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9—4
<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
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<br />Strategies to Develop Community-Specific Standards (UNC Greensboro)
<br /> Elicit residents’ (who use County programs, services and facilities offered) input regarding their parks and
<br /> recreation needs via such methods as focus groups, public hearings, and needs assessment;
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<br /> Elicit residents’ (who do not use programs, services, facilities offered by DEAPR) input regarding their parks
<br /> and recreation needs via such methods as focus groups, public hearings, and needs assessment;
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<br /> Prioritize residents’ needs based on current/future capital and operational funding;
<br /> Consult the county’s mission, vision, and goals;
<br /> Evaluate residents’ access to parks (walking radius);
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<br /> Assess residents’ perception of current programs, services, facilities offered by DEAPR;
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<br /> Appraise residents’ satisfaction level with current programs, services, facilities, and areas provided by DEAPR;
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<br /> Calculate a user level of service for current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by DEAPR;
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<br /> Identify residents’ perception of programmatic and facility deficiencies;
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<br /> Identify DEAPR staff’s perception of programmatic and facility deficiencies;
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by DEAPR;
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by other municipalities in Orange County;.
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by the non-profit sector (e.g., YMCA);
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by the commercial, for -profit sector;
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by offered by the State of NC and US federal
<br /> government;
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<br /> Inventory current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by like counties (e.g. SCORP, see attached); and
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<br /> Examine current programs, services, facilities, and areas offered by for Class II (population 100,001 – 250,000)
<br /> NRPA National Gold Medal Award winners for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.
<br />2. Review of the Use of Standards for Parks and
<br />Recreation Plans
<br />
<br />As noted above, the use of standards to determine
<br />park and facility needs has historically been a key
<br />component of master plans, including the County’s
<br />existing 1988 plan. However, thinking about the
<br />use of formulaic standards has changed in the past
<br />decades. The County’s consultants from UNC-
<br />Greensboro were asked to prepare a brief on the
<br />current thinking on the use of standards for parks
<br />and recreation planning.
<br />The following is their report on the current validity
<br />of standards for parks and recreation planning in
<br />2013 (emphasis added).
<br />
<br />Standards for Parks and Recreation
<br />After a thorough review of the literature, search of
<br />the internet, and discussions with professionals and
<br />
<br />
<br />consultants in the parks and recreation field, it was
<br />concluded that national or state standards regarding
<br />program, service, facility, or area needs for parks
<br />and recreation no longer exist.
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<br />Over the past 2-3 decades it has been determined
<br />that national or even state standards do not address
<br />the unique nature of individual communities.
<br />Common practice today is for communities to
<br />develop the community-specific standards that re-
<br />flect the parks and recreation needs of their resi-
<br />dents. The following are examples of strategies that
<br />would enable the Department of Environment, Ag-
<br />riculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR) to develop
<br />community-specific standards:
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