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Peoria proposes new Mountains, Open Space and River Ecosystems division as acres transfer to city
Summary
City staff proposed creating a dedicated Parks and Recreation division to manage roughly 7,600 acres of mountain parks, open space and river corridors after developers begin transferring required preservation land over the next 12 months.
Peoria city managers and Parks and Recreation staff on Oct. 15 proposed creating a new division — Mountains, Open Space and River Ecosystems — to manage thousands of acres of natural land that will transfer to the city as nearby master‑planned developments mature.
The plan responds to an influx of open‑space dedications city staff say will roughly double Peoria’s managed natural land from about 3,865 acres today to about 7,665 acres after minimum dedications from Vistancia North, Lake Pleasant Heights (Mystic), Aloravita and Saddleback are conveyed. “We are literally doubling this asset,” Deputy City Manager Kevin Burke told the council at a study session.
City staff say the proposal matters because many recreational and conservation activities in Peoria occur outside developed parks — on mountain parkland, river corridors and desert preserves — and will require a different management approach than traditional parks. The new division, if funded in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, would begin July 1, 2025,…
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