Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
9—5 <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 /> <br />With the lack of national or state standards, and the <br />move to community needs-based standards to <br />recognize the unique nature and desires of <br />individual communities, the County must attempt to <br />determine these community needs. Fortunately, <br />many if not most of the recommended methods for <br />exploring these needs have been accomplished by <br />this master plan: <br /> <br /> The community needs assessment (CNA) surveys <br /> (statistical random-sample, online and targeted) <br /> solicited information of many of the bullet items <br /> listed above. <br /> <br /> The County has an established set of goals and <br /> objectives from the 2030 Comprehensive Plan to <br /> help frame the context of future planning. <br /> <br />  The surveys reached both frequent users and <br /> persons who were not familiar with the County’s <br /> parks and programs. They asked about satisfaction <br /> with and perceptions of current facilities and <br /> programs, and interests for the future needs. <br /> <br /> The County’s Capital Investment Plan offers a time <br /> line and plan for future parks and nature preserve <br /> investments. (This will be explored in greater detail <br /> in Chapter XII). <br /> <br /> Existing facilities and programs offered by the <br /> county and other providers have been inventoried <br /> as part of this project. <br /> <br />  New partnerships with non-profit recreation <br /> providers have enabled an understanding of how <br /> their programs and facilities are run. <br />However, there are a few areas of additional <br />research listed by the consultant that may be useful: <br /> Examination of programs and facilities by the State <br />and for-profit recreation providers <br /> <br /> Examination of programs and facilities offered by <br />similar counties <br /> <br /> Examination of programs and facilities from NRPA <br />award-winning parks and recreation systems of a <br />comparable size. <br />No NRPA award-winning systems were identified <br />that were comparable to Orange County. Almost all <br />systems were municipalities or large counties or <br />regional park districts that bear little resemblance to <br />Orange County. The following is a brief case study of <br />a similar county and its approach to parks and <br />recreation programs: <br /> <br />With the lack of national or state standards, and the <br />move to community needs-based standards to <br />recognize the unique nature and desires of individu- <br />al communities, the County must attempt to <br />determine these community needs. Fortunately, <br />many if not most of the recommended methods for <br />exploring these needs have been accomplished by <br />this master plan: <br /> <br />3. Guiding Principles for the Use of Park Standards <br /> <br />Given the lack of a national set of standards for use <br />but the historical practice of using this as a <br />measuring tool for park needs, and mindful of the <br />case studies and information gleaned from the <br />outreach conducted as part of this plan, a set of <br />guiding principles would be useful to govern how to <br />use and develop standards and determine future <br />needs. The following “Proposed Guiding Principles <br />for Park Standards” attempts to balance the expec- <br />tation of a community needs based approach with <br />the population-based standards of the past as a <br />check or comparative tool. It also includes the Park <br />Classification Scheme outlined previously in this <br />chapter. <br />99