Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 02/08/2018

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Importantly, any changes in the formula used to distribute state funds for operations and maintenance will require legislative action. System Protection Policy: Protect public investment in acquisition and development by assuring that every component in the system is able to fully carry out its designated role as long as a need for it can be demonstrated. The Council has in place several mechanisms that protect the integrity of the Regional Parks System and of individual parts of the system: • Master plans: The master plan defines acceptable activities within a system unit. The regional park implementing agencies must receive Council approval before proceeding with any activities inconsistent with the existing Council -approved master plan. • Restrictive covenants: Regional park implementing agencies are required to record restrictive covenants on lands purchased with regional funds, to ensure that the land remains in regional recreation open space use unless the Council agrees to a change. • Land Planning Act: Proposed plans of local governments that have a substantial effect on or represent a substantial departure from the 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan may be subject to a required modification by the Council to ensure that the system is protected. • Metropolitan significance: Proposed development projects that have a substantial effect on or represent a substantial departure from the 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan may be required to undergo a review for metropolitan significance, with up to a one year delay in development if the project is found to adversely affect the system. These standards in the metropolitan significance rules and in the plan amendment guidelines are currently used to determine an effect on or a substantial departure from the Regional Parks System: • Impacts on the use of Regional Parks System facilities include, but are not limited to traffic, safety, noise, visual obstructions (for example, to scenic overlooks), impaired use of the facilities or interference with the operation or maintenance of the facilities. • Impacts on natural resources include, but are not limited to, the impact on the level, flow or quality of a facility's water resources (lakes, streams, wetlands, groundwater) and impact on a facility's wildlife populations or habitats (migration routes, breeding sites, plant communities). • A proposed project is considered to have an impact on the system if it may preclude or substantially limit the future acquisition of land in an area identified in the system plan of the Council's Regional Parks Policy Plan.