Terms of Reference Parks Master Plan—June 4, 2015

Terms of Reference Parks Master Plan—June 4, 2015

The Town of View Royal is interested in completing parks planning work with the assistance of students from Vancouver Island University Masters of Community Planning program. A Draft Parks Master Plan was prepared for the Town in 2006-07 but it was never adopted as the capital works program associated with the plan was not financially feasible for the Town. The basic structure of the plan is sound and Council would like to see both an update to this existing information, and creative proposals to enhance the parks system in the Town. To facilitate an understanding of the project for both parties, it is understood that the project will span two semesters of course time (September 2015-April 2016) and will include the following deliverables:

1. Updated demographic analysis and forecasts based on the work completed in 2010 as part of the OCP review and the 2014 Regional Sustainability Strategy. Assessment/comparison of metrics used in different communities to establish adequacy of park lands. The underlying question that we are attempting to answer is "In light of these forecasts and an understanding of how the community might be changing over time, are there parks needs that won't be met in the future that we should prepare and plan for?"

2. A detailed parks asset inventory. The inventory will include information about the capital assets contained within each park(age and condition); a recommendation of which classification should be applied to the park; creating GIS layers that include existing parks and trails; analysis of existing system—strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, threats. The underlying questions to be addressed are "What typologies of parks do we currently have and which types are needed? Where? When?" Information on future park needs, including land acquisition and capital investment, may be used to support the development of a new Development Cost Charges Bylaw. Timelines for replacement of infrastructure may also emerge from this work.

3. Review park classification system from OCP. Review data from Engineering and Parks Department regarding level of service/maintenance of existing parks and provide options related to service levels and use for consideration by Council. Make recommendations to assign each park into a classification.

4. Provide an analysis of how much time/labour is involved per ha of park space, based upon the different park typologies or on different park features such as play equipment, trails, ball/playing fields. Evaluate how other municipalities deal with these to determine how similar assets are managed and maintained (costs for maintenance, revenues for rental of space if applicable). The Town is seeking information that will allow us to understand how our maintenance standards/costs compare to other municipalities. This is part of an ongoing effort to better understand and quantify the impact of adding various park typologies on both the capital and operating budgets.

5. Consultation Plan—what priorities for park investment or acquisition does the community have? Is there a willingness to address these perceived needs through consideration of additional funding? A consultation plan must be prepared and executed to meet this objective. The consultation plan must be approved by Council prior to initiating an engagement program.

6. Create a draft plan that addresses the needs identified in the Official Community Plan (excerpt from OCP attached as Appendix 1) suitable for presentation to Council. The draft plan should be pragmatic in that it carefully considers the context of the Town within the Capital Region as well as the long term costs and benefits associated with parks and park assets. The development of options for consideration by Council are encouraged. It is anticipated that implementation of the plan would be a 20+ year project and that capital investments will be tempered by operating costs as new or replacement equipment in parks is added to the system.