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CHAPTER I-B |
SECTION 8 PARKS,
TRAILS, AND OPEN SPACE |
- BACKGROUND
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- The lands that contribute
to the open space system
of unincorporated El Paso County encompass a patchwork of public
and private holdings. In addition to County and municipal parks
these include Forest Service, military and State lands, utility
properties, institutional and school properties, as well as lands
held in private ownership.
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- The County Parks
Department currently administers approximately 3000 acres of
parks, and open space
and more than 50 miles of trails
either through direct ownership or lease arrangements. The Department’s
only dedicated funding sources are State lottery proceeds and
a limited amount of subdivision and facility use fees. Operations,
maintenance and administrative expenses are primarily funded
through the County’s general fund. Various discretionary
grant sources, such as the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) are
vital programs that contribute to additional planning, acquisition,
and development of the County’s regional
parks and open space system.
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- Park land dedications
or fees in lieu of land for regional
parks are required as part of the subdivision process. In
urban density areas additional fees/dedications are required
to assist with preserving urban park lands. Currently the County
Parks Department does
not provide for neighborhood parks;
therefore they either do not exist or are administered by special
districts or schools.
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- ISSUE 8.1 Protect and
enhance our legacy
- El Paso County has a tremendous
legacy of unique natural features, open
space, trails and
parklands. However, the relatively open character of the County
is changing as urban development, 2-1/2-, 5- and 35-acre sub-divisions
increase and interrupt the vast open vistas to the Front Range.
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- Demands for use of park
and open space areas are
variable and often compete with one another. The classic dilemma
is the choice of either protecting pristine natural environments
from users or allowing the community full access and use of park,
trails and open
space properties.
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- Goal 8.1 Protect
and enhance El Paso County’s legacy of unique natural features,
open space, trails and
park lands.
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- Policy 8.1.1
- Evaluate new development,
both public and private, in terms of its impact on the proposed
park, trails and open
space system.
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- Policy 8.1.2
- Fully consider potential
impacts to the proposed open space system identified in the Parks, Trails
and Open Space Master
Plan in the planning, coordination and prioritization of public
capital expenditures.
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- Policy 8.1.3
- Prioritize acquisition
and development of new parks,
trails and open
space in a manner which enhances the value of the overall
system.
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- Policy 8.1.4
- Promote balanced multiple
use of park, trails and
open space resources in
a manner which does not detract from their natural quality.
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- Policy 8.1.5
- Comprehensively identify
the most significant natural features in the County and develop
options for their protection.
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- Policy 8.1.6
- Encourage preservation
of all ecosystems represented in El Paso County.
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- Issue 8.2 Promote parks, trails
and open space planning
- Growth in the unincorporated
County has resulted in increased use of existing facilities and
demand for additional ones. In response, the Parks
Department has undertaken a public planning process to determine
the future direction and development for park lands, trails
and open space. This has
culminated in adoption of the El Paso County 1997 Parks,
Trails and Open Space
Master Plan.
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- While the Master Plan
offers a broad contextual plan for preserving open
space, it has not comprehensively considered the land use
implications of open space as a means of shaping or defining
developed areas.
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- Although the terms parks and open space
may overlap, they are by no means synonymous. While this community
may differ over priorities for their acquisition and use, there
is a good collective sense of what parks
are. However, there is not a consensus as to what is meant by
open space. Considered
in combination, factors including natural quality, accessibility,
jurisdiction, permanence and level of use contribute to varying
definitions of what should or should not qualify as open
space.
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- Goal 8.2 Promote comprehensive coordinated planning
for parks, trails
and open space in the
County.
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- Policy 8.2.1
- Encourage implementation
of the County’s Parks,
Trails and Open
Space Master Plan.
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- Policy 8.2.2
- Develop, adopt and maintain
a separate open space
element of the County Master Plan.
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- Policy 8.2.3
- Develop and maintain an
informed community consensus as to how open
space should be defined, why it is important, and how it
should be used.
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- Policy 8.2.4
- Encourage the use of a
coordinated County-wide approach in all applicable parks,
trails and open
space planning efforts.
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- Policy 8.2.5
- Support the continued
updating and implementation of adopted plans for regional trails.
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- Policy 8.2.6
- Rely upon planning efforts
to more clearly establish regional
parks and trails,
community parks, and open space needs and priorities.
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- Policy 8.2.7
- Maximize the usefulness
of planning information for parks,
trails and open
space by integrating it into a County-wide geographic information
system.
