Parks Master Plan: An Element of the Durango Comprehensive Plan: Durango, Colorado

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B) it is a simple tool that allows a community to project future recreation needs based on estimated population growth. C) it is a legally justifiable, and effective, basis on which to require development impact fees (dedication requirements, etc.). The level -of- service analysis in Table 2 shows that Durango has approximately 99 acres of developed parks for a population of 15,000 that results in level -of- service of approximately 6.62 acres of parks per thousand population, which is composed of Community Parks at 2.47 acres /thousand, Neighborhood Parks at 3.42 acres /1000 and Mini Parks at .73 acres per thousand. 2.3.1 Existing Levels of Service in Durango This plan provides two levels of service comparisons, one for Durango's City population (15,000) and one for the estimated service area population' (25,000). Table 3 illustrates the City of Durango Level of Service in comparison to the Durango Service Area. Table 3: Level of Service Computation This comparison shows that with respect to Neighborhood Parks and Community Parks Durango's City population level -of- service is higher than the service area. Using the service area population, and adding in the tourism component (over 1 million visitors to the Durango region each year) further reduces the level of service. Although there is clearly a significant use of City facilities by non -city residents, for purposes of this master plan, only the level -of- service based on city population will be used. This is because the level of use by non -city residents is variable, difficult to verify in detail, and may change as other communities, or the County, increase support for recreation. 2.3.2 Using Level -Of- Service to Project Future Parks and Recreation Needs Having calculated the existing levels -of- service for parks in the City of Durango and the Durango Service Area, the next task is to determine the desired level -of- service. For many years cities have used a set of national standards published by 8 Many communities, including Durango, use a level -of- service approach (per capita, per thousand, etc.) to justify other fiscal impact mitigations, such as police service calls, water treatment, traffic lane miles, and many others. ' Durango's park and recreation users are estimated by staff to come from approximately the same area as the Durango School District 9 -11 boundaries. Durango Durango Service Area Population 15,000 25,000 Community Park LOS 2.5 1.5 Neighborhood and Mini Park LOS 4.1 2.5 Total Developed Parks LOS 6.6 4.0 This comparison shows that with respect to Neighborhood Parks and Community Parks Durango's City population level -of- service is higher than the service area. Using the service area population, and adding in the tourism component (over 1 million visitors to the Durango region each year) further reduces the level of service. Although there is clearly a significant use of City facilities by non -city residents, for purposes of this master plan, only the level -of- service based on city population will be used. This is because the level of use by non -city residents is variable, difficult to verify in detail, and may change as other communities, or the County, increase support for recreation. 2.3.2 Using Level -Of- Service to Project Future Parks and Recreation Needs Having calculated the existing levels -of- service for parks in the City of Durango and the Durango Service Area, the next task is to determine the desired level -of- service. For many years cities have used a set of national standards published by 8 Many communities, including Durango, use a level -of- service approach (per capita, per thousand, etc.) to justify other fiscal impact mitigations, such as police service calls, water treatment, traffic lane miles, and many others. ' Durango's park and recreation users are estimated by staff to come from approximately the same area as the Durango School District 9 -11 boundaries.