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Home My WebLink About2022 11 15 AIS_Willamalane Comp Plan AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 11/15/2022 Meeting Type: Work Session Staff Contact/Dept.: Chelsea Hartman/DPW Staff Phone No: 541-726-3648 Estimated Time: 40 min. PLANNING COMMISSION (PC) Council Goals: Promote and Enhance our Hometown Feel while Focusing on Livability and Environmental Quality ITEM TITLE: WILLAMALANE’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE ACTION REQUESTED: Review progress toward completing the Needs Assessment phase of the 2023 update to the Willamalane Park and Recreation District Comprehensive Plan (“Comprehensive Plan”). Determine whether the analysis, research, and community engagement efforts completed for the Plan thus far are adequate to move forward with the project’s final phases. ISSUE STATEMENT: Willamalane Park and Recreation District started updating its Comprehensive Plan in March of 2022. The Planning Commission will provide a formal recommendation to City Council on whether to adopt the updated Comprehensive Plan into the Springfield Comprehensive Plan, as a land use decision in compliance with Statewide Planning Goal 8: Recreational Needs. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Briefing Memorandum Attachment 2: Project Timeline DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: Willamalane Park and Recreation District (“District”) staff attended the April 5, 2022 work session of the Planning Commission in its role as the Springfield Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI). Willamalane introduced the Comprehensive Plan Update project and the CCI approved the project’s Community Engagement Plan (CEP). Per the approved CEP, Willamalane and its consultants will provide a mid-project progress update at this November 2022 work session on the initial findings of the Needs Assessment (this portion of work is nearing completion). Willamalane and its consultant team will also seek input from the Planning Commission on whether it is satisfied with the approach used to assess the needs in the District before the findings for this phase of the work are complete. The findings will inform the next 20 years of priorities for the District in the final Willamalane Park and Recreation District Comprehensive Plan (“Plan”). The Plan is estimated for completion in late Spring 2023. To incorporate the updated Plan as the Recreation Element of the overall Springfield Comprehensive Plan, the City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners must co-adopt Willamalane’s Plan—a process that involves public hearings and adoption of an ordinance. The City is dedicating staff time to stay informed, provide input in the planning process, and to manage the adoption process. Future plans within the final document may have longer-term financial impacts. Such examples include partnering on grants for joint priorities, collaborating on joint priorities for transportation projects, and/or proving resources (e.g., equipment for operations) for project sites owned or co-owned by the City. M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield Date: 11/7/2022 To: Springfield Planning Commission From: Chelsea Hartman, Senior Planner BRIEFING Subject: Willamalane’s Comprehensive Plan Update MEMORANDUM ISSUE: Willamalane Park and Recreation District started updating its Comprehensive Plan in March of 2022. The Planning Commission will provide a formal recommendation to City Council on whether to adopt the updated Comprehensive Plan into the Springfield Comprehensive Plan, as a land use decision in compliance with Statewide Planning Goal 8: Recreational Needs. COUNCIL GOALS/ MANDATE: Promote and Enhance our Hometown Feel While Focusing on Livability and Environmental Quality BACKGROUND: Willamalane Park and Recreation District (“Willamalane”) initiated a project to update its 2012 Park and Recreation Comprehensive Plan (“Comprehensive Plan,” “Plan”) in Spring of 2022. Completion of the draft Plan is estimated for late Spring 2023. Willamalane’s updated Plan will serve as the Recreation Element of the Springfield Comprehensive Plan. Willamalane retained a private firm, BerryDunn, LLC (“consultants”), to complete much of the project work. Consultant work includes research, assessments, and community engagement. It will be the foundation for the creation of priorities within the final Plan. Prior to defining these priorities, Willamalane and its consultants will seek Planning Commission and Council input on whether the depth and breadth of research, analysis, and community engagement conducted are sufficient to serve as a foundation for the rest of the project. Process & Progress The four project stages identified by the consultants working on this project include: (1) information gathering; (2) findings and visioning; (3) draft recommendations; and, (4) final Plan adoption. The Plan is currently on track and is in the late stages of the Needs Assessment and Parks and Facilities Analysis (phase 2 of the project). Attachment 2 shows a high-level overview of project phases, tasks, and timelines. Assessment & Analysis The consultants are nearly complete with many of the assessment and analysis portions of this project. These tasks include a: • Demographic analysis of the community within Springfield’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB)1 1 The demographic analysis was set to Springfield's UGB since that was the closest boundary to Willamalane's district boundary that had available information for population estimates and forecasts. This is consistent with Willamalane's 2012 demographic analysis. The area where the district boundary extends outside the UGB is very minimal and the difference in population would be nominal. Otherwise, the planning boundary for this project follows Willamalane's district boundary, except for areas where the UGB extends beyond the district boundary. In those cases, the planning boundary is extended to align with the UGB so all areas outside city limits/inside UGB are accounted for in Willamalane's planning areas. Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3 MEMORANDUM Page 2 • Park & recreation trends analysis, which identifies national and statewide trends for parks and recreation • Recreation program analysis, which looks at opportunities and strengths for Willamalane’s recreation programs • Park & facility assessment, which identifies the quantity and types of parks and facilities and assesses their quality based on the experiences they provide • Natural areas and trails assessment • Level of service analysis that helps identify where gaps exist in Willamalane parks, facilities, and services • Maintenance and operation evaluation • Financial and organizational analysis • Assessment of opportunities for alternative funding and partnerships Future phases of work for this project will include a capital improvement plan and development of performance measures and an implementation plan. Stakeholder Engagement The engagement efforts conducted for this project are in the project’s Community Engagement Plan, reviewed by the Springfield Committee for Citizen Involvement in April 2022. Consultants and Willamalane staff worked collaboratively to facilitate these engagement strategies, some of which also involved City coordination and planning. To date, the following efforts are complete: Community Engagement • 3 focus groups (approximately 40 participants) • 11 stakeholder interviews with community leaders (Coordinated with the City) • 5 Willamalane subject matter expert interviews • 1 hybrid public Town Hall meeting (29 attendees and 60+ views of online recording) • 8 project pitch presentations to community partners • 50+ direct emails to community partners • Tabled at 20 events in the community and informally polled over 1,700 residents • Statistically valid survey (262 responses, +/- 6% margin of error) • Open Link online survey (1,336 responses) • Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting (BPAC): gave project overview and sought guidance on next steps for BPAC involvement (City-coordinated effort) • Conducted teen engagement in two local middle and two high school classes that resulted in just over 100 teen survey responses and a series of final projects that were presented to an audience of District staff • One community conversation with 22 Latinx members of the community that resulted in qualitative findings relating to parks, recreation programs and events, and communication • One Tribal Community Planning Dialogue with over 20 Native American/Alaskan Native members of the community to discuss these community members’ values and priorities (Coordinated with the City) Agency Engagement • 3 staff Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis meetings (approximately 30 participants) • Online staff survey (100+ responses) • Hosted an external advisory group meeting with natural resource professionals and received feedback from 13 agency partners (Coordinated with the City) Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3 MEMORANDUM Page 3 Willamalane and its Consultants will complete the remaining tasks and proposed work within the Community Engagement Work Plan as follows: • 3 themed focus groups addressing: trails, accessibility & inclusion, and community wellness (week of 11/13/22) • 1 public Town Hall meeting (11/16/22 at 6pm) to discuss findings • Additional engagement with agency staff Initial Findings During the presentation portion of the work session, Willamalane staff will share initial findings from the analysis, research, and engagement efforts. The presentation will highlight stakeholder feedback about current District-wide strengths and opportunities for Willamalane’s park and recreation system to improve. Next Steps The week of November 13, 2022 will be full of activities to share initial findings and conduct final engagement efforts for this phase of the project. Upon completion of these tasks, and presenting progress updates to City and County officials, Consultants will host a work session with the Willamalane Board of Directors on November 30, 2022 to discuss District priorities and visions. Consultants plan to have a draft Plan complete in the winter of 2023, and a final Plan adopted by the Willamalane Board of Directors in June 2023. Co-adoption by Springfield and Lane County will follow, involving both City and County Planning Commissions prior to final adoption by City Council and Lane County’s Board of Commissioners. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Review progress toward completing the Needs Assessment phase of the 2023 update to the Willamalane Park and Recreation District Comprehensive Plan. Determine whether the analysis, research, and community engagement efforts completed for the Plan thus far are adequate to move forward with the project’s final phases. Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3 Project Timeline Attachment 2, Page 1 of 1