Parks, Trails & Open Space

February 27 2008 - Board Vote on Parks, Trails & Open Space

It's not clear from the decision last night whether the Board of County Supervisors actually set higher standards for parkland in the county, when it defined a standard of 70 acres of parkland/1,000 residents.

The tricky loophole is that the standard includes private parks as well as public parks. However, the county has no inventory of "private parks." Therefore, no one knows how many acres the county must acquire to meet the new standard. For all we know, the Planning Department could inventory every acre of land around school buildings and declare that the county owns too much parkland already. The devil is in the details.

Now that the chapter has been adopted:

1. The Board of County Supervisors should make existing properties available to the public.
• Open up Dove's Landing to the public for passive recreation - 235acres.
• Approve the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy's proposal to add 270 acres to Silver Lake and open both properties to the public for passive recreation uses - 500 acres.
• Support the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service efforts to open Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge to the public for passive recreation uses - 300 acres.
  
2. The Board of County Supervisors should correct the lower-than-average value for parkland contributions provided through the development process. The Planning Department used an estimated cost of $80,000/acre for parkland acquisition during the Parks & Open Space discussions. At a minimum, Prince William's Guidelines for Monetary Contributions should use the same value for an acre for parkland as we use for roads, schools and other public improvements.
   
3. The Board of Supervisor should initiate action to develop a trails plan, start acquiring property rights from willing sellers and begin to build trails that are open to the public.
   
4. The Planning Department should complete an inventory of all properties owned by Prince William County to determine which should be protected as open space and follow through by placing conservation easements on appropriate properties.
   
5. The Planning Department should complete an accurate inventory of public parks, private parks and protected open space. The Board of Supervisor should ensure that the complete inventory is available for public review and add this information to the County Mapper, so citizens can see what Prince William County considers a "park" or "protected open space.�

February 26 2008 Update
Public Hearing & Board Vote Tonight Tuesday, February 26, 7:30 p.m. at McCoart

Last night the Park Authority presented the results of their 2007 Needs Assessment to the Board of Supervisors. There were no surprises. This study adds one more piece to the growing pile of evidence showing that the majority of Prince William residents strongly support parks, trails and open space... 

• 74% of respondents said they were willing to pay additional property taxes if it was used only for open space and parkland acquisition in Prince William County;
• The number one parks and recreation funding priority identified by residents was the acquisition of land to preserve open and green space.

Planning staff has now produced six staff reports as well as a Findings Report. They have inventoried, analyzed and mapped existing public and private parks, recreation facilities and open space and associated land uses. Click here for links to these reports and more information.

The Prince William County Park Authority Board of Directors has passed a resolution supporting high standards for parkland and open space, recommending 25 county-controlled public parkland acres per 1,000 residents.

The Prince William County Planning Commission has passed a resolution supporting high standards for parkland and open space, recommending 25 county-controlled public parkland acres per 1,000 residents. Click here to read the resolution.

Supervisors began the process to strengthen parkland and open space policies in December 2004. During this same time period, more than 21,000 new homes were constructed in Prince William County and our population increased by more than 68,000 residents... the longer we stall, the greater the deficit... the bill to taxpayers just keeps growing.

By delaying this process, we are taking a pass on opportunities to attract funding support for the acquisition of parkland and open space. Just today Governor Kaine announced the distribution of $4,250,002 dollars to fourteen Virginia localities to preserve farmland within their boundaries through local Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs.

More opportunities are right around the corner... will Prince William continue to sit on the sidelines or will Supervisors respond to citizen's overwhelming support for parkland and open space acquisition and approve high standards at tonight's public hearing for new parkland and open space policies?

It's time to move on! No more delays, no more deferrals, no more staff reports that rehash the same old information. You can't steer a parked car, so let's get moving!

February 25 2008 Update

Citizens have conveyed strong support for Parks, Trails and Open Space at Public Hearings, community meetings, County surveys, letters to the editor and emails to Supervisors for several years.

