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North Port adopts parks and recreation master plan, including Italy Avenue community park
Summary
The City Commission unanimously approved North Port’s Parks & Recreation Master Plan Dec. 9, endorsing short‑, mid‑ and long‑term priorities including Italy Avenue Park and a $108M+ CIP phased over several years and grant strategies to leverage funding.
The North Port City Commission on Dec. 9 unanimously adopted a comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan that lays out priorities for park equity, trail connectivity and a new Italy Avenue community park with a community center.
Trish Sturgis, assistant parks and recreation director, introduced consultants from GAI (Kristen Caborn and Amy Zangatita), who presented a plan based on public input, an inventory of 29 completed sites and recommendations for filling geographic park gaps. The plan proposes standards for neighborhood and community parks, a capital improvement program in short, mid and long terms and funding strategies including grant stacking, developer contributions and impact fees.
"It is meant to be a living document," Caborn said, describing phased implementation for design, permitting and construction. The recommended Italy Avenue project includes a 35,000‑square‑foot community center, walking connections to Atwater Park and multi‑use sports fields to meet projected youth sports demand.
Commissioners praised the plan as a unifying agenda item. "This is an incredible plan; I can hardly wait to see it start coming into fruition," Vice Mayor Langdon said. Commissioner Duvall described Italy Avenue as a signature project for the city.
The commission approved the final report 5–0. Staff said the plan will improve grant competitiveness (including CAPRA accreditation benefits), provide a prioritized land acquisition strategy and include an interim update in five years to reassess priorities.
