Park and Greenway Planning and Development

There are two levels of Park and Greenway planning: system planning and park master planning.

System Planning: The Park, Recreation and Open Space Element of the City of Raleigh 2030 Comprehensive Plan is the primary, broad guide for Parks and Greenway facilities in Raleigh. This Element and others, such as Environmental Protection, Land Use, Community Facilities and Services, provide policy and recommended actions for the City as a whole. The City Comprehensive Plan projects local and regional growth patterns and public infrastructure needs including parks, greenways and open space for conservation of natural resources and preservation of our environmental quality. The overall Comprehensive Plan and its influence on these specific elements must be considered in the context of park planning in order to ensure that public needs are met in the decision-making processes. Capital improvement funding, acquisition of park properties, classification of new park lands acquired, and master planning of specific parks should each be guided by the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan.

The Parks Plan, which is supplemental to the Comprehensive Plan, is the system plan document that guides more detailed development of the City's park and greenway system. A system plan is developed every 5-10 years and is meant to guide the growth and development of the overall park and greenway system. Future park needs are compared with an existing inventory of park facilities over a 20 to 30 year horizon. The Parks Plan was last updated and adopted by the City Council in 2004. It is scheduled for updating in 2011-12 to meet the policies in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan.

Park Master Planning: A Park Master Plan is a conceptual design document that, once adopted by City Council, generally describes and guides the future management, design and development of a park property. A process to guide Master Plan development of park sites was adopted by City Council in 2003 and revised in January 2004 Resolution (2003) - 735.

The Master Plan process calls for public meetings to be held periodically to gather public comment particularly during the planning phase of projects. The purpose of a Master Plan for an individual piece of property is to determine the scope and character of its transformation for recreational purposes while conserving significant environmental features. It has a relationship to the Park Plan in that it fulfills some portion of the broader recreation objectives.

This process includes a System Integration Plan (SIP) used to develop a set of guidelines for the interim management of parkland prior to the initiation of a Master Plan; the documentation of existing site conditions and constraints; integration of the parkland's classification; and if applicable, integration into the Comprehensive Plan to ensure overall consistency.

The Master Plan process calls for public meetings to be held periodically to gather public comment particularly during the planning phase of projects. There is a registry of organizations that are notified in advance of upcoming Public Meetings. If you would like to register your organization, simply send an email to ParkPlan@RaleighNC.gov.

The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a multi-year budget for implementing the Comprehensive Plan. The CIP includes capital allocations for park development projects, including land acquisition, facility development, and renovation, including both park bond projects and general fund projects. The City Administration reviews and updates its recommendations for the CIP annually. Then, the Administration forwards its final CIP recommendations to City Council for review and adoption.