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- Policy 8.2.8
- Actively consider the
topic of open space in
the development of Small Area and topical elements of the Master
Plan.
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- ISSUE 8.3 Emphasize
parks and open
space in development planning.
- Parks, trails,
and open space planning
may not traditionally have been considered in the preparation
of development plans. In some instances, parks,
trails, and open
space sites which are set aside are of limited usefulness
and adequate provisions may not have been made for their maintenance.
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- Goal 8.3 Fully consider parks,
trails, and open
space issues in the review of individual development plans.
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- Policy 8.3.1
- Encourage development
plans which appropriately incorporate parks,
trails, and open
space into their design.
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- Policy 8.3.2
- Accommodate innovative
approaches for the provision and maintenance of viable parks,
trails, and open
space resources through the development review process.
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- Policy 8.3.3
- Address protection of
significant natural features beginning with the initial stages
of the development review process.
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- Policy 8.3.4
- Clearly designate the
boundaries of proposed parks
and open space in land
development plans.
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- Policy 8.3.5
- Ensure that publicly dedicated
open space is of sufficient
overall quality that it adds value to the larger community.
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- Policy 8.3.6
- Provide for the guaranteed
preservation of designated, but not yet developed park and open space properties.
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- Issue 8.4 Allow for
provision of community
and neighborhood parks
and trails
- Many of the more highly-developed
areas of the unincorporated County do not have community centers,
neighborhood parks, local
trails or recreational
facilities. The County’s Parks
Department provides only for the development and maintenance
of regional parks, trails and open
space properties. With the exception of certain special districts,
administrative systems are not currently in place to comprehensively
provide and maintain community
parks, neighborhood parks,
localized trails, or recreational
facilities.
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- The potential alternatives
for provision and management of neighborhood
parks, localized trails,
and recreational facilities in unincorporated areas include creation
of a regional authority, assumption of this responsibility by
the County Parks Department,
use of new and existing special districts, intergovernmental
agreements with school districts and other entities, homeowners
associations and privatization. While all of these options should
be explored, it is recognized that it would be difficult to employ
a county-wide system to address the unique circumstances in different
sub-areas of the County. Funding, liability and access concerns
may be limitations for homeowners associations and private facilities.
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- GoaL 8.4 Provide for community
and neighborhood parks,
local trails, and recreational
facilities in developed unincorporated areas.
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- Policy 8.4.1
- Support planning for the
incorporation of parks,
trails and recreational
facilities in higher density residential subdivisions.
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- Policy 8.4.2
- Encourage existing viable
special districts to assume responsibility for parks,
trails and recreation
functions where applicable.
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- Policy 8.4.3
- Support the formation
of new special districts to address the planning, development
and maintenance of community
parks, neighborhood parks,
recreational facilities, local trails
and community centers.
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- Policy 8.4.4
- In the acquisition, development
and design of community
and neighborhood parks,
recreation, trails and
open space facilities,
provide a balance among varying factors including demands for
active and passive open space, accessibility, safety, maintenance,
optimal use, special needs, conservation and economics.
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- Policy 8.4.5
- Accommodate innovative
approaches for the provision and maintenance of viable parks
and open space resources
through the development review process.
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- ISSUE 8.5 address Funding
for the Provision of Parks,
trails, and Open
Space
- A wide variety of options
are available for the provision and management of parks, trails, and open
space in the County. These vary from County ownership and
administration to a formalized arrangement for private open
space.
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- Goal 8.5 Encourage the use of a combination of all
private and public options available for the effective provision
and maintenance of parks, trails
and open space.
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- Policy 8.5.1
- Encourage the effective
use of private sector approaches to parks,
trails and open
space acquisition and management.
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- Policy 8.5.2
- Promote the use of strategies
such as land trusts and conservation easements which allow for
the continuing use of lands for agricultural and other land preservation
purposes.
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- Policy 8.5.3
- Support parks,
trails, and open
space partnerships with municipalities, the educational community
and other public and private entities.
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- Policy 8.5.4
- Integrate parks,
trails, and open
space into major infrastructure projects such as roadways,
drainage improvements, reservoirs and utility corridors.
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- PolicY 8.5.5
- Encourage private property
owners to enhance the open
space value of their property through the voluntary use of
conservation easements and management techniques which are environmentally
sensible.
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- Policy 8.5.6
- Upon completion of a County
Open Space Master Plan,
encourage the county to take an active role in fulfilling the
goals of that plan through open
space advocacy and management.
- Refer to El Paso County
Parks, Trails
and Open Space Master
Plan
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