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

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Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master- Plan CHAPTER 1- Summary of the Plan Summary of the Plan In July 1988, the Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted the County's first master plan for the provision of parks and recreation services. This document, the "Master Recreation and Parks Plan" included on its opening page the following introduction: "The growing population of America has more leisure time than ever before, a factor encouraging greater participation in recreational activities... As a consequence, federal, state and local governments are challenged with providing adequate recreational activities for an expanding population. This challenge is heightened by the fact that urbanization is reducing existing open space. Increased demand often results in the overuse of existing facilities which in turn leads to mis -use or deterioration." What was true in 1988 appears true or even exacerbated in 2014. Greater demand for a wide range of recreational opportunities is still evident. The past 25 years have seen further dramatic changes in Orange County, where almost 50,000 additional residents have come to reside since 1988. Urban and suburban development has changed the landscape of much of the nation, the state and our county. This same quarter- century has also been a period of dramatic change in the degree of park facilities and recreation programs in the county — especially in the past 15 years. Since 1998, Orange County has funded, constructed and opened six new parks, and witnessed substantial increases in recreation and athletic program participation. The facilities and programs available in 2014 offer opportunities beyond those envisioned in 1988, into program areas and types of facilities only opaquely seen at that time. Likewise, the linkages between public parks, recreation programs and public health has become an issue of national significance, and interest in healthier lifestyles (whether through athletic events on playing fields or opportunities to commune with nature on an interpretive trail) is of heightened awareness. 1 -1 To provide for these places, the County embarked on an innovative and proactive Lands Legacy Program which works in part to acquire future park sites, many of which were identified back in the 1988 plan. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2030 contained herein is, in essence, an attempt to: • examine the lessons and experiences of the past, • identify current issues and challenges, and • project community needs and desires into a vision for the future — a future that ensures a legacy of parks and public open spaces for current and future generations. Background and Inventory — Why a New Plan The 1988 Master Recreation and Parks Plan was Orange County's first vision for a future of park facilities and recreational opportunities, and it has served the County well. The fact that so many of its organizing concepts, goals and identified facility needs continue to be the basis of activity and policy is testament to its service. However, there can be no question that many things have changed since 1988. New residential subdivi- sions, schools, population growth, interstate highways, and changes in community infrastructure are just a few of the many changed conditions from the 1988 plan. In order to accurately represent the vision for the future, plans must be updated, and goals and objectives revisited and adjusted. This plan looks to both the ideas and goals of the old plan, and the espoused community needs and interests of the present and future. While Orange County adopted a system master plan in 1988, in reality, very little activity toward achiev- ing the vision of that plan occurred in the first decade after its adoption. However, beginning with new planning efforts and a voter - approved bond referendum in 1997, the next 15 years would see IH