Neighborhood still seeking park in memory of Andy Lopez (w/video)

A year's worth of mourning over the death of Andy Lopez has so far claimed only a small portion of the empty lot where he was gunned down.

The lot, located on the northwest corner of Moorland and West Robles avenues, is mostly still dominated by dried weeds and grass and hardened dirt, parched by the drought.

Neighbors have attempted to reclaim the site where 13-year-old Lopez was shot seven times by a veteran Sonoma County sheriff's deputy, but the makeshift playground they have built — with its motley collection of battered playhouses, rocking horses and toy cars — lacks a sense of permanence.

One year after Lopez's blood seeped into the dirt and sidewalk here, many Moorland residents are still wondering if a more permanent memorial — in the form of bona fide park — will be built.

'Things are pretty much the same,' said Gerardo Mendoza, 61, a maintenance worker for Burbank Housing who lives on Moorland Avenue.

One year ago this week, just south of Mendoza's home, Lopez was shot while walking down a sidewalk with an airsoft BB gun in his hand. Deputy Erick Gelhaus, a 24-year veteran with the Sheriff's Office, told police he fired at Lopez because he thought the boy was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle.

The vacant lot has become a focal point for tangible change in a neighborhood that has felt neglected by city and county officials. Mendoza says a park is badly needed in the area, one far bigger than the playground that has slowly grown in the middle of the lot in the wake of the Oct. 22, 2013, shooting.

'Every day people are playing out there,' Mendoza said.

The county envisions a much larger park area that would extend from Moorland Avenue on the east to the railroad tracks on the west and from West Robles on the south to the Parkview subdivision on the north.

County officials say they are working diligently to acquire the area for an urban park, a project that has been envisioned for Moorland for about two decades.

Grant funding for preliminary design and planning work has been acquired, community support is locked in and all that's left is to buy the property, said Supervisor Efren Carrillo, whose 5th District includes the Moorland neighborhood and southwest Santa Rosa.

'It would be a legacy for children and families and future generations who will have access to the park,' Carrillo said.

Assessment completed

The property, which consists of two lots, is currently owned by real estate agent and former Santa Rosa planning commissioner David Poulsen.

The county has completed an assessment of the property and is currently in talks with Poulsen over the sale price. Poulsen's representative in the negotiations, Herb Williams, would not discuss details of the talks with the county, nor would he comment on the assessed value of the lots.

County officials also refused to discuss the results of the assessment because they were part of the negotiations.

'There have been discussions, but no formal offers,' Williams said.

Last week, the county Board of Supervisors approved a matching grant of $466,667 from the county Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. The county had previously landed a $483,000 grant from a state housing-related parks program, said Caryl Hart, the county's regional parks director.

Bill Keene, general manager of the Open Space District, said the grant money approved last week is slated to be used for acquiring the property and limited planning and design work.

The funding was only a portion of what the county had requested, Keene said. More funds will be needed for full development of the park.

'Because that's a couple of years out, we said they could come back for that later,' he said.

Transformative potential

Hart said the county is negotiating the purchase of Poulsen's two lots, part of an effort to benefit that community.

'Yes, we're talking about the entire area,' Hart said. 'That's what the county is focused on.'

The impact on the neighborhood could be transformative, she said, with new sidewalks, lighting and other public services. The effect could help lift the neighborhood from years of neglect.

'Whenever you have a park in an area that's been historically underserved, it can have very significant impacts on the community, on the health of the people that live around there, on their ability to come together and meet other people, on their mental health, and it can raise home values significantly,' Hart said.

The ultimate cost of the park is unknown at this point and will partly depend on how much money is raised for the project, Hart said. She added that there will be key issues to be resolved, such as mitigating the loss of habitat for the tiger salamander, an endangered species. That could cost up to a half-million dollars, she said.

'But most importantly, what is the community interested in having?' Hart asked.

Mendoza said a park would fill a vacuum in the neighborhood.

'We don't have anything like it in this area,' he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.