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I I ! I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IV. STANDARDS & GUIDELINES FOR RECREATION FACILITIES For many years the amount of parks and recreation open space required in a community has been related to the base population of the service area. Several guides are published which relate standards for common local recreation facilities including the following: Park Planning Guidelines, George E. Fogg. Standard Sports Area, National Industrial Recreation Association. Recreation Areas, George D. Butler. Outdoor Recreation Space Standards, U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. Metropolitan Development Guide (Parks Chapter), Metropolitan Council. Additionally, a number of park authorities have developed standards based on their local situations. One must view these as simply guidelines which can vary greatly dependent on climatic conditions, seasonal and local interest, alternative facilities available or other factors. A second area of caution when viewing these types of standards is that one must keep in mind that most standards were developed prior to the tremendous surge of interest in girls and womens organized sports. Indeed, the Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association indicates that within the last 10 years, the increase in organized female sports activities often requires over a 60% increase in the number of softball fields, soccer fields and hard surfaced courts. In fact, within the Metropolitan Area many communities cannot keep pace with the demand for developed play fields. As a guide, however, the following ranges are provided for determining acreage and common facilities based on population. TABLE 4 COMMUNITY PARK STANDARDS Minimum Acreage Maximum Service Radius Acreage/ Service Area 1,000 Pop. Population* 6.0 acres 1/4 to 3/4 mile 2.0 acres 3,000 4.5 acres 1/4 to 3/4 mile 1.5 acres 3,000 12.0 acres 1-1/2 miles 1.5 acres 8,000 1.6 acres 1-1/2 miles 0.2 acres 8,000 72.0 acres 2 mile+ 3.0 acres 24,000 8.2 acres Neighborhood Park Neighborhood Playground Playfield Court Sports Community Park Sub-Total Community: District Park TOTAL: Special Facilities * Swimming Pool Public Golf Course Arboretum, Botanical Garden, etc. 150.0 acres 3 miles 33.2 acres 75,000 2.0 acres 2 miles -- 24,000 150.0 acres .... 50,000 100.0 acres 10 miles -- 100,000 *The land area needs for special facilities per unit of population are included in the acreages for community and district parks. 16