Agenda - 06-03-2014 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Wester Plan CHAPTER 1 - Summary of the Plan Recommendations Using the 20 Findings identified in the master plan, and assessing the current status of park planning via the framework of the park system as has been developed over the past 15 years, the Master Plan makes nine recommendations moving forward to the year 2030: Recommendation 1 - Protect and Enhance Invest- ment in Parks and Open Spaces: The County currently operates six parks repre- senting an investment of over $9 million, and has helped fund municipal parks by contributing over $6.5 million to these facilities. Future phases at the six open County parks are planned, and some of the facilities built will begin to age out over time. Operation and maintenance costs are ongoing and critically important to the park experience. The County should continue to protect its investment in the existing parks by funding facility replacement, future phases and operating costs. Recommendation 2 — Build the Planned Future Parks: Because the County has been so proactive in identifying and acquiring future park sites, several future sites have been secured for future use and these new park projects are included in the County's Capital Investment Plan. Orange County should commit to opening the planned new parks as shown in Table 10 -1 within 10 years (by the year 2024), with two of the parks opened within 5 years (by 2019). Recommendation 3 — Complete the Protection of Identified Nature Preserves and Create Access Areas and Trails Within the Preserves: Working through the Lands Legacy program and other conservation partners, the County has three identified locations where nature preserves exist or have been started with the possibility of expansion — the Upper Eno preserve, the New Hope Preserve and the Jordan Lake Headwaters Preserve. The primary purpose of these preserves is to protect important natural lands, but opportunities exist — and should be pursued — to provide for public access on the less sensitive portions of the sites through careful site nlannine. Recommendation 4 — Formalize and Build Support Structure for Multi- Partner Capital Facilities: Over the past 16 years, the towns and County have worked together to construct a number of parks and open space areas, primarily County funding toward construction of town -owned and operated facilities. Similarly, the use of school facilities for recreation programs occurs in some locations. Greater opportunities for joint ventures appear both possi- ble and prudent. In some cases, towns are running out of land for new parks, and the County owns parkland nearby. Design of new school facilities could occur with joint use in mind, rather than after the fact. In addition, opportunities with OWASA, state parks and the two local educational institutions (UNC and Duke) appear to exist. All of these parties have mutual interests that may be served by greater collaboration, and the time may have come to make this collaboration more formal. Recommendation 5 — Develop a Master Plan for the Orange County segment of the Statewide Mountains -to -Sea Trail: The Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) is part of the State Parks system and will link Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks. While many portions of the trail network have been developed and are in use, the eastern Piedmont segment remains the most complicated due to the need to traverse an area without natural features (rivers) or public lands. The plan for the MST calls for it to enter Orange County at the southwest from the Haw River Trail, and con- nect via Hillsborough into Eno River State Park and thence to Falls Lake. The MST, which in rural areas may be only a natural path a few feet wide, contains a planned segment from OWASA -owned lands around Cane Creek Reservoir to the Upper Eno Pre- serve near Hillsborough. This segment will require careful planning with property owners and utilities. A master plan for the trail is needed to pinpoint the trail's path through this area. A solution should be identified (whether on private lands, public roads or some combination thereof) so that Orange County does not become the gap in the NC MST. . -10