range of activities and opportunities that they provide. Therefore, 40 acres is the minimum size criterion <br />for a new community park site. A wider range of recreational opportunities can be provided with more <br />acreage, therefore, many community parks larger than 40 acres exist throughout the city. <br />Because community parks create significant foot, bicycle and vehicular traffic, it is important that the <br />new park site be located adjacent to a street designated as an existing or planned arterial or collector. <br />These streets are designed for higher volumes of vehicular traffic and connections for alternative modes <br />of transportation. <br />Parks serve multiple functions for the community, including recreation, community gathering spaces, <br />performance venues, educational opportunities, and spaces for respite and relaxation. A number of <br />geographic attributes enable or enhance a site's ability to perform those functions. While a site does not <br />need to have all of the characteristics below to function as a community park, it must have at least some <br />of these attributes. One attribute that is essential is availability. In order to develop and operate the <br />park facility, thereby meeting the identified need, the City must have the ownership rights to do so. <br />Therefore, a property's availability for park use/City ownership is a key site characteristic in this <br />evaluation.1 The City cannot lawfully redesignate and rezone privately owned land to limit it to a public <br />park use. The City is attempting to address an imminent need for two parks that is a longstanding <br />existing need, not only a future need. For this reason, current availability for public park development is <br />especially important. <br />Adjacency to a school facility is another desirable geographic advantage. Eugene has historically found <br />that collocation of community parks with school sites provides mutual benefit and significantly greater <br />value to Eugene residents. 2 As such, collocation with an existing or planned school is perhaps not <br />necessary, but is a very desirable site characteristic of future community parks. Significant natural <br />features (water bodies, high quality habitat, scenic viewpoints, etc.) also contribute to the experience of <br />visiting a park. Therefore, sites that offer such features are prioritized in terms of park acquisition and <br />development. <br />1 The PROS Comprehensive Plan (p. 2-3) explains that the City relies on voluntary participation of property owners <br />when acquiring land or purchasing conservation easements. A key objective of the plan is to devise strategies that <br />will not infringe upon the rights of property owners and will stress voluntary participation. Most park and open <br />space protection programs rely on responsible negotiations with willing sellers based on appraisals of fair market <br />value to benefit the public's and owner's interests. <br />z Existing examples of co-located schools and parks are: <br />• Amazon Park/South Eugene High School/Roosevelt Middle School <br />• Ascot Park/Monroe Middle School <br />• Bethel Community Park/Meadowview School <br />• Cal Young Sports Park/Cal Young Middle School <br />• Churchill Sports Park/Churchill High School/Kennedy Middle School <br />• Crest Heights Park/Crest Elementary <br />• Garfield Park/Chavez Elementary School <br />• Gilham Park/Gilham Elementary School <br />• Kincaid Park/Parker Elementary <br />• Shasta Ballfields/Shasta Middle School/Clear Lake School <br />• Sheldon Sports Park/Meadow Lark Elementary/Sheldon High School <br />• Westmoreland Park/Arts & Technology Academy <br />Appendix C to Findings May 2017 Page 5 <br />