Citizen volunteers have worked hard to produce draft proposals for the Parks, Trails and Open Space Chapters of the Prince William County Comprehensive Plan. Click on the name below to read the drafts:

Parks ... Trails ... Open Space

Before presenting the drafts to the Planning Commission for their review, we are interested in hearing from Prince William Citizens and hope you can email your comments to openspace(at)pwconserve.org by Monday, April 16, 2007.

Our goals were to (1) ensure that community views are represented in the planning process; (2) provide a logical and readable foundation for establishing and maintaining high quality systems of parks, trails and open space. Highlights of our draft plans include:

• Clear definitions;

• Expanded level of service criteria;

• Establishes a broader vision, to help the County meet existing needs as well as attract new business and high quality residential development;

• Responds to neighborhood needs and provides a framework to upgrade underserved areas, such as Dale City and the Route 1 corridor;

• Promotes pedestrian and bicycle networks countywide;

• Emphasizes opportunities for water-based recreation;

• Establishes criteria for permanent protection of parks, trails and open space for future generations;

• Identifies specific opportunities for high priority places for parks, trails and open space (including some already owned by the County);

• Promotes creative approaches to overcoming implementation challenges, i.e., forming a Trails Commission;

• Highlights partnerships with neighboring localities as well as state and federal agencies;

• Promotes an integrated approach, including specific recommendations for updating other Comprehensive Plan chapters and related ordinances;

• Ensures a greater level of citizen involvement in future planning and implementation of goals;

• Acknowledges development needs while conserving natural and cultural resources.

• Provides a broader vision on how to fund park improvements and development needs;

• Includes strong natural and cultural resources language;

• Minimizes implementation costs by relying on existing County resources, such as the County Mapper and the Adopt a Stream program, where possible;

• Responds to citizen views as expressed in public meetings, County-led focus groups, the 2002 Park Authority Park Needs Assessment and Prince William County Citizen Satisfaction Surveys.

When people think all land is up for grabs,
they oppose development everywhere.
-- Ed McMahon, The Conservation Fund