At Lighthouse Land Development LLC, we can help your public agency with this and many other creative approaches to sustainable government. Let us help you make public land work for the public. #lighthouse #p3 #parks
A good summary of the problem. Even better? How about an implementation plan like this: First, audit the use and condition of existing parks. Smaller, low use parks in close proximity to larger, higher use parks might be better shuttered with incremental resources supporting larger parks. Second, shift funding for all planned new parks to all existing parks. Take care of what you have before you build new. Impose a moratorium on new parks anywhere until you can fund what you have everywhere. Third, don’t build a new park without a dedicated, protected base level of maintenance fund. When you raise the capital to construct, include a dedicated fund for 30 to 50 years. If you need to cement political will, adopt an ordinance making it a requirement. Fourth, monetize park edges. Include revenue generating uses such as cafes and neighborhood retail. Keep or acquire parcels for public agency ownership and use the ground lease rent to offset maintenance. Fifth, cultivate relationships with grantor agencies and the community to fund enhancements (beyond base, not ordinary maintenance). Better utilization of existing parks may reduce the need for new ones. Try it or don’t. But it’s probably time to try something new. #lighthouse #cre #parks #urbanplanning #landuse