virginia beach parks & recreation
virginia beach
outdoors plan
The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning
Adopted by City Council on November 18, 2008
a component of the virginia beach parks & recreation strategic plan
reference document to the virginia beach comprehensive plan
Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan
The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space
Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning
A Component of the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan
Virginia Beach City Council
Meyera E. Oberndorf—Mayor
Robert M. Dyer* - Centerville
Harry E. Diezel - Kempsville
Reba S. McClanan - Rose Hall
Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones - Bayside
James L. Wood - Lynnhaven
John E. Uhrin - Beach
Barbara M. Henley **- Princess Anne
William R. DeSteph - At Large
Ron A. Villanueva - At Large
Rosemary Wilson - At Large
*
**
Open Space Advisory Committee
Parks and Recreation Commission
Steven A. Lurus, Chair
Lillie R. Gilbert, Vice-chair
Richard “Tuck” Bowie
Kale Warren
Charles “Chuck” Wall
Jeremy Johnson
Paul Hamaker
Robert Cantrell
Nicholas F Anoia – Chair*
Robert Barnaby – At Large
David P. Bartholomew – At Large
J. Michael Fentress – Bayside District
Joel Fink – Lynnhaven District
Tommy J. Johnson – Centerville District
Charles S. Kiley – Beach District
Paula W. Knight – Princess Anne District
Dr. Michael Pankow – At Large
Betty Warren - Rose Hall District
Caren Yarborough - Kempsville District
Mark McKenzie – Senior Student
Andrew Russo – Junior Student
Indicates also serve as liaison to Open Space Advisory Committee
Indicates also served as liaison to original 1998 Open Space Advisory Committee
ii
Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan
The City’s Guidance Document for Open Space
Acquisition and Outdoor Recreational Planning
A Component of the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan
Lead Department - Parks and Recreation
Cindy A. Curtis, CPRP
Director of Parks and Recreation
J. Barry Frankenfield, FASLA, AICP
Planning, Design, and Development Administrator
Brian S. Solis, AICP
Lead Project Planner
Brian K. Phelps
Planner
Gregory L. Newman
Planning Technician
Contributing Members from Parks and Recreation
Doug Cherry, Charleen Cooper, Barbara J. Duke, Frank L. Fentress, Pete Hangen,
Sherry Hawkins, Shawn Hopson, Chris Kennedy, Rob MacPherson, Chris Munroe,
Chona Santander O’Galvin, Rick F. Rowe, Caryl Thompson
Contributing Members from other City and School Departments
H. Clay Bernick, III, Environmental Management Center Administrator-Department of Planning
Melisa Ingram, GIS Analyst, Virginia Beach Public Schools, Facilities, Planning and Construction
Department
Contributing Consultants
Jacobs Carter Burgess, Denver, CO - GIS Facility Service/Equity Mapping Analysis
Land Studio, PC, Norfolk, VA - Design Standards Manual
PROS Consulting, Dallas, TX - Capacity Demand Standards Model ™
Professional Benchmarking Resource
The Trust for Public Land
iii
Executive Summary
Virginia Beach is fortunate. It has been blessed with spectacular natural settings, temperate climate, central
location on the Eastern Seaboard and is well-positioned at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic
Ocean. There are miles and miles of interior scenic waterways and thousands of acres of green space available
for our residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. In short, Mother Nature has provided a special environment
and it is our responsibility to be its stewards and provide access for present and future generations.
To date, various organizations including the City have done their share to provide public green space in Virginia
Beach. The City owns over 6,050 acres of open space, parkland property, and public beaches that are available
for a variety of outdoor recreational uses. School parks, which include one-half of elementary school sites, total
over 400 acres of additional recreational land and assets that are generally available to residents on weekday
afternoons, weekends and summer months. There are 255 playgrounds; 131 ball fields (non-leased); 66 multipurpose fields (non-leased); 236 basketball courts; 161 tennis courts; two skate parks; two dog parks; 170 picnic
pavilions; and four major beach-use facilities to enjoy on the City and School-owned open space. In addition,
Federal and state park, natural area preserve, and wildlife refuge properties account for over 15,200 acres of the
City that are also preserved. There are 19 water access sites throughout the entire City for the public to gain
entrance to the City’s intricate network of blue ways that meander in and out of these City, state and federal
parklands. While homeowners association property may not be available to all residents they do account for
1,320 acres of common area that is available to participating residential neighborhoods. All totaled, nearly
23,000 acres of Virginia Beach is set aside as open space for preservation or some outdoor recreational
purpose.
The Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan (herein “the Plan”), the City’s guidance document for open space acquisition
and outdoor recreational planning, has helped set the framework for an outdoor recreational system of parks and
athletic facilities; cultural and natural areas; public access to greenways, beaches and scenic waterways; and
trail linkages for all kinds of users. The recommendations from the original 1994 Plan and its 2000 Update as
well as the efforts of many other generations have created the extraordinary outdoor recreational network of land
and facilities previously mentioned. However, there is still more work to be done. The existing outdoor
recreational network needs to be properly managed and maintained and planning and action items need to be
identified for the benefit of future generations.
This 2008 version of the Plan is action-oriented and utilizes a cross-section of community priorities, statistical
analysis and now equity mapping as a practical formula for developing its recommendations. The Plan is an
integral part of Facility and Public Space Planning component of the Department of Parks and Recreation
Strategic Plan. It seeks to build upon the successful implementation of its former iterations and progress even
further in its outdoor recreational planning and analysis through the following:
•
Reclassification of park system designations consistent with localities of similar size and characteristics
•
Statistical Needs Analysis of City parks and recreation real estate assets and amenities based on
updated service standards applied against both the 2000 census population and 2026 theoretical build-out
project population
•
Updated inventory of all City-owned parks and recreation real estate assets
•
Updated inventory of all state, federal, and homeowners association parks and recreation-related
real estate assets located within Virginia Beach
Geographic Information System-based Equity Mapping as part of a planning process for providing
equitable physical access to the City’s parks system to all residents
•
iv
Executive Summary
•
Design Standards for outdoor recreational courts, fields, furniture, fixtures and related improvements
•
Capacity-Demand Standards Model ™ for programming analysis of City-wide athletic field usage versus
field capacity
•
Qualitative and Quantitative Public Participation Process
•
Recommendations for future strategic open space site acquisitions
•
Recommendations for future outdoor recreational improvements with regard to preservation and
access to Cultural and Natural Areas, Greenways, Beaches and Scenic Waterways; renovations to existing
and construction of new Parks and Athletic Facilities; and coordination with the City’s Bikeways and Trails
Plan to provide connectivity to community resources through Trails.
•
Implementation strategies and cost estimates as a basis for the Department of Parks and Recreation’s
Capital Improvement Program with respect to the Open Space Acquisition Program and future outdoor
recreational renovations and improvements
The Plan will detail the recommendations relating to future open space acquisitions as well as plans for future
outdoor recreational assets that have been identified to meet the projected need and stated desires of Virginia
Beach residents by 2026. Those recommendations and their associated costs are summarized in the table
below. It is important to note that the Plan provides for a fiscally-responsible funding strategy which relies upon
existing and conservatively-projected revenue to accomplish recommendations.
Open Space
Site
Acquisitions
10 sites
Planning, Design, &
Capital Improvement
Projects
Special Projects
Associated with Past
Open Space Acquisition
Sites
Operational
Responsibilities
Maintenance
Responsibilities
26 multi-purpose fields
Stumpy Lake Natural Area
Master Plan
Natural Areas
(1,400 acres)
Natural Areas
(1,400 acres)
4 large softball fields
Lake Lawson & Lake Smith Natural
Area Master Plan
Grass Turf
Playing Fields
(120 acres)
Grass Turf
Playing Fields
(120 acres)
17 non-motorized water
(canoe/kayak) access sites
Marshview Master Plan
Implementation
4 dog parks
Thalia Creek Greenway
Master Plan Implementation
(without I-264 Crossing)
Concrete
(i.e. skate parks 45,000 square feet)
Concrete
(i.e. skate parks 45,000 square feet)
3 skate parks
Greenway Feasibility Studies
Other Park Turf Areas
(367 acres)
Other Park Turf Areas
(367 acres)
Supporting amenities including
parking, restrooms, lighting,
irrigation
Osprey Park and Expansion of
Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach
Use Facility
Water Access
(17 sites)
Water Access
(17 sites)
$1,985,250
$2,277,130
1,200 acres
Indian River Road Southside Active and Passive Recreational
Improvements
$17,171,600
$21,510,000
$13,900,000
Total Capital Budget Impact at 2026 Build-Out
$52,581,600
v
Total Estimated Annual Operating
Budget Impact at 2026 Build-out
$4,262,380