Ch 22.20 Recreational Facilities

Examples from other jurisdictions

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver has been doing a lot of work on identifying equity in parks and recreation.  Their "Equity Bold Move" highlights areas of the city in need of resources so that projects, programs, and resources can be focused for more equitable provision over time. 

San Francisco, CA

This document is part of San Francisco's Comprehensive Plan.  It addresses the City's overall policy for park and recreation space.     

Baltimore County, MD

Standard: Minimum requirement. An applicant shall provide a minimum of 1,000 square feet of open space per residential dwelling unit.

Waunakee, WI

Charges an impact fee based on the type of residential units.

Stanwood, WA

Single-family or duplex residential subdivisions/developments shall provide recreation areas in an amount equal to 110 square feet per person expected to reside in that development. Other residential developments, including attached housing developments and multifamily apartment developments shall provide recreation areas in an amount equal to 50 square feet per person expected to reside in that development

Aurora, IL

The total requirement shall be ten (10.0) acres of land per one thousand (1,000) of ultimate population.

No recreation APF: Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Queen Anne's County, Rockville

National Standards for Parks

Trust for Public Land Park Score and Annapolis' 2020 Score

National Recreation and Parks Association Performance Metrics

Ideas to explore

• Partnerships with HACA and AACPS
• New ways of defining "recreation" that change over time (e.g. fishing, trails as "parks")
• "Passive" versus "Active" Recreational Space. See two essays on the topic from City MTB, a mountain bike advocacy group. "Understanding Active & Passive Recreational Uses – Part 1" and "Understanding Active & Passive Recreational Uses – Part 2"

Priority List

An evolving list of priorities, potential code and process changes, and project ideas.