Chapter 1:
Introduction
Background
The
City of Canby is a rapidly growing community of nearly 13,000
residents located just south of the metropolitan Portland area.
Surrounded by waterways on three sides, and spectacular
views of Mount Hood, Canby’s rich landscape was formed by
its location between the confluence of the Willamette and Molalla
Rivers. This valuable
location has produced a wealth of natural resources as well as
a strong agricultural-based economy.
In the
last 30 years, Canby’s population has grown dramatically.
Between 1970 and 1980, Canby saw an annual growth rate
of 7.2 percent, more than three
times that of the state of Oregon overall.
While the economic recession of the 80’s brought
a slowdown across the entire state, Canby’s brisk growth
and strong economy resumed in the 90’s.
The more than tripling of its population in less than 30
years has brought both benefits and challenges to Canby.
In
1991, a group of citizens and professionals recognized the need
to more adequately plan for Canby’s future provision of
parks and recreation in this climate of rapid growth.
Specifically, they wanted to create a long-range document
to adequately meet the needs of residents and to ensure their
continued high quality of life. This group drafted Canby’s
first Park and Recreation Master Plan in 1991 to address these
issues.
Since
that time, Canby’s landscape has continued to change.
As residential development keeps pace with demand, vast
tracts of once-agricultural land now support new homes, and open
space has become more scarce.
Canby’s once-plentiful park and recreation system
is beginning to deteriorate due to age and heavy use, and maintenance
needs are increasing. Responding
to these changes, the City acquired a number of parcels of valuable
open space for future park development.
The City also participated in a citizen-based visioning
process in 1995, called Canby by Design, which laid out goals
for a range of public services.
The five goals for park, recreation and open space are
listed below:
-
Preserve
remaining valuable areas such as wetlands, riparian habitat,
and other valuable natural areas for educational, recreational,
cultural and scientific uses;
-
Secure
and promote the development of properties and facilities for
present and future recreational needs;
-
Improve
and promote diversification of recreational programs and facilities;
-
Promote
and enhance natural beauty and wholesome recreational activities;
and
- Provide
recreational properties and facilities which are safe, clean,
and well-maintained.
In
January of this year, the City of Canby contracted with the University
of Oregon’s Community
Planning Workshop (CPW) to update its 6-year old Park and Recreation
Master Plan. In so doing,
CPW has gathered a wide range of data and citizen input from residents
and professionals over the last six months in order to help improve
Canby’s current parks and recreation system and ensure Canby
meets the ongoing needs of its residents in the next 20 years.
Methodology
Community Planning Workshop used the following methods to
update the City of Canby’s Park and Recreation Master Plan:
-
Met
with City staff and the Park and Recreation Advisory Board,
and reviewed the 1991 Park Master Plan and the City of Canby
Comprehensive Plan to gain a thorough understanding of the City’s
policy goals and objectives.
-
Collected
and analyzed key information regarding population,
demographics and land use trends affecting Canby and its
residents, as one element for determining future park and recreation
needs.
-
Performed
a supply analysis
to determine the quality, condition and scope of park and recreation
resources available in the Canby area.
The supply analysis was split into two areas:
A facility inventory which looked at area park and recreation
sites, and an activity inventory which evaluated organized recreational
opportunities.
-
Conducted
a demand analysis
to determine residents’ current recreational activities,
and what they desire in terms of parks and recreation in their
community. The demand
analysis consisted of three elements:
a community survey, student meetings and stakeholder
interviews.
-
Performed
a standards analysis,
where we compared Canby’s park and recreation resources
to nationally-recognized standards in order to assess how well
Canby’s park and recreation facilities are serving the
community.
-
Collected
preliminary cost estimates
for necessary park and recreation maintenance, improvement and
new development.
- Gathered
information from a number of potential funding sources to provide Canby with alternative mechanisms
for funding park and recreation.
After
analyzing all previously gathered data and findings, CPW proposed
a list of twenty-four recommendations, including detailed rationale
and an implementation schedule, to guide Canby in its long-term
provision of park and recreation facilities and services.
This work has been synthesized in the following chapters
detailed below.
Organization
of This Report
The remainder of this draft report is divided into ten chapters
and five appendices.
Chapter
2, Socioeconomic and Land Use Analysis, updated
in 2001, describes trends affecting Canby’s residents
and landscape.
Chapter
3, Facility Inventory, updated
in 2001, analyzes Canby’s current park and recreation
supply.
Chapter
4, Activity Inventory, updated
in 2001, is the second half of our supply analysis, which analyzes
the area’s organized recreational opportunities.
Chapters
5, 6 and 7, 1997 Community Survey Results, 1997 Student Meeting
Results, and 1997 Stakeholder Interview Results, make up the demand analysis section
of the report, providing valuable citizen perspectives.
Chapter
8, Standards Analysis, updated
in 2001, compares park and recreation facilities with national
standards to see how Canby rates.
Chapter
9, Recommendations, updated
in 2001, synthesizes the previous information and lists the
goals CPW is proposing the City of Canby adopt in order to ensure
adequate provision of parks and recreational resources for its residents.
Chapter 10, Preliminary Cost Estimates, updated in 2001, puts a
dollar figure on our recommendations.
Chapter
11, Funding Alternatives, provides the City with a range of
additional park and recreation funding options.
Return to Table of Contents for
Parks Master Plan |
