Port St. Lucie should quickly buy up vacant parcels of 5 acres or more so the land will be available for future park development, a planning consultant advised the City Council.
“If I had money … I’d go buy land,” said David Barth, who has developed parks and recreation master plans for more than 80 cities. “I’d buy whatever land you can get your hands on. You have time to build stuff, but you don’t have time to buy land.”
Barth presented a draft of the city’s 10-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan to the council Feb. 21 during its annual winter retreat. Barth said he expects to present the final plan to the council in July.
Barth suggested a variety of ways to pay for the new parks and recreational facilities, including securing grants, increasing property taxes for parks, establishing a sales tax for parks and reallocating the property tax currently devoted to Crosstown Parkway construction.
Stockpiling land for parks now is the top priority because the city is developing so rapidly that land may not be available in the future, Barth said.
If suitable property is not obtained while it is available, the city could eventually be forced to buy and demolish buildings to assemble enough land for the parks and recreational facilities residents will need in the future, Barth warned.
The city should target 50-to-100-acre parcels for purchase for future park sites, Barth said. Sites as small as 5 acres could be developed into parks in neighborhoods with the greatest demand. Barth also advised the council to invest in modernizing the city’s 49 existing parks to meet the needs of current and future residents.
In addition, Barth advised the council to hire more workers to improve park maintenance and hold more special events.
A mail survey of city residents indicated the greatest needs are for new walking and hiking trails, paved bicycle paths, nature parks, dog parks, and outdoor stages and amphitheaters, Barth said.
Mayor Gregory Oravec said city residents have long called for dog parks, an aquatics complex and lighted athletic fields, but he hasn’t heard an outcry for more walking and hiking trails.
Barth responded that groups that want athletic fields tend to be organized and outspoken, while walkers and bicyclists tend to be less vocal. “Thousands of people come out for a multi-purpose paved trail,” Barth said. “You’ve got the West Orange Trail, the Seminole County trail, you have any number of major trails around Florida. It’s amazing how popular multi-purpose paved trails have become.”
