Park History

Back in the late 1960's, Larry Epping Development Company was applying to Marion County for permits to building a number of "phases" in an overall development project called "Santana Village." If you are a close neighbor to Santana Village Park, the legal description to your home probably has the phrase "Santana Village Phase __" in it. To make what was probably a longer story (and negotiation) short, Epping Development got its permits and was required to deed to the County a 4.1 acre piece of land, which at some point was named "Santana Park." The deed conveying that 4.1 acres to the county was recorded in 1969.

In the years following 1969, a number of improvements were made to "Santana Park," mostly by volunteer groups and individuals. An asphalt basketball/tennis court was installed, playground equipment for children was installed, fence segments were placed in front of the park (to keep out those who wanted to turn the park into a playground for their cars). The neighborhood was growing and the park was growing and improving with it.

It's hard to say exactly when, but at some point, the condition of the park began to increasingly deteriorate. Funds were tight for Marion County, tighter yet for parks. By 2008, the park was barely recognizable from its earlier days: fences were perpetually tagged with gang graffiti, gang member were "at" the park more than anyone else, the grass and weeds were generally unmowed, the horseshoe pits were not useable, most of the basketball court was unusable. In short, the park looked like it was abandoned -- and for the most part, it was. Aside from being a waste of resources, the park was also a public space that announced to all who saw it that they probably didn't want to live in this area of Salem.

So in July, 2008, a small group of neighbors began to take responsibility for the public space that was in their backyard. With their own time and at their own expense, they regularly mowed, removed or painted over graffiti, restored the horseshoe pits and basketball hoops, weeded, trimmed bushes, filled holes throughout the park that could sprain ankles, fixed up the ball field. In short, neighbors brought the park back to life, which meant back to the point where neighborhood families were again using the park.

These same neighbors were interested in doing more than just bring the park back into a maintained condition; they also wanted to improve it. But that didn't match with the county's plans or revenue situation. So the neighbors asked the county to give them ownership of the park, in order that they could raise funds and improve the park as their neighborhood saw fit. To make a bit of a drawn out story short, that ownership was transferred -- by Marion County to Santana Village Park Association (SVPA) -- on June 29, 2012. Also on June 29, 2012, SVPA sent its application to the Internal Revenue Service asking the IRS to recognize SVPA as a 501c3 organization (so that gifts to the park would be tax deductible to donors). That IRS recognition was granted on October 18, 2012 (IRS 501c3 Recognition Letter), so any gift to SVPA is tax deductible.