Seville Residents Continue Urging the County to Apply for a State Park Grant that Could Make a Community Park a Reality, After Being Told to Wait for Another CycleA group of students from Seville will attend the Tulare Board of Supervisor’s meeting Tuesday to urge the County to reconsider its decision to not apply for a Statewide Park Program Grant and to partner with Seville residents to pursue this opportunity. The Statewide Park Program is a rare opportunity for residents of communities, like Seville, that lack any public community park to obtain recreational facilities that all communities deserve and need in order for their children to be healthy and thrive. In order to meet the grant’s December 17th deadline, the Seville community has come together to ask the County to act now to support their community.
Seville is a proud and resilient unincorporated community in Tulare County. It currently lacks a safe and accessible park for families, youth, and seniors. The nearest public park is 8 miles away, making access to outdoor recreation, healthy living, and community gathering difficult for many families. Last year, a community survey conducted by neighborhood advocacy group, Golden Resources of Seville, showed that 92% of respondents feel that their community needs a park, and 95% of respondents attested they would use a park in Seville on daily or weekly. The need for a park has been deeply felt by the community for many years, and the lack of commitment to apply this cycle has only heightened the community’s sense of urgency to apply.
The Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program (“SPP”), which opened for applications this month and will close in December, is a competitive grant program that creates new parks and recreational opportunities in critically underserved communities across California. This grant presents a rare opportunity for the Seville community to have a chance to gain the community park residents have been waiting for, but it requires the County, as the entity with the greatest likelihood to succeed, to be on board and apply for Seville.
Despite sustained advocacy from Seville residents and support from the Stone Corral Elementary School Board, the County has not agreed to help Seville by submitting this grant application. Nonetheless, Seville residents are ready, willing, and determined to find a way to collaborate with the County to help make their community’s dream a reality.
When: Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 2800 W. Burrel Avenue, Visalia, CA 93291
Who: Golden Resources of Seville (“GRS”), a community group dedicated to empowering residents and advocating for a healthy, safe, and thriving environment, and approximately 30 sixth through eighth grade Seville students.