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CHAPTER 12
<br />PARK DEVELOPMENT AND LAND
<br />STEWARDSHIP
<br />12.1 INTRODUCTION
<br />Many of the recreation facilities in the Anoka County Park
<br />System are in need of upgrading as a result of heavy use,
<br />changing safety and design standards, growing recreation
<br />demand and changes in leisure time interests. The Anoka
<br />County Parks and Recreation Department will pursue
<br />redevelopment of existing facilities, development of new
<br />facilities and expansion of park lands in its effort to
<br />continue to provide a high quality recreation service to the
<br />county residents.
<br />The 2020 Vision planning process has shown that county
<br />residents have a strong interest in outdoor recreation
<br />activities. The high percentage of family households, the
<br />influx of new home buyers and the large population of
<br />aging baby boomers suggests that recreation facilities must
<br />appeal to a broad cross-section of age groups. There is a
<br />need to serve children with an interest in activities such as
<br />swimming and active play, teenagers and young adults with
<br />interests such as roller blading and volleyball and older
<br />adults with interests such as hiking and picnicking.
<br />The planning process also bas shown that residents are
<br />interested in natural resource based recreation activities
<br />such as baring in natural areas and bird watching and that
<br />they support the protection and enhancement of natural
<br />areas in the park system. The mission statement prepared
<br />during the planning process expresses this clearly by
<br />saying: The purpose of the Anoka County Park and
<br />Recreation Department is to provide parks, open space and
<br />leisure services for the public. Our primary mission
<br />encompasses the protection, preservation, and restoration
<br />of a natural, resource-based park system.
<br />The Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department is
<br />pursuing improvements to recreation facilities throughout
<br />the various park types in the system. The park system is
<br />comprised of the following park classifications:
<br />Regional Park Reserve
<br />Park land classified as a regional park reserve serves a
<br />multi -county area and is characterized, by the Metropolitan
<br />Council, as an area of natural or ornamental quality for
<br />nature -oriented outdoor recreation such as viewing and
<br />studying nature, wildlife habitat, conservation, swimming,
<br />picnicking, hiking, boating, camping and trail uses. A park
<br />reserve is over 1,000 acres in size and of sufficient area to
<br />encompass the resource envisioned for preservation. It has
<br />a diversity of unique resources, such as topography, lakes,
<br />streams and marshes. The Metropolitan Council requires
<br />that no more than 20% of the land area be developed with
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<br />any type of constructed improvements including buildings,
<br />outdoor recreation facilities, roads, paths and the like.
<br />Regional Park
<br />Park land classified as a regional park serves a multi -
<br />county area and is characterized, by the Metropolitan
<br />Council, as an area of natural or ornamental quality for
<br />nature -oriented outdoor recreation such as picnicking,
<br />boating, fishing, swimming, camping and trail uses. A
<br />regional park is typically 200-1000 acres with a natural
<br />setting contiguous to water bodies or water courses.
<br />County Park
<br />Land classified as a county park is an area of natural or
<br />ornamental quality for nature -oriented outdoor recreation
<br />such as limited primitive camping, picnicking, boating,
<br />fishing, swimming and trail uses. Although the service
<br />areas are intended to be county -wide, in many cases the
<br />county parks are used primarily by the communities that
<br />surround them or are nearby. The park sites can be 10 to
<br />200 acres in size and the settings are generally contiguous
<br />to water bodies or water courses.
<br />Linear ParklGreenway
<br />Land classified as a linear park/greenway is developed for
<br />one or more varying modes of recreation travel such as
<br />hiking, biking, snowmobiling, horseback riding, cross-
<br />country skiing, canoeing and driving or is intended to
<br />protect a sensitive, linearly occurring natural resource such
<br />as a wetland or upland native plant community. The
<br />service area may be local or regional in scale. The linear
<br />park/greenway must be of sufficient width and length to
<br />provide maximum protection of resource or maximum use
<br />as a trail corridor. Trail routes may utilize man-made or
<br />naturally occurring resources such as utility corridors, road
<br />rights-of-way, drainage ways, bluff lines, vegetation
<br />patterns, etc.
<br />Special Feature
<br />A special feature is a speciati7ed or single purpose
<br />recreation facility suchas golf course, nature center,
<br />marina, arboretum and sites of historic or archaeological
<br />significance. The service area may be county -wide or
<br />regional. The size of the site matches standards for a
<br />specific facility (e.g. golf course) or is determined by the
<br />area occupied by the featured item (e.g. historic building).
<br />The special features included in the Anoka County Park
<br />System include 441 Camp Salk in Martin Island Linwood
<br />Lakes Regional Park, Chamonix Golf Course in Rice Creek
<br />Chain of Lakes Regional Park Reserve (RCCL), Wargo
<br />Nature Center in RCCL, Banfill House in Manomin County
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