DID WE GET IT RIGHT?

Review the draft System Plan and take a short survey to provide your feedback.

Let’s shape the future of our community together

This is your chance to get involved and stay informed about the future of North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District.

Key components of the draft plan include:

  • District analysis and benchmarking

  • Community engagement findings

  • Updated themes and goals

  • Priority areas for improvements within the district

  • Future projects (short, medium, long-term)

  • Key challenges and recommended Review the plan now next steps

Project Overview

District Information

North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District (NCPRD) is a service district of Clackamas County dedicated to providing exceptional parks and recreation programs, facilities and services. Voters approved the formation of the District in 1990 because they saw the need for greater parks and recreation services in the north end of the county. The District – which serves more than 105,000 residents in a 27-square mile area – includes the city of Milwaukie and a large area of unincorporated Clackamas County.

What is a System Plan?

It is a 20-year roadmap for community-informed decision making. With a limited budget and resources, the System Plan will tell the District how and where to invest.

Why a Parks System Plan Update?

  • Understand the current and changing community demographics and recreation trends.

  • Assess existing properties and facilities performance.

  • Identify current community values, desires, and needs.

  • Anticipate future community needs and replacement of aging recreation infrastructure.

  • Plan holistically for the District’s dispersed offerings.

  • Develop clear priorities for investment and resources.

  • Guide efforts with strategies for the next 20 years.

NCPRD’s Current Parks and Recreation Facilities Offering

NCPRD Parkland Inventory Map

32 Total Developed Parks
= 168 Acres

7 Natural Areas or Greenways
= 48 Acres

12 Total Undeveloped Properties
= 38 Acres

3 Community/Recreation Facilities

Current Park and Recreation Assessment Highlights

Community Profile Infographic
Priority Areas

Systemwide Assessment Maps

Park 10-minute Walkshed Analysis

Park 10-minute Walkshed Analysis with Residential Overlay

Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Map

Park Existing Condition Rating Map

Plan for the Future

Project flowchart

Draft Vision and Goals

Vision: Enhancing community with exceptional parks, natural areas, and recreation opportunities that welcome all.

Theme 1

Care for and Invest in Parks and Recreation: Care for our existing system while providing a strong foundation for future opportunities.

Goals

  1. Prioritize investments and improvements in areas lacking access to parks and open space as well as areas with high social, environmental, and health needs.
  2. Ensure quality and longevity of the park and recreation system through long-term fiscal sustainability of the District.
  3. Care for what we have now while also looking toward expanding offerings and access over the next two decades.

Theme 2

Connect to Nature: Connect to nature, embracing and protecting natural resources and mitigating climate change impacts.

Goals

  1. Increase community access to the outdoors, nature, and water.
  2. Create a districtwide network of trails to enhance movement, connectivity and enjoyment in the natural environment.
  3. Enhance community resilience through climate adapted landscapes, facilities, and program offerings.

Theme 3

Play for All: Promote health and lifelong learning by providing parks, natural areas, facilities, and recreational opportunities for all ages and abilities.

Goals

  1. Provide recreation programs and places to play that meet the needs of a broad range of ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
  2. Reduce gaps in programming using the variety of tools and resources in our community.
  3. Offer affordable recreation programs and facilities to encourage participation and reduce financial barriers.

Theme 4

Enrich our Community: Strengthen connections through events, activities, recreation programming, and communication that celebrate the diversity of identities in our community.

Goals

  1. Celebrate and honor cultures, languages, storytelling, art, and history of distinct communities in North Clackamas.
  2. Create community togetherness, expand community awareness and support the health of residents through recreational and cultural offerings in parks, facilities, and programs.
  3. Adapt recreation, activities, and events to meet the current and future recreation needs of the community.

Project Timeline

January to July 2024

Discovery

  • Assessing the parks, facilities, programs and services in the District today

  • Identifying what’s working and what could be improved

  • Reviewing national, state, and regional parks and recreation trends 

April to August 2024

Establishing Community Priorities

  • Hosting focus groups, an online survey, and meeting with people at community events

  • Reviewing community feedback collected

  • Providing comparison data from other Parks and Recreation Districts

September 2024 to April 2025

Guiding Directions and Plan Creation

  • Crafting a future vision and goals for the District based on community priorities

  • Developing a plan for achieving the vision and goals

  • Gathering community feedback on the plan

  • Sequencing projects, funding, and strategies for implementation

April 2025 to September 2025

Plan Documentation and Approval

  • Finalizing the plan and project sequencing based on community feedback

  • Documenting the final plan

  • Final approvals of the plan

How to be Involved

Engagement at a Glance

Big Takeaways We Heard from the 2024 Engagement Activities:

  • Maintenance and renovation of current facilities are top concerns for residents.

  • Residents emphasize the need for communication and awareness about NCPRD amenities and programs.

  • Future needs assessments from residents correspond with the most popular activities in NCPRD currently, such as the need to prioritize natural, open areas and trails for walking/biking/rolling.

  • Survey results show that residents strongly support additional funding and spending for parks and recreation improvements in the future.

What We Heard

Documents & Maps

Sign up for System Plan Updates

Who’s Listening?

Erin Reome

NCPRD Principal Planner

systemplan@ncprd.com

FAQ

  • It is a 20-year guide for community-informed decision making. The System Plan will direct how and where to invest limited District resources.

  • We start by looking at what we have in the District today and identifying what’s working and what isn’t. Then, through extensive community engagement and listening to a diverse range of District voices, we identify what the community wants and needs.

    Based on all of that, we develop a plan for how to reach those community goals.

  • • Which properties we purchase and where

    • Where and what types of parks, facilities, and trails we develop or improve

    • What types of funding we pursue

    • Which partnerships we make

    • What types of programs we offer and where they go

  • • It will not increase our budget or the funding we have available as a District. Instead, it will make recommendations for funding sources the District could pursue, and will help inform how we use the limited resources we have based on community priorities.

    • It will not result in immediate improvements or specific designs for facilities and parks. These will come after the System Plan is completed, and will be based on our 5-year capital improvement projects list. The projects identified in that list will be directly informed by the community priorities identified in the System Plan.

    • It is not a crystal ball. The System Plan will look toward a 20-year vision, but much can change during that time. To keep the System Plan up-to-date with changes in community needs and changes in parks and recreation trends, it is recommended that we do a refresh of the System Plan roughly every 5 years.

  • The last adopted System Plan was in 2004, with an update in 2015 that was not finalized due to changes in the District boundary. Since that time, community demographics have changed, as have national and regional trends in Parks and Recreation offerings. This System Plan will respond to those changes and provide a fresh guide for District decision making.

  • The process is anticipated to take roughly 15 months in total. There will be a large public outreach effort in the late spring and summer 2024. A draft plan will be developed in fall 2024 and the final plan and implementation strategy will be developed in spring/summer 2025.

  • We will have many opportunities for residents to get involved throughout the System Plan process.

    • Survey – Beginning in May-June 2024 we will launch an online survey to gather feedback on the vision residents have for Parks and Recreation.

    • Events – We will be tabling at numerous NCPRD and community events throughout summer and fall 2024 to gather additional input.

    • Community Presentations – NCPRD staff, as well as members of our District Advisory Committee (DAC), will also be looking for opportunities to present on the System Plan process and updates, and collect feedback from District residents, at smaller community venues between May 2024 and June 2025.