Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/09/2014

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Past acquisition activity has tended to favor lands with high - quality natural resources over even geographic distribution. This has produced a Regional Parks System with more lands and facilities in the west and southwest portions of the metropolitan area than in other sectors. This geographic imbalance in the Regional Parks System is ameliorated by the presence of state parks in the St. Croix Valley and at Fort Snelling and by the existence of a high - quality highway system with most of the regional facilities within a drive of 30 minutes or less from the urbanized area. The restoration of urban areas that include natural resource features (for example, Above the Falls Regional Park and the Bruce Vento Regional Trail and Nature Sanctuary) have provided opportunities to create regional park sites or regional trails that also address the emerging redevelopment of the Urban Centers. Siting and Acquisition - Strategy 2: Priorities for land acquisition are set by regional park implementing agencies in Council- approved master plans. Priorities for acquiring park and park reserve lands identified in Council- approved master plans are lands that are available for purchase now, which would be lost to the Regional Parks System if timely action is not taken, and that are: • Essential to protect the natural resources that define a park or park reserve and make it usable to the public as planned. • Essential for the park or park reserve to reach its full service potential for regional natural resource -based outdoor recreation as defined in the Council's Regional Parks System plan and the park unit's master plan. Most master plans provide for a range of recreational activities and developments that require lands in addition to those strictly needed to protect and enjoy the prime natural resource base. The full intent of the master plan will not be realized until these additional lands have been acquired for the system. All privately owned parcels within a Council- approved master plan boundary are "inholdings" until they are acquired. Some parcels have homes on them and are called "residential inholdings." The acquisition of inholding parcels - especially those containing homes or those likely to be developed for residential or other urban uses - should be protected by first -right options to purchase, official mapping, life estates or other means. It is imperative that efforts are made to acquire these parcels because every time the land is sold to another private party, the land remains unavailable for Regional Parks System purposes. If once - vacant land is developed for housing or other uses, it may become unreasonably expensive to acquire and is essentially lost to the Regional Parks System. The Council, with the advice of the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, will work with regional park implementing agencies to systematically review inholding parcels that have been developed to determine whether the land is essential to protect the natural resources that define the park and make it usable to the public as planned, or whether the land is essential for the park or park reserve to reach its full service potential for regional natural resource -based outdoor recreation as defined in this policy plan and the park unit's master plan. The results of that review may conclude that some parcels or a portion of a parcel no longer meet those requirements and should be removed from the park's boundary through a master plan amendment. For example, historically small parcels with homes on the edge of parks have either been removed from the park boundary or subdivided, with the undeveloped land acquired for the park and the home removed from the park boundary.