originally published May 23 at 7:10 p.m.