CITY OF LEON VALLEY 2020 PARKS, RECREATION, TRAILS, AND OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN Approved by the Leon Valley Park Commission December 2019 Approved by the Leon Valley City Council Resolution No. 20-004 Promoting City Council Goal #7- “Provide Excellent Parks, Recreational Green Space, and Cultural Opportunities” Table of Contents Section 1 Overview 1 Section 2 Mission, Goals and Objectives 4 Section 3 Planning and Development Process 7 Section 4 Trends 11 Section 5 Leon Valley Demographics 21 Section 6 Park Zones 26 Park Zone Map 27 Park Zone 1 29 Old Mill Park 31 Park Zone 2 33 The Ridge at Leon Valley Park 35 Hetherington Trail 37 Shadow Mist Park 39 Leon Valley Ranches Park 41 Huebner Creek Greenway Trail 43 Park Zone 3 45 Raymond Rimkus Park 47 Huebner-Onion Natural Area Park 51 Triangle Park Reserve 53 Steurenthaler-Silo Park 55 Stirrup Lane Trail 57 Leon Valley Community Pool 59 Forest Oaks Community Pool 61 Park Zone 4 63 Linkwood Trail 65 Section 7 General Recommendations for All Areas 67 Section 8 Other Recreational Resources 69 Appendix A – 2018 Park Survey 72 Appendix B – References 81 Appendix C - Park Ordinances/Resolutions 82 Section 1 Overview Parks, recreation, trails, and open spaces are essential, not only to enhance the quality of life and neighborhood vitality, but also to preserve natural resources and provide connectivity throughout the city. The City of Leon Valley has six parks, two swimming pools, and a developing trail system to meet the needs of approximately 11,000 citizens. The city welcomes numerous visitors from the surrounding City of San Antonio metropolitan area and tourists, whom also take advantage of our parks system. The role of parkland and recreational resources in maintaining the health and wellbeing of a community like Leon Valley is universally recognized. Accessibility to parkland and recreational resources is an important consideration in the design and location of these resources, as Bandera Road (Texas Highway 16) creates a significant and serious barrier to pedestrian and cyclist travel between the northeastern and southwestern areas of Leon Valley. The role of appropriate planning for parkland and recreational resource acquisition, development, and maintenance is well recognized. The purpose of this plan is to identify current and future community recreational needs, and to recommend additional acquisitions and development necessary to meet current and future needs. This plan seeks to detail and quantify needed improvements over a ten-year period. Formal updates to this plan are recommended at minimum 5-year increments, however a continual annual review process is highly recommended. This Plan is not intended to be a specific listing of projects, but is a guide to be used by decision makers. It is the purpose of the Plan to develop a realistic and implementable tool for guiding the development of the parks, recreation and open space system in the most efficient manner possible. As the City seeks to obtain more funding for capital improvements, renovations, operations, and maintenance of the recreational areas, it is imperative that a comprehensive Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan be in place to establish priorities for the distribution of limited funds. In order to effectively plan for our future system of parks and open space areas, it is necessary to examine the planning and development history of the parks system. This brief history and examination of current local, regional, national, and global trends will serve as the basis for the continued evolution of a vision for the City of Leon Valley’s parks, recreation, and open space areas. 1 | Page City of Leon Valley 2020 Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan History of the Leon Valley Park System The City of Leon Valley, Texas encompasses approximately 3.5 square miles of an urbanized area in the northwest quadrant of Bexar County, Texas. While the area has been populated by westward seeking citizens since the early 1800’s, Leon Valley was not officially incorporated until 1952. The City of San Antonio was growing outside of Loop 410 and the citizens wanted to ensure their independence from what was perceived as the threat of being annexed and their collective individuality lost. What was a small farm community with narrow sleepy roads, slowly developed into a bustling suburban area with subdivisions of mostly middle to high- income single-family housing. In 1975, the first public park was developed and from that year forward, the parks system has continued to grow. That park, located at 6440 Evers Road, was deeded to the City in 1973 by a prominent local developer. The developer was not able to use the original 17.153-acre parcel as it directly abuts Huebner Creek, which is in the floodway, so the land was donated to the public. Once the land was annexed into the City (Ord. 521) and deeded to the City, the