Laserfiche WebLink
8 <br />Planning Process Summary <br />The City of Arden Hills wanted the Parks, Trails and Open Space Plan to accurately reflect community <br />desires and needs. A public opinion survey was conducted and a series of public open house meetings, <br />Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee meetings and workshop sessions were held to gather input and to <br />prepare the Plan. <br />Public Opinion Survey <br />In February 2001 a detailed public opinion survey was sent to each Arden Hills household. Approximately <br />15% of the households completed the survey. The survey results are summarized in Appendix A. <br />Open House Meetings <br />Four public open house meetings were held in August 2001 to gather information about City-wide and <br />neighborhood parks, trails and open space needs. The meetings were held in four different locations <br />throughout the City. A community open house was held on December 18, 2001 to review the draft plan <br />and recommendations. A summary of the meeting results is included in Appendix B. <br />Committee Meetings and Work Sessions <br />The Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) is an advisory committee appointed by <br />the City Council to advise City staff and the Council on parks, trails, recreation and open space issues. The <br />PTRC assisted in the preparation of the plan, provided detailed guidance and input into the process, and <br />worked with the consulting park planners Ingraham & Associates, City staff and the community to prepare <br />the plan recommendations. <br />Review of Existing Plans and Coordination with Other Jurisdictions <br />A number of existing plans were reviewed to help prepare this plan. The Arden Hills Comprehensive Plan, <br />the TCAAP, Vento Re-use Master Plan, Ramsey County Parks and Trails plans, year 2000 Census data, <br />adjacent communities parks and trails plans and the Arden Hills Gateways plan were all helpful resources. <br />Site Analysis and PTRC and Staff Input <br />City staff and the planning consultants visited each park and many trail corridors to map and document <br />existing conditions and to plan for future improvements. PTRC members analyzed each trail segment and <br />prepared detailed recommendations. City parks management, programming, maintenance, legal and finance <br />staff all participated in the plan preparation or review. <br />It is hoped that the depth of participation in the planning process will pay dividends by creating ownership in <br />the plan and political support for the resource allocations needed to implement the plan recommendations.