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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 11, 2014 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 2 <br /> SUBJECT: Draft Orange County Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2030 <br /> DEPARTMENT: Department of Environment, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> Agriculture, Parks and <br /> Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Draft Master Plan David Stancil, 245-2510 <br /> Proposed Timetable of Activities <br /> PURPOSE: To provide an informal "first look" and receive Board feedback on the draft Orange <br /> County Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2030. <br /> BACKGROUND: In July 1988, Orange County adopted its first Recreation and Parks Master <br /> Plan (also known as the Parks and Recreation Element of the Orange County Comprehensive <br /> Plan). Designed as a 20-year plan, the 1988 plan identified a vision and plan for a parks system <br /> in Orange County which included plans for the acquisition and construction of parks and <br /> recreation centers at strategic locations around the county. While the County continued to offer <br /> recreation programs for County residents, the acquisition and construction of the planned future <br /> parks did not begin in earnest until the late-1990's. B and referenda approved by county voters <br /> in 1997 and 2001 funded many of the planned improvements and park site acquisitions <br /> envisioned in 1988. Most of the parks identified in the 1988 plan have now been constructed or <br /> acquired. While the 1988 Master Plan has served the County well, it is now dated and in need <br /> of replacement. Many changed conditions now exist, and funding agencies will require a more- <br /> current plan for future grant requests. <br /> Plans to develop a new master plan for the County's parks and recreation facilities and <br /> programs were channeled into the new Orange County Comprehensive Plan 2030, which was <br /> adopted by the Board of Commissioners in November 2008. The Comprehensive Plan included <br /> a chapter on Parks and Recreation, and foremost among the recommendations in that chapter <br /> was the creation of a new master plan to guide the future. After delays due to the economic <br /> downturn and other pressing projects, work toward the new Master Plan began in earnest in the <br /> spring of 2012. The new master plan process was coordinated by staff with the advice and <br /> direction of the Parks and Recreation Council. Funding for a third party to administer a <br /> comprehensive Community Needs Assessment (CNA) was provided, and UNC-Greensboro's <br /> Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation was eventually selected as the survey <br />