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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Parks of the Future Plan all about?
- Why is the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Department Developing a Parks of the Future Plan?
- How will the Plan be developed?
- How will the Sunnyvale community be involved in the process?
- How long will the planning process take and what are the key milestones?
- How will the Plan be implemented?
- How can I stay involved with the process?
What is the Parks of the Future Plan all about?
This project is geared toward developing a document - the Parks of the Future Plan - to guide the City of Sunnyvale for current and future parks planning. The components will include a mission statement, guiding principles or values, a planning framework, and a set of strategies designed to meet the City's desired outcomes. Simply stated, the Plan is like a blueprint to guide future decisions, expansion and programming. The planning process involves looking at the current state of the city's parks and open space and related recreation facilities and amenities throughout the entire parks and open space system, identifying potential challenges and opportunities, and defining where the City wants to be in the next 10, 15 or 20 years. Of course, often the purpose of parks and recreation facilities is to support recreation programming, and this plan will also assess information about the community's usage, needs and interests related to recreation programming. The Plan will evaluate the appropriate role of existing and potential special facilities such as skate parks, golf courses and sports complexes in meeting the future needs of the community. The Plan will also specifically evaluate several pieces of property currently either owned by the City or under agreement with the City, and determine whether or not they should be used to meet open space and recreational demand. Counties, cities, city departments, and private, public and non-profit organizations all are called upon to develop plans such as these.
Why is the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Department Developing a Parks of the Future Plan?
The Sunnyvale City Council recently completed an Open Space and Recreation Sub-Element of the General Plan, which identified several Key Initiatives for the Department to address. These include demands for increased open space and neighborhoods identified as being underserved by current open space offerings. The Parks and Recreation Department is developing this Plan to assess further how current programs, facilities, parks and park amenities meet the recreational and open space needs of City residents and how the Department can best meet the needs of residents in the future. Sunnyvale is an attractive, safe, and environmentally sensitive community, and this planning effort will strengthen these values shared by many residents. The City will be growing over the next 15 years and the Department wants to ensure they are able to continue providing the current high quality level of parks and park amenities as well as recreational programming offered to residents. It will be important to look at the features offered in Sunnyvale's parks to ensure that an equitable balance is achieved throughout the system based on community needs and priorities.
Sunnyvale has a strong foundation of park facilities, recreational opportunities and cultural experiences. Using this foundation, the Department will develop a set of strategies and goals to continue to be successful now and in the future. Additionally, the Plan will strengthen the City's opportunities for developing partnerships and leveraging resources to enhance the parks and recreation system for all residents.
How will the Plan be developed?
Developing a master plan takes a number of steps to gather information and data to assist with developing strategies and identifying goals. Highlights of the major planning stages will include:
- Analyzing current and future demographics of the City
- Analyzing current park and recreation facilities, amenities, recreation classes and cultural arts opportunities
- Conducting a series of interviews and focus groups with local decision-makers and interest groups
- Conducting phone surveys
- Assessing how Sunnyvale compares to similar cities
- Involving the community through a variety of forums and opportunities
How will the Sunnyvale community be involved in the process?
Community involvement opportunities will include:
- Interviews with community stakeholders and City leaders
- Focus Groups including: Youth, Sports Groups, Neighborhood Associations and Cultural Arts Groups
- Outreach materials at community events such as Hands on the Arts and Art and Wine Festival
- Community-wide event to prioritize issues
- Telephone survey
- Parks and Recreation Commission presentations
- City Council presentations
- On-line survey from this website
- Comments and feedback from this website
How long will the planning process take and what are the key milestones?
During the spring and early summer months of 2008, the planning process will focus on involving the public through a web-based survey, surveys at existing community events, focus groups, and stakeholder interviews. Drafting of the plan, largely informed by the public involvement activities, will begin in late spring. A community workshop will be held in July 2008 to review draft recommendations. The draft plan should be completed by the end of August and adopted by the Sunnyvale City Council by November 2008.How will the Plan be implemented?
The Parks of the Future Plan will be implemented over the next 10 to 15 years. The City will be looking at how to build and expand on the foundation of existing facilities and services. Future planning and programming will be geared towards meeting the needs, interests and desires of the community.
How can I stay involved with the process?
Information and related documents as well as details about upcoming meetings will be posted on this website throughout the planning process. You will see a sidebar on the right side of the home page where you can sign up for email notifications to alert you when new information has been posted. Please sign up so that we can keep you part of the process!
