Victoria Parks and Recreation Committee recommends 2025 work plan, approves public engagement policy

The City of Victoria Parks and Recreation Committee on Feb. 19 voted to recommend a 2025 committee work plan to the City Council and to forward a parks-and-trails public engagement policy with small staff revisions.

The committee approved a work plan organized around four focus areas — public engagement for park projects; nontraditional park spaces; parks and recreation code and ordinances; and the Victoria Recreation Center — and asked staff to present the plan to City Council for consideration. Committee member Terry Cope moved to forward the work plan; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

The work plan is intended to align the committee's annual activity with the City's strategic goals and to provide a timeline and goals for each focus area. Jenna Smith, Parks and Recreation staff, described Focus Area 1 as continuing and refining public engagement for both new park developments and upgrades, noting the committee will participate in events, review survey results and make project recommendations. "This work plan is designed to align closely with the city's strategic goals," Smith said.

Focus Area 2 asks the committee to identify and tour "nontraditional" or underutilized park and green spaces, and propose strategies to increase their recreational use. Smith said examples include small pocket parks, trail connections and downtown gathering spaces.

Focus Area 3 tasks the committee with reviewing existing parks and recreation–related ordinances to identify sections that are outdated, missing or need revision; staff said the review will likely extend into fall or winter depending on staff capacity. Focus Area 4 continues long-term work on the Victoria Recreation Center, which Smith said is governed by a collaborative contract with the local school district that currently runs through 2032; she said council and the district are still discussing future options and staff lacks a final direction at this time.

The committee also reviewed and moved to recommend a parks-and-trails public engagement policy. Smith said the policy "establish[es] clear guidelines for engaging with the public for parks and trail projects conducted by the City of Victoria," and she described a four-step community-engagement spectrum (inform, consult, involve, collaborate) and a minimum expectation that staff use at least three outreach methods per project depending on scope.

Committee members asked staff to clarify language that differentiates "consult" from "involve," to explicitly state that the engagement policy applies to both new projects and upgrades or replacements, and to expand accompanying materials to clarify the committee's role in the engagement process. Smith said she would revise the table and language per those requests and present the changes as the policy is forwarded to council.

Votes at a glance: - Recommend 2025 Parks & Recreation Committee work plan to City Council — motion made by Terry Cope, seconded (name not specified). Outcome: approved by voice vote; recorded as "Aye" and motion carried. - Recommend parks and trails public engagement policy (with staff changes) to City Council — motion made and seconded (names not specified). Outcome: approved by voice vote; recorded as "Aye" and motion carried.

The committee concluded that public engagement will be staged according to project scope, with staff maintaining a park-projects web page and using a mix of pop-up events, open houses, surveys, stakeholder meetings and tabling at community events. The recommended work plan and the revised engagement policy will proceed to City of Victoria City Council for review and possible adoption.