Town of Moraga Reopens Renovated Bandshell Lawn Terraces and Smart Irrigation Grid at Moraga Commons Park

Public works engineers and parks staff with the Town of Moraga Parks and Recreation Department reopened the two-acre central bandshell meadow and hillside seating terraces at Moraga Commons Park at 1425 St. Marys Road on Saturday afternoon, completing a six-week autumn turf, drainage, and smart-irrigation rehabilitation. Situated at the heart of Moraga at the corner of St. Marys Road and Moraga Road, the 22-acre community park hosts the summer Thursday evening concert series, the Pear and Wine Festival, and daily youth flag-football and picnicking.

Following heavy summer festival foot traffic and gopher activity that left the sloped amphitheater bowl uneven and patchy, landscape contractors laser-graded the hillside, installed galvanized subterranean gopher-exclusion mesh six inches below the root zone, and laid 65,000 square feet of drought-tolerant dwarf tall fescue sod blended with micro-clover. Along the steepest center slope facing the timber Kiwanis Bandshell, masons built three curved California buff-sandstone retaining seat walls that prevent blanket slippage and provide accessible bench seating for 180 spectators.

Beneath the turf, crews replaced forty-year-old pop-up spray heads with pressure-compensating rotary nozzles and a cellular weather-station controller developed in partnership with the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The zoned system adjusts nighttime watering schedules automatically based on Moraga valley humidity and rainfall, cutting annual park water consumption by an estimated 1.8 million gallons.

The $275,000 meadow renovation was financed through Town of Moraga Park Dedication Impact Fees and a $45,000 contribution from the Moraga Park Foundation. Residents can check park picnic reservation calendars and volunteer planting days on the Town of Moraga Parks and Recreation Portal.