Agenda 11-16-2021; 8-c - Approval of Interlocal Agreement Renewal and Master Plan - Little River Regional Park and Natural Area

Browse Search

34 Recommendations And Proposed Action Strategies Based on Little River Park's site analysis and site con- -" straints,as well as previous decisions during the park's initial planning and development,the park can general- , ly be divided into three management areas: • "Park Developed Area" The area towards the front of the park that has most developed amenities including parking lot,shelters, playground and park office.This area includes only a small portion of CWMTF easement on the northern y edge of the central meadow. x " • "Low-Impact Natural Area" b,. .. Area shown in pale green,this encompasses they bulk of the park acreage,and includes low-impact hiking trails and mountain biking trails.The intent of these areas is to respect the vegetative and cultural features,while making this area available for public recreation that does not impact the resources.This Proposed Facility Improvements and Actions designation includes the majority of the acreage Improvements to Existing Nature Trails included within the CWMTF restrictions. Based on both staff observation and survey results,the • "Permanent Preservation Area(Wildlife Corridor)" most-used amenities at Little River Regional Park are Area shown in darker green on the attached map the hiking and biking trails.The Park currently offers (Figure 6),this area is generally intended to have seven miles of hiking trails and seven miles of sin- little active public use in order to preserve a relatively gle-track mountain bike trails.In addition to being the natural part of the park for wildlife habitat.This area most-used facilities,surveys have shown that residents includes a long stretch along the North Fork Little and patrons feel that expansion and improvement of River that is included in the CWMTF easement and the trail networks are a top priority.This is also consis- adjoining areas of natural resource significance. tent with Orange County's 2030 Parks and Recreation Based on the findings and analysis of the site con- Master Plan (adopted in 2014). straints,existing conditions,and park user input con- The addition of new trails or expansion of existing trails tained and summarized in the preceding sections,a would be very challenging under current conditions number of recommendations have been developed for and protections.This worthy interest must be weighed the future of the park.These include: against the need/desire to maintain portions of the park as a natural area. It is important to note that the land for the park was acquired with the intention to preserve and protect a large wilderness area along the North Fork Little River. However,equally important was the goal to provide a new outdoor recreation opportu- nity to citizens. Staff has worked hard in the 15 years of park operation to balance these goals and provide a unique outdoor recreation facility. 22 Little River Regional Park&Natural Area Master Plan