City Council designated it as the Leon Valley City Park (Ord. 627). In 1979, the name of the park was changed, at the request of the Leon Valley Historical Society, to Raymond Rimkus Park, in honor of the first Mayor of the City, who was also one of the founding members of the City. The City then gave control over the park to the Hill Country Jaycees to develop not only a park, but bicycle trails as well. At that time, Leon Valley had a population of 1960 persons and had large tracts of undeveloped land. The City currently has grown to approximately 11,000 citizens and it has been estimated that it has the potential to grow to a population of 13,650. Over the years, several vacant parcels adjacent to Raymond Rimkus Park were purchased by the City (the park now totals 27 acres), several neighborhood trails along drainage easements were built, and the City acquired the 36 acres adjoining Raymond Rimkus Park, which was designated in 2008 as the Huebner - Onion Natural Area Park. In 2014, the Park Commission revised the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan to recommend the creation of pocket parks to serve each individual neighborhood, which has been very successful. 2 | Page The first Park Commission was formed in 1977 (Ord. 711). Consisting of nine members and two alternates, the duties of the Commission are to prepare and submit recommendations for park regulations to the City Council for approval and adoption; make recommendations concerning park ordinances and park policies; assist the Council in the development, maintenance, and regulation of city parks as the Council may prescribe; serve as a liaison for the city with the public for park matters; prepare a revised Master Plan every five years; and prepare and submit recommendations to the council concerning items to be purchased for the park. The recommendations are then considered by the City Council and a ten-year capital plan is formulated. The capital plan is reviewed yearly and necessary adjustments are made. The Leon Valley Code of Ordinances, Article 1.09, provides the rules and regulations for all parks. “The nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value” ― Theodore Roosevelt 3 | Page City of Leon Valley 2020 Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan Section 2 Mission, Goals, and Objectives Mission Statement “To enrich the lives of our citizens through the stewardship of our resources and the responsive provision of quality recreational opportunities and community services.” Departmental Goals and Objectives 1. Restore and maintain the viability of the park, recreation, trails, and open space system by investing and re-investing in existing facilities. a. Using a capital improvements plan, establish priorities to replace or renovate existing playground infrastructure on a 10-year cycle. b. Renovate or replace segments of existing trails which have exceeded their useful life or deteriorated beyond repair, to protect the safety of users and preserve the investment in these facilities. c. Determine the need for development of new park areas. The City’s subdivision code states “Where a final subdivision plat is submitted for approval of any residential subdivision, such subdivision plat shall contain a clear, fee simple dedication of an area to the city for park purposes”. Developers may also elect to pay a fee in lieu of the dedication of park land and these funds may be used to provide park amenities in existing parks. The Park Commission will make a determination and send a recommendation to the City Council on the creation of new park areas. d. Reinvest in the current and developing park system, to preserve and protect the existing infrastructure and to effectively plan for, and efficiently develop, new trails, parks and facilities. In all instances, ensure that resources are allocated yearly to adequately maintain and appropriately sustain facilities. e. Provide adequate staffing levels to maintain park facilities and operations. The creation of the new parks increases the demand for maintenance. Consider the creation of a Park Crew, with a minimum of four personnel, dedicated solely to the maintenance of the park system. 4 | Page 2. Provide new parkland and facilities to meet park, recreation, and open space needs in developing and re-developing areas of the City. a. The City currently has approximately 77 acres of parks, recreation, and open space land, with an estimated population of 11,000 persons. The previous standard of 10 acres per 1000 persons has been relaxed, but the City should strive to increase neighborhood and community park acreage from 77 acres to 110 acres by 2028, concentrating on under-served areas of the city. Plans are being made to add a 1.81 acre park on El Verde Road and add 36 acres of Huebner Creek below El Verde Road to the park system, which would bring the total to approximately 112 acres of park, recreation, trails, and open space land.