PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: January 10, 2017
PREPARED BY: Chris Ghione, Community Services Director
APPROVED BY: Leslie Little, Assist. City Manager/Community Development
Title
DRAFT BIKEWAYS, TRAILS, PARKS, AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
Review and provide comments on the draft Bikeways, Trails, Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
BODY
REPORT NARRATIVE:
The Bikeways, Trails, Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update process began in Spring 2015 and is near completion. The updated Master Plan weaves together three separate plans to create a comprehensive and community-driven tool for the City to use to prioritize improvements and investments. The Master Plan will also help support goals and programs to improve our city’s health, environment, connectivity and recreation options. The City has hired MIG, Inc. to facilitate the update process and prepare the draft Master Plan document. The Parks and Recreation Commission is the primary advisory group for the update process.
1. Outreach and Community Input
During the project, staff and MIG conducted extensive community outreach to identify how residents are using the current system as well as identifying the assets, challenges and opportunities for the updated Master Plan. The outreach and data collection built upon itself supporting more focused efforts as the plan moved forward.
Outreach efforts included:
a) Six “intercept surveys”: Staff and consultants set up an interactive exercise in public places in order to gather input from people who might otherwise not attend an outreach event. These events were held at the CRC, in public parks and during meetings and events at the CCC. A total of about 150 community members provided input during these events.
b) Online map-based survey: Completed by 400 community members. This survey provided detailed data about how residents use and travel to parks, trails and other recreational facilities. The data collected through the survey tool, Mapita, was linked to the project map, allowing the team to generate several maps illustrating the usage of parks and trails based on public input. These maps are all available at www.mhparksplan.com <http://www.mhparksplan.com>.
c) Stakeholder Advisory Group Meetings: Five meetings were held. The Stakeholder Advisory Group is comprised of representatives from community-based organizations and interest groups including the Chamber of Commerce, the Historical Society, and sports clubs, among others, as well as three members of the Parks and Recreation Commission. This group has met throughout the project to advise the project team and provide feedback on draft priorities, projects and the draft plan. This group has also helped promote community workshops and opportunities for online engagement.
d) Community Workshop: One workshop was held and attended by approximately 30 community members, during which participants completed a visual preference survey to inform design and programming direction for the Master Plan.
e) Parks and Recreation Commission Meetings: Two meetings were held with the Commission to provide the opportunity to gather input on priorities and goals for the Master Plan.
f) City Council Review: The City Council has received one update report and conducted one workshop on the master plan.
g) Community Survey: A community survey was distributed online and in hard copy format and was completed by 1,100 people from the community. The purpose of this survey was to collect information about community members’ priorities for additions and improvements to park experiences, investments in parks and facilities, improvements to bikeways and trails, and recreation programming.
h) Community Comments: Comments on the draft Master Plan have been received over the last month. Comments were received via email and via online comment forms. Approximately 40 comments have been received.
i) Public Open House: On December 8, 2016 approximately 30 participants attended a public open house that was held to receive comments on the draft Master Plan.
j) Public Website: The project website, www.mhparksplan.com <http://www.mhparksplan.com>, has been available and has provided up to date documents during the plans progress.
2. Key Components and Plan Structure
Based on the outreach efforts described above, review of previous surveys, prior plans, and in-depth conversations with inter-departmental staff and the Stakeholder Advisory Group members, the following key goals for the draft Master Plan have been proposed:
a) Improve connections between residences and the network of City parks and facilities;
b) Diversify the experiences in the City’s parks and along its trails;
c) Engage people of all ages and all abilities;
d) Support the health and wellness of all community members;
e) Inspire a sense of community and place through arts, culture, and historic resources;
f) Respond to changing conditions and evolving preferences;
g) Ensure equitable access to programs and places for recreation and activity;
h) Leverage partnerships to maximize community benefit and use resources efficiently;
i) Balance active recreation with unprogrammed open spaces;
j) Continue to provide regional recreation destinations for visitors that support economic growth;
k) Enhance safety and navigation to key recreation destinations and along popular routes;
l) Invest in and maintain existing assets while carefully planning for future growth; and
m) Promote financial stability for operation of City facilities.
The draft document has been structured into 5 sections. Chapters 1 through 3 of the draft Master Plan set the stage for the future by summarizing the existing conditions analysis and presenting the community-informed vision and goals for Morgan Hill’s bikeways, trails, parks, and recreation system. Chapter 4 is the heart of the draft Master Plan, describing policies and projects proposed to address community needs and create a more robust system. Chapter 5 details implementation actions and near-term priority projects to most efficiently stimulate investment and development. An appendices and executive summary will be added to the document following direction provided by the City Council.
3. Next Steps
As outreach continues, comments from the following City advisory groups are being requested:
• Planning Commission
• Library, Culture and Arts Commission
• Youth Action Council
After receiving comments from these groups, the Parks and Recreation Commission will make formal recommendations to the City Council. Comments received from all advisory groups will be forwarded to the City Council for review and consideration in February 2017.
LINKS/ATTACHMENTS:
1) Draft Bikeways, Trails, Parks and Recreation Master Plan
2) Links to all previous documents also available at www.mhparksplan.com <http://www.mhparksplan.com>