QUESTION: What factors must a city consider when planning to develop open space in a suburban

area?
ACADEMIC SUBJECTS INVOLVED: Government, Art/Design , Computer Science, English

January 26, 2021

Topic Approval Committee

Northgate High School
425 Castle Rock Road
Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Dear Sir or Madam:

In my Research Paper, I hope to answer the question: How can a citizen create a plan and submit an idea to be
considered and eventually implemented by a city if it involves a flood district or other natural area? That is
because for a few years I have wished to design and propose a disc golf course to be installed in the flood basin
across the street from Northgate. This is a complicated and difficult task which first requires me to understand
the process and learn how to reach this final goal. With a guiding question such as this one I can explore the
factors of the political process which are required such as methods of communication, speed, permits, voting
methods and jurisdiction.

For my experiential project, I decided to aim for drafting and submitting a design for a new disc golf course in
the flood basin neighboring Northgate’s campus. My specific goal for this semester is to prepare and submit a
design to the CCC Flood Control and Water Conservation District, it would take much longer to find funding
and start or complete construction. I will ask a member of the disc golf community who has much experience
with designing and developing courses in general and even in this county, the man I have found is Chris Dana.
With such a small pool of experts in this specific area, if he will not help me then I will find an urban planner or
cartographer. In the end there is a personal gain and community gain; I will learn about the local political
process and designing a topographical map while the community benefits from the installation of a new course,
or at the very least a proposal of one that can be posted online and revived by someone else later!

This project requires primarily a dive into the workings of Contra Costa County and Walnut Creek while also
dipping into map making. Between researching steps I likely will need to communicate with federal (district)
employees to acquire more details or clarity that I cannot attain online. I must find the proper software and
learn how to use it with articles and tutorials. As I enter into this realm of urban planning and digital design
there will be much new vocabulary and concepts to research. I do not know how difficult navigating the
websites will be to find the information I need will be, but it should take 5 to 10 hours.

This question raises many obstacles for me to overcome. I will need to learn how to use a software program to
design the physical layout with whatever precision and topography required to propose the idea. The software
and model alone could take upwards of 15 hours to create if the district would require measurements to the
foot. I would also need to research and outline a schedule on how to submit a course design. I do not know all
the possible challenges this may have such as which permits to obtain and who to get approval from. I am
unsure if these two problems may be solved before or after proposing a plan to the flood district: where the
money ($5,000 estimated from my previous research) would come from, and how to predict how the community
would be impacted. Fortunately I have all the tools to succeed from prior experience learning new programs, to
a head start finding a helpful mentor.

I hope this meets with your approval.

Sincerely,

Trey Scheid
English Teacher: Mr. Nunes Period 5