Liberty Lake planning commission recommends city adopt new parks level-of-service standards
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Summary
The Planning Commission recommended the City Council adopt a set of level-of-service (LOS) standards for parks and open space, including numerical targets for total parkland, community and neighborhood parks, open space, and trail mileage; consultant SCJ Alliance will revise the memo and circulate a final copy.
The Liberty Lake Planning Commission voted Jan. 14 to recommend the City Council adopt a set of level-of-service standards for parks and open space developed as part of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
SCJ Alliance consultant Jen Dial told commissioners the joint Parks and Arts and Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 10 had reached consensus on the staff-recommended Alternative B, with a few modifications. "Both commissions had consensus that B was the preferred method," Dial said.
Under the recommendation the city would adopt a total parkland and open-space target of 10 acres per 1,000 residents; a community park target of 2.75 acres per 1,000 residents; a neighborhood park target of 1 acre per 1,000 residents (with homeowner-association "pocket parks" reclassified as neighborhood parks); open space and natural areas at 5 acres per 1,000 residents; and 0.25 mile of urban trails and pathways per 1,000 residents. Dial said those categories follow National Recreation and Park Association benchmarks and are intended to give the city flexibility beyond a single overall acreage metric.
Commissioners asked about definitions and long-range projections. When asked whether "residence" meant total city residents, Dial said it did, and she pointed commissioners to a systemwide metric table in the packet showing current levels and 2046 projections. Dial told the commission that meeting the land-acquisition target affects competitiveness for grants to buy new parkland, but the city would remain competitive for grants that fund amenities or improvements to existing parks.
Commissioner Follier moved to recommend that the City Council adopt the five LOS standards as presented; Commissioner Sahlberg seconded the motion. The commission approved the recommendation by voice vote. Dial said she would make the edits discussed at the meeting and circulate a final copy of the memo and tables to staff.
The recommendation moves the LOS metrics to the City Council for final action; the commission did not adopt ordinance language or change the municipal code at the meeting.
