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Dakota County lays out its vision for parks

As good as they are today, Dakota County parks in the next decade will have more amenities and become even larger, greener and better-connected.

Those are key goals of the county’s new 2030 Park System Plan. The plan builds on the system’s strengths, and addresses shortcomings as perceived by park users, said Steve Sullivan, Director of Dakota County Parks and Open Space. The plan proposes adding more parkland and more recreation opportunities.

“Dakota County is in a period of great change right now, and one that will continue for many years to come,” Sullivan said. “With more people moving into the area and more park visitors every year, we wanted to step back and see how we could meet current needs as well as future needs for the wide variety of residents and visitors to our parks.”

“The parks are a phenomenal resource and we are truly fortunate to have them," he said. "So in addition to meeting user needs in terms of activities and connectivity, we focused on how to protect the resource for the generations to come.”

Public survey yields rich information

A central part of the plan is based on results from a public survey that drew hundreds of comments about the parks, including what residents most wanted to see in the decades ahead. Their “wants list” was extensive. A few highlights:

• New greenways with more paved trails. With less than 10 miles of county regional trails on the ground now, the trail system lags far behind other major county systems in the region. About 50 miles of new greenways with paved trails are proposed over the next 10 years, which will connect city and county park lands.
• More activities. Trails are good and so is green space. But residents also want more options for physical activity – such as play areas for children, educational opportunities, equipment rental, archery, sledding and snowmobiling areas, dog parks, a maze and more.
• More physical assets. The public wants more picnic tables, picnic shelters, a large-group meeting and retreat facility, athletic complex, and facilities for special events and socializing.

 

2030 park plan expands, integrates current system

The 2030 vision builds on park system progress since the county’s last parks plan was released in 2001. Virtually all major components in the 2001 plan have been implemented or are in motion. That plan advocated a “balanced approach” to parks, with good geographic distribution and connectivity to improve park and trail access for all residents. It also called for a site-specific master plan for each park in the system, all of which have been completed.

The new plan advocates a more “integrated approach” to future development. Elected officials, community leaders and several stakeholder groups helped develop the new plan over the past 18 months. A community-wide “visioning process” resulted in three possible scenarios for the future park system:

• Great Places – Advocated making parks a destination for park users.
• Connected Places – Focused on a network of greenways for easy access between and among the parks.
• Protected Places – Focused on creating more natural spaces and a healthy green infrastructure across the county.

 

In the end, a refined “hybrid vision” was created that combined elements of all three scenarios. In all, a comprehensive list of 32 major goals was laid out for short-term, mid-term and long-term implementation across many topic areas such as land acquisition, facility development, water and land-use protection, collaboration and financing.

The estimated cost of the 10-year improvement plan is $52 million. About 40 % of costs are currently budgeted and 35 % could be covered through increased investment during annual County budgeting processes, explained Mary Jackson, Parks Planner with Dakota County. About 25 % of the long-term plan is unfunded, although various partnerships, collaboratives, and other means will be explored to close the gap, she said.

County draws extensive public input

To update its parks plan, the County drew input from dozens of stakeholder groups and hundreds of county residents and officials at a series of public information events, Sullivan said. Other comments were received from a survey of residents (700 responses), from a list-serv, online input, and at special events like a home-and-garden show, Chamber of Commerce meetings and local service clubs.

In addition to working with local stakeholder groups, county planners also met with officials from neighboring counties – Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington and Scott – as well as regional and state planning agencies.

‘Residents have good reason to be proud’

Metropolitan Council Member Dan Wolter – who represents part of Dakota County and is the Council’s liaison to the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission – praised the plan and said it is a model for other park agencies to emulate.

“This truly is a great plan and is at once comprehensive, progressive and collaborative,” Wolter said. “One element that stands out to me is that the plan integrates a land-use model with more traditional parks planning. It’s balanced and it’s integrated. County residents have good reason to be proud of it.”

Residents had until March 7 to review and comment on the plan. After those comments are evaluated, the plan may be modified and refined, Sullivan said. It will likely be presented to the Dakota County Board in April and submitted to the Metropolitan Council in June.

The parks plan is part of the county’s comprehensive plan, which also is being revised and updated and will be presented to the Metropolitan Council for review later this year, as required by law.