Salinas City Council approves memorandum of understanding for Carr Lake Park project

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- UPDATE ON MARCH 20, 2024 AT 5:48 P.M.- The Salinas City Council approving a memorandum of understanding with the Big Sur Land Trust for the Carr Lake Park Project.

The project was approved by the council but has been in the works since 2008. Phase 1 of the project will include a development neighborhood park which the city intends to break ground on in April.

The park is expected to open by Spring 2025.

The park has been named Ensen Park after a Tribal Chairwoman for the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation said that "Ensen," is an indigenous word for blackberry.

City officials said during phase 2, a 67 acre restoration and open space area will be created. Work is expected to start in Spring 2025 and be completed by Spring 2026.

Big Sur Land Trust asking for help naming 73-acre park project at Carr Lake in Salinas

The Big Sur Land Trust has narrowed down its list of names for people to choose for a large park project at Carr Lake in Salinas.

You can vote for one of the names by clicking here but you have to do so by January 28, 2024.

Options listed in the survey include Carr Lake Park/Carr Lake Community Park, Ensen Park/Ensen Community Park or Nikkei Park/Nikkei Community Park.

Each name has a backstory, too, that the Big Sur Land Trust says is relevant to the area.

The "Carr" name comes from Jesse D. Carr, who the land trust says was one of the largest agriculturalists and stock-raisers in the Salinas Valley toward the end of the nineteenth century.

The "Ensen" name is a word meaning "home of the blackberries." The Big Sur Land Trust says this is the original name that Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation called the Carr Lake area.

Finally the "Nikkei" name is a name that was used to refer to Japanese immigrants and their descendants. The Big Sur Land Trust says naming the park "Nikkei Community Park" is a choice for some people because it would honor Japanese Americans who endured internment camps during World War II.

To learn more about the names and to vote, click here.