Title
Implementation for Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs Master Plan and Continued Acquisition of Conservation Land (B)
This item requests that the City Commission review and approve the priorities of the Land Conservation and Acquisition Program.
Explanation
At the November 15, 2012 meeting, the City Commission approved the Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Affairs (PRCA) Master Plan. The PRCA Master Plan calls for the City to acquire land adjacent to parks and centers in order to allow for future expansion.
Since 2009, the City has been attempting to acquire the top priority properties on the approved Land Conservation and Acquisition List. Some landowners have been willing to sell, but others have not. Since many of the priority landowners are unwilling to sell or are at an impasse on price, staff evaluated undeveloped parcels within City limits and outside the City limits but within the urban reserve for potential acquisition. Thirteen parcels of interest were identified and added to the land acquisition priority listing, and approved by the City Commission on April 5, 2012. Twenty-one (21) passive/conservation parcels were approved to be added to the list by the City Commission on July 16, 2015. Another six (6) parcels were approved to be added to the list by the City Commission on March 2, 2017.
As part of the City’s 2020 Strategic Plan, Goal 2, Sustainable Community, the City seeks to “Increase the acreage of natural/conservation lands.” In accordance with PRCA Departmental policy on “Acquisition of Conservation Lands,” additional parcels are selected by the following prioritization criteria: a) expand an existing conservation area; b) connect existing conservation areas together, or c) are within a Strategic Ecosystem, or have sensitive habitat, or the potential for species that are listed statewide or nationally as rare, threatened, or endangered.
Fiscal Note
None at this time.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) review the Land Con...
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