Parks Planning
Amenities like the Twin Cities area's nationally renowned system of regional parks add measurably to the quality of life and create a magnet for economic development. Regional park investments to protect additional park and open space land give priority to areas with important natural resource features rather than recreation potential. Preserving green space for wildlife habitat, natural filtration of stormwater and visual relief from the urban scene enhances the region's livability and thus its economic strength.
Regional park policies recognize the importance of protecting the region's water quality by enhancing native vegetation, using best management practices, implementing shoreland management guidelines, using water surface-use regulations where appropriate, and operating programs within parks to educate the general public about water resource management issues.
Regional parks policies also call for information-sharing, communications and cross-discipline planning to better integrate the regional park systems with housing, transportation and other priorities at the local and regional levels.