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9—14 <br />Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan <br /> CHAPTER 9 - What Does It All Mean: Summary and Findings from Inventories, Research, and Input 9 <br />7. Some residents are unsure about whether <br /> future athletic programs or parks are needed, <br /> but among those expressing an opinion, a <br /> significant majority favor new programs and <br /> parks. <br /> <br /> 8. The highest levels of interest in new/expand- <br /> ed programs are for walking, hiking, swim <br /> ming, biking, summer camps and yoga. <br /> <br />9. Likewise, the top choices for new parks <br /> facilities desired are walking trails, nature <br /> trails, biking trails, greenways, a swimming <br /> pool and water parks. <br /> <br />10. Residents are almost universally supportive of <br /> funding new parks and recreation facilities <br /> through grants and corporate donations. <br /> <br />11. Residents express strong support for financing <br /> future parks and recreation opportunities <br /> through voter-approved bonds or existing <br /> local taxes. There is less support for charging <br /> user fees, and increasing local taxes (other <br /> than property taxes) was not a desired <br /> solution. <br /> <br />12. The County has successfully acquired sites for <br /> new parks identified in the 1988 Master Plan, <br /> with the exception of the Bingham District; <br /> and four new parks are projected in the Count <br /> y’s Capital Investment Plan, along with <br /> additions and improvements to existing parks. <br /> <br />13. The creation of nature preserves in important <br /> natural areas of the county offers an <br /> opportunity for both public access and low- <br /> impact recreation and protection of important <br /> natural and cultural resources being <br /> protected. <br />B. Opportunities and Challenges <br /> <br /> <br /> 14. The County has been successful in recent <br /> years in pursuing public/private or public/ <br /> non-profit partnerships for new facilities, and <br /> should continue to explore these opportuni- <br /> ties and engage where mutually-beneficial. <br /> <br />15. With the County having land-banked several <br /> park sites for future use, and little room for <br /> new parks inside the town borders, there may <br /> be unprecedented opportunities for partner <br /> ships between the County and towns for new <br /> park or recreation facilities. <br />16. There are likely also financial benefits to <br /> coordination and collaboration among the <br /> towns and County for future parks. <br /> <br />17. While not growing at the rate of the 1970’s - <br /> 1990’s, the County continues to be a very- <br /> desirable place to live with a high quality of <br /> life, and population growth is expected to <br /> continue, adding another 36,000 residents <br /> by the year 2030. These new residents will <br /> likely be split between those in the towns <br /> and those in the rural and suburban areas of <br /> the County. <br /> <br />18. The County’s Lands Legacy Program has <br /> wiped out the parkland deficit identified in <br /> 1999, and secured a number of future park, <br /> open space and nature preserve sites at <br /> strategic locations for future needs. <br /> <br />19. The adopted 1988 Master Recreation and <br /> Parks Plan served the County well as a blue <br /> print for future needs, and most of the <br /> facilities and programs anticipated in that <br /> plan have been built, secured or implemented. <br /> Many of the basic philosophical and physical <br /> tenets of that plan are still valid. However, a <br /> solution to a park site for Bingham Township <br /> remains to be addressed. <br /> <br />20. Many opportunities for coordinated school/ <br /> park planning with the school systems appear <br /> to exist. <br /> <br />See appendix 9-1 for Endnotes <br />108