VIRGINIA BEACH PARKS & RECREATION VIRGINIA BEACH OUTDOORS PLAN The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 18, 2008 A COMPONENT OF THE VIRGINIA BEACH PARKS & RECREATION STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE DOCUMENT TO THE VIRGINIA BEACH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning A Component of the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan Virginia Beach City Council Meyera E. Oberndorf—Mayor Robert M. Dyer* - Centerville Harry E. Diezel - Kempsville Reba S. McClanan - Rose Hall Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones - Bayside James L. Wood - Lynnhaven John E. Uhrin - Beach Barbara M. Henley **- Princess Anne William R. DeSteph - At Large Ron A. Villanueva - At Large Rosemary Wilson - At Large Open Space Advisory Committee Parks and Recreation Commission Steven A. Lurus, Chair Nicholas F Anoia – Chair* Lillie R. Gilbert, Vice-chair Robert Barnaby – At Large Richard “Tuck” Bowie David P. Bartholomew – At Large Kale Warren J. Michael Fentress – Bayside District Charles “Chuck” Wall Joel Fink – Lynnhaven District Jeremy Johnson Tommy J. Johnson – Centerville District Paul Hamaker Charles S. Kiley – Beach District Robert Cantrell Paula W. Knight – Princess Anne District Dr. Michael Pankow – At Large Betty Warren - Rose Hall District Caren Yarborough - Kempsville District Mark McKenzie – Senior Student Andrew Russo – Junior Student * Indicates also serve as liaison to Open Space Advisory Committee ** Indicates also served as liaison to original 1998 Open Space Advisory Committee ii Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning A Component of the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan Lead Department - Parks and Recreation Cindy A. Curtis, CPRP Director of Parks and Recreation J. Barry Frankenfield, FASLA, AICP Planning, Design, and Development Administrator Brian S. Solis, AICP Lead Project Planner Brian K. Phelps Planner Gregory L. Newman Planning Technician Contributing Members from Parks and Recreation Doug Cherry, Charleen Cooper, Barbara J. Duke, Frank L. Fentress, Pete Hangen, Sherry Hawkins, Shawn Hopson, Chris Kennedy, Rob MacPherson, Chris Munroe, Chona Santander O’Galvin, Rick F. Rowe, Caryl Thompson Contributing Members from other City and School Departments H. Clay Bernick, III, Environmental Management Center Administrator-Department of Planning Melisa Ingram, GIS Analyst, Virginia Beach Public Schools, Facilities, Planning and Construction Department Contributing Consultants Jacobs Carter Burgess, Denver, CO - GIS Facility Service/Equity Mapping Analysis Land Studio, PC, Norfolk, VA - Design Standards Manual PROS Consulting, Dallas, TX - Capacity Demand Standards Model ™ Professional Benchmarking Resource The Trust for Public Land iii Executive Summary Virginia Beach is fortunate. It has been blessed with spectacular natural settings, temperate climate, central location on the Eastern Seaboard and is well-positioned at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. There are miles and miles of interior scenic waterways and thousands of acres of green space available for our residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. In short, Mother Nature has provided a special environment and it is our responsibility to be its stewards and provide access for present and future generations. To date, various organizations including the City have done their share to provide public green space in Virginia Beach. The City owns over 6,050 acres of open space, parkland property, and public beaches that are available for a variety of outdoor recreational uses. School parks, which include one-half of elementary school sites, total over 400 acres of additional recreational land and assets that are generally available to residents on weekday afternoons, weekends and summer months. There are 255 playgrounds; 131 ball fields (non-leased); 66 multi- purpose fields (non-leased); 236 basketball courts; 161 tennis courts; two skate parks; two dog parks; 170 picnic pavilions; and four major beach-use facilities to enjoy on the City and School-owned open space. In addition, Federal and state park, natural area preserve, and wildlife refuge properties account for over 15,200 acres of the City that are also preserved. There are 19 water access sites throughout the entire City for the public to gain entrance to the City’s intricate network of blue ways that meander in and out of these City, state and federal parklands. While homeowners association property may not be available to all residents they do account for 1,320 acres of common area that is available to participating residential neighborhoods. All totaled, nearly 23,000 acres of Virginia Beach is set aside as open space for preservation