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10-3 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 10 - Goals, Objectives, and Recommendations 10 B. Recommendations Having reviewed the County’s goals and objectfves identffied in 2008 for parks and recreatfon, and as seen in the preceding chapters, there is strong interest in parks and public open spaces, and in recreatfon facilitfes and programs in Orange County. This interest is validated in the high park attendance and recreatfon program partfcipatfon rates witnessed for the past decade. In additfon to providing recreatfon opportunitfes, residents feel strongly that parks and recreatfon programs enhance the economic health of the county (93% agreement) and the physical and mental well-being of the residents (96% agreement). Knowing all of this, how does one then plan for the future of such important components of the quality of life? Planning for the future always carries an element of risk. No one can say for certain how many residents will call Orange County home in the year 2030, what athletfc programs will be in vogue, what new park facilitfes will be desired and needed by the populace. Developing a master plan for the next 16 years requires reliance on quality forecastfng and the best available data; informatfon and preferences shared by county residents about their desires and needs; and the flexibility to alter the course and change plans as the next two decades unfold. Based on the informatfon contained in this plan and in the Orange County Comprehensive Plan 2030, using data and findings gathered from a variety of sources and in a variety of ways, the following rec- ommendatfons are offered to address the 20 Findings listed in Chapter 9 and the goals and objectfves listed earlier in this chapter, as well as other identffied needs and issues: 1. Determining When New Facilities and Programs are Needed How does the County determine when and where new facilitfes are needed, with a new emphasis on community-specific standards as the major determinant, and populatfon-based standards used only as a back-check and benchmark? As noted in Chapter 9, community-specific standards are now recommended as the best way for countfes and citfes to truly determine their facility needs. To facilitate this, a set of Guiding Principles for Park Standards is suggested. These standards include the types of parks and public open spaces the County should focus on going forward. Because of this, the key to answering the questfon above is through more frequent check-ins with county residents on their needs and interests, matched with strategic capital and infrastructure planning (and opportunitfes for working with the schools, etc). A combinatfon of community needs, populatfon distributfon and transportatfon helps to determine future needs. Public forums, surveys, focus groups and other techniques conducted on a regular basis (recommended every five years) should identffy needs for facilitfes, and analytfcal tools via strategic and capital infrastructure plans will work in conjunctfon with these feedback mechanisms to explore needs and optfmal locatfons for any future facilitfes. Likewise, as the public’s interest in recreatfon programs change over tfme, these feedback mechanisms will also serve to alert staff to changing conditfons and the potentfal for changes in program- ing needs. Recreatfon staff already has a process to monitor program efficiency and satfsfactfon, and this will offer another tool to offer programming that meets the needs of Orange County residents. Even with this new approach to community needs and standards, there are some existfng parameters that will help the County know what types of facilitfes are needed and where to locate them. 111