Buncombe County Parks & Recreation’s third Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan community meeting will be taking place on Wednesday, May 8 from 5-7 p.m. at Charles T. Koontz Intermediate (305 Overlook Road). This meeting will be interactive, so participants should come prepared to share their voice and input by participating in various greenways and trails planning exercises. By asking how residents currently use County greenways and trails, and what they want to see in the future, these exercises will create the roadmap for Parks & Recreation to follow for the next 20 years. This community meeting is a crucial opportunity for residents to have their voices heard and contribute to the shaping of our greenways and trails.
Kimley Horn, the planning consultant, will present an overview of the systemwide planning process as well as information on the current state of Buncombe County's greenways and trails. After the presentation, County staff from Parks & Recreation, Open Space, and Agriculture & Land departments will be available at various stations around the space to answer questions and receive your input. The livestream of this event and the online survey will be available on the Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan website.
Language services will be available to Spanish-speaking community members at the community meeting.
The online survey for the Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan will be available until early fall for the public to share their vision of the future of parks, recreation, greenways, trails, and open space. Take the survey here.
Background
As Buncombe County becomes more diverse, so too do the desires for recreation, outdoor activities, trails, and open space. To meet these evolving needs, Buncombe County Parks & Recreation is creating a systemwide plan to define how they will continue to provide high-quality options for residents. This systemwide plan will result in the first Parks & Recreation Master Plan, an updated Greenways and Trails Master Plan, and an Open Space Plan. Public guidance is the cornerstone of the planning process.
Community members will be invited to interactive meetings, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and pop-up events throughout the County. There will also be online and paper surveys mailed to Buncombe County residents.
The Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan is an umbrella planning effort that will yield three plans, which are the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, Greenways and Trails Master Plan, and an Open Space Plan. These services will be encompassed in systemwide master plan to ensure that a unified strategy is created for these interconnected services.
For questions or for more information, please call (828) 250-6705 or email thomas.gull@buncombecounty.org.