or some outdoor recreational purpose. The Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan (herein “the Plan”), the City’s guidance document for open space acquisition and outdoor recreational planning, has helped set the framework for an outdoor recreational system of parks and athletic facilities; cultural and natural areas; public access to greenways, beaches and scenic waterways; and trail linkages for all kinds of users. The recommendations from the original 1994 Plan and its 2000 Update as well as the efforts of many other generations have created the extraordinary outdoor recreational network of land and facilities previously mentioned. However, there is still more work to be done. The existing outdoor recreational network needs to be properly managed and maintained and planning and action items need to be identified for the benefit of future generations. This 2008 version of the Plan is action-oriented and utilizes a cross-section of community priorities, statistical analysis and now equity mapping as a practical formula for developing its recommendations. The Plan is an integral part of Facility and Public Space Planning component of the Department of Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. It seeks to build upon the successful implementation of its former iterations and progress even further in its outdoor recreational planning and analysis through the following: • Reclassification of park system designations consistent with localities of similar size and characteristics • Statistical Needs Analysis of City parks and recreation real estate assets and amenities based on updated service standards applied against both the 2000 census population and 2026 theoretical build-out project population • Updated inventory of all City-owned parks and recreation real estate assets • Updated inventory of all state, federal, and homeowners association parks and recreation-related real estate assets located within Virginia Beach • Geographic Information System-based Equity Mapping as part of a planning process for providing equitable physical access to the City’s parks system to all residents iv Executive Summary • Design Standards for outdoor recreational courts, fields, furniture, fixtures and related improvements • Capacity-Demand Standards Model ™ for programming analysis of City-wide athletic field usage versus field capacity • Qualitative and Quantitative Public Participation Process • Recommendations for future strategic open space site acquisitions • Recommendations for future outdoor recreational improvements with regard to preservation and access to Cultural and Natural Areas, Greenways, Beaches and Scenic Waterways; renovations to existing and construction of new Parks and Athletic Facilities; and coordination with the City’s Bikeways and Trails Plan to provide connectivity to community resources through Trails. • Implementation strategies and cost estimates as a basis for the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Capital Improvement Program with respect to the Open Space Acquisition Program and future outdoor recreational renovations and improvements The Plan will detail the recommendations relating to future open space acquisitions as well as plans for future outdoor recreational assets that have been identified to meet the projected need and stated desires of Virginia Beach residents by 2026. Those recommendations and their associated costs are summarized in the table below. It is important to note that the Plan provides for a fiscally-responsible funding strategy which relies upon existing and conservatively-projected revenue to accomplish recommendations. Open Space Planning, Design, & Special Projects Operational Maintenance Site Capital Improvement Associated with Past Responsibilities Responsibilities Acquisitions Projects Open Space Acquisition Sites 26 multi-purpose fields Stumpy Lake Natural Area Natural Areas Natural Areas Master Plan (1,400 acres) (1,400 acres) 4 large softball fields Lake Lawson & Lake Smith Natural Grass Turf Grass Turf Area Master Plan Playing Fields Playing Fields (120 acres) (120 acres) 17 non-motorized water Marshview Master Plan (canoe/kayak) access sites Implementation Concrete Concrete 4 dog parks Thalia Creek Greenway (i.e. skate parks - (i.e. skate parks - 10 sites Master Plan Implementation 45,000 square feet) 45,000 square feet) (without I-264 Crossing) 1,200 acres 3 skate parks Greenway Feasibility Studies Other Park Turf Areas Other Park Turf Areas (367 acres) (367 acres) Supporting amenities including Osprey Park and Expansion of parking, restrooms, lighting, Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach irrigation Use Facility Water Access Water Access (17 sites) (17 sites) Indian River Road Southside