However, since 1998, Prince William has acquired only 392 parkland acres. Then, just a few months ago, the Board transferred to the Park Authority an additional 379 acres of land secured through development proffers, raising this total to 771 acres (although there is no information on when or even if this land will be open to public uses).

During this same ten year period, the County's population grew from 268,894 residents to 386,047 residents... that's nearly 120,000 new residents who want to picnic, play ball, bike and hike.

Even if we count the recent addition of 379 acres, which is not open to the public, Prince William added only approximately 6 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents, less than half the current goal of 14 parkland acres per 1,000 residents. No wonder we are way behind the curve.

Nevertheless, Planning staff recommends low standards and their report is based on the assumption that Prince William cannot afford adequate Parks and Open Space. There are always fiscal shortfalls. Starving our parks and open space is not a solution. By failing to act, we are shutting the door to a broad range of opportunities to secure adequate parkland and open space.

If the Board adopts low standards on February 26, the County would continue the policies and actions that have devalued the acquisition of parkland and open space through development negotiations, Capital Improvements Program expenditures, and partnership initiatives.

• Should the County take advantage of existing opportunities to increase public parkland at virtually no cost to taxpayers?
  
• Silver Lake
  The Board's approval of the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy (BRMC) proposal for Silver Lake would add 500 acres of parkland to the County inventory and open the entire 500 acres to the public for passive recreation at no cost to taxpayers.
  
  In order to include Silver Lake PLUS the additional 270 acres offered by BRMC in the County parkland inventory, the Board must add text to the current staff proposal:
  PK-POLICY 1: Preserve at least 15.0 acres per 1,000 population of Prince William County in county-owned or leased park land or privately owned park land where public uses and public access are controlled by the County through an enforceable contractual agreement.
  
• Dove's Landing
  This 235-acre parcel is already owned by the County and minimal improvements would be required to open it to public use. It is a prime site for hiking and family nature outings that is comparable to the Metz Wetland on Neabsco Road, where bathroom and picnic facilities are not provided or needed. What is needed at Dove's Landing is the removal of the Public Land No Trespassing sign with a new sign that welcomes public uses.
  
• Should state and federally owned parkland be included when setting County goals and standards?
  
  The Comprehensive Plan is a County document intended to guide County goals and actions, not state or federal goals or actions. Fairfax County does not include state, federal or regional parkland in their County parkland inventory, which includes 400 parks on 23,717 acres of land ( 9.4% of Fairfax County's landmass).
  
  The state and federal government secures parkland in locations that support their state and federal goals, with little if any input from County government. In addition, state and federal parkland uses as well as public access is determined by state and federal agencies, with little if any input from County government. State and federal investments cannot replace the need for a comprehensive network of parkland intended to serve the active and passive recreation needs of County residents, attract business investments and protect homeowner property values.
  
• Should private parks that are owned and maintained by homeowner associations be included when setting County goals and standards?
  
  The Planning Commission and citizens want developers to proffer public parkland. Staff would prefer to give developers a credit for providing parks that will be open only to a specific set of homeowners, members of the developer-created Home Owner Associations (HOA's).
  
• How much is enough?
  Planning Staff recommends 15 parkland acres per 1,000 residents
  Citizens and the Planning Commission recommend 25 parkland acres per 1,000 residents.
  
  Prince William's population is expected to grow to 556,300 residents by 2030... the period of time covered by the draft proposals for parks, trails and open space. Continued delays only increase the backlog and increase costs! In addition, high standards increase government attention to parkland and open space needs, attract partnership opportunities and significantly increase our local capacity to secure funding through grants and other funding support programs.
  
  
• Should the County develop and adopt a Countywide Trail Network Plan?
  
  Both the Planning Commission and citizens have supported the development of a Countywide Trail Network Plan. Both have supported the forming of a Trail Commission. Citizens have recommended an independent commission that could serve as a focal point where County, VDOT and other trails could come together.
  
  A county that claims that it wants to be a great place to live, work, and play needs to plan for more than just asphalt trails built by VDOT along major roads.

Click here to email your ideas to all Supervisors.

Click here to read what Supervisors had to say at the January 15 2008 Worksession.