Lancaster parks board reviews Public Sites & Open Space code; tables edits until June meeting

Charles Elsea, chair of the Lancaster Board of Park Commissioners, led a May 7 discussion of possible revisions to the city's Public Sites & Open Space code (Section 1109.12) and asked Assistant Law Director Mitch Harden to draft specific language addressing development by public authorities and nonprofit entities.

Harden told the board he had no draft changes prepared but that the meeting was an opportunity to propose edits. Elsea said he wanted new language that would explicitly cover development by public authorities or nonprofit organizations and asked that the Parks Board be given authority to determine fair market value once annually. Bob Lovell said he would gather relevant valuation data for the board to review at the next meeting and Parks staff were asked to place the item on the June agenda. The board tabled final action and kept the item on New Business.

The board reviewed the current code text (Exhibit A, 1109.12), which already establishes mechanisms for required dedication or reservation of park and school sites; a minimum-dedication formula (Acres = Total Population x 0.005); a fee-in-lieu calculation (Fee = Acres x Fair Market Value/Acre); and a process for determining fair market value based on the average of raw-acre sales during the prior 12 months. Exhibit A also allows the Planning Commission and Parks Board to modify requirements under certain conditions and permits an owner/developer to provide private recreational acreage subject to board and planning commission approval.

The requested drafting items are procedural and definitional: the board sought explicit cross-references for development by public authorities and nonprofits, and an explicit annual FMV-determination schedule. No ordinance language was adopted at the May 7 meeting; the board deferred further work and discussion to its meeting on June 4, 2025.