BREC sets the ground rules

BREC and design firm Sasaki will host a community meeting Thursday evening, from 5:30–7 p.m., at the McKinley Alumni Center on the City-Brooks Community Park + Lakes Vision Plan. One thing not on the agenda: a public airing of grievances or demands.

Why it matters: Reimagining City-Brooks Park—especially the fate of the golf course, a tie-in with the University Lakes project and a recommendation to use a conservancy to manage it all—has prompted strong community reaction. BREC officials are making it clear: Thursday's meeting is about updating the public and gathering feedback, not amplifying the debate.

What to expect: Robyn Lott, BREC's vice president of marketing and communications, confirms the format will be tightly structured.

• A 20–30 minute Sasaki presentation kicks things off, covering the planning history, current recommendations and key choices.
• For the remaining hour, roughly 30 large boards on easels will be arranged around the room, each focused on specific aspects of the potential master plan—zoomed-in details of areas that have only been shown in broad terms in earlier presentations.
• Sasaki and BREC representatives will circulate for one-on-one conversations at the boards.
• Feedback is collected via stickers—not open-mic comments.

No new options, no votes: This is not the meeting to lobby for a golf course-free park or an unchanged one. Both draft plans retain the golf course in a modified format. Thursday goes deeper into the details of those existing drafts—it doesn't introduce alternatives.

Details matter: Get caught up on what's happened.

• RedEye looks at the two drafts offered by Sasaki.
• A larger think piece on City-Brooks Park and the prospect of a grander vision.
• An overview of public survey comments on the master plan.

The Bottom Line: Feedback collected Thursday, combined with committee and commission input, will guide BREC's final decisions on the future of one of Baton Rouge's most contested green spaces.