Title
Status Report on Parks & Open Space Land Acquisition.
Brief History
Through the Miami-Dade County Government Obligation Bond, the City was awarded $2.2 million for the purpose of land acquisition. In 2008, the City acquired Maggiore Park using a portion of the Bond funds. Currently, $800,000 of bond funds remain unspent. Upon request of the City Commission, the Parks and Recreation Department conducted an analysis of the properties available for purchase at a price within the $800,000 remaining budget.
In order to find the properties in the area of most need, the park service radius standards that were instituted as part of the upcoming Land Use Comprehensive Plan were used as the determining model. The service radius maps of a 5 minute walk for an urban open space, and 10 minute walk for a neighborhood park were the main focus. These two service radius maps, when viewed independently, showed "gaps" in the delivery of service. However, when both maps were combined, there were only very small gaps in the delivery of service.
A listing of all properties currently on the market for sale under $750,000 was obtained and reviewed. A total of 69 properties were located in areas that showed a deficiency in service for the Urban Open Space standard. When the Neighborhood Park standard was added, only 8 properties were located in the service deficient areas. The 6 properties in the deficient area along the western border of the City would best fit the needs of the City residents.
The Parks and Recreation Department recommends that the process to further review the viability of purchasing one of these 6 properties be initiated.