Seattle Parks and Recreation
Strategic Action Plan

ABOUT THE SEATTLE PARKS AND RECREATION STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

Seattle Parks and Recreation is developing a Strategic Action Plan to establish a vision and guide decisions over the next five years. Public and staff participation are integral parts of this process to ensure the Plan reflects the needs of the Seattle community.

Project Update June 4, 2008: Draft Strategic Action Plan Latest Version

This version of the draft Strategic Action Plan is currently being reviewed by the Board of Park Commissioners. It incorporates staff and public feedback from meetings held in April, 2008. It is not the final version.

Strategic Action Plan (draft)

Project Update May 1, 2008: Draft Strategic Action Plan Phase 2 Comment Period Closed

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the draft Strategic Action Plan. Parks and Recreation truly appreciates your thoughtful feedback. Parks and Recreation is now reviewing the hundreds of comments and revising the draft Plan to reflect your feedback and improve the draft Plan. Check back later this month for a full report of all of the comments received. Please contact brenda.kramer@seattle.gov with any questions.

Project Update March 25, 2008: Draft Strategic Action Plan Released

The draft Strategic Plan, now available for public comment and review, was developed from August 2007 to March 2008 (Phase 1) and is based on input from City leaders, Parks and Recreation staff, and the public. Parks and Recreation has dedicated extensive time and resources to communicating the draft Plan both internally and externally, as well as soliciting feedback about where the community thinks that Parks and Recreation should be headed over the short and long-term. In particular, these engagement efforts focused on identifying major issues and policy questions relating to Parks and Recreation's current strengths, challenges and opportunities.

The Plan has undergone multiple draft versions, and is still in the process of evolving. The next phase, Phase 2, will be dedicated to listening and responding to City and public comment on the draft Plan. Based on this feedback, Parks and Recreation will further refine the document over the upcoming months and develop it into a final Plan.

The Strategic Action Plan is designed to serve as an action-oriented work plan that identifies goals that Parks and Recreation will focus on over the next five years, as well as outlines specific strategies that will help accomplish these goals. For more information on the Plan's main components and how to read the Plan, please see the introduction folio.

To read the full draft Strategic Action Plan, please see the final draft plan.

Phase 1 Public Input Summary

Parks and Recreation is enthusiastic and appreciative of the level of public involvement that occurred in Phase 1. During winter of 2007, Parks and Recreation conducted more than 30 community meetings throughout the City that garnered over 600 people in attendance. Parks and Recreation also conducted a community survey, with more than 1,900 individual responses. Lastly, Parks and Recreation collected feedback through a project specific email address, telephone calls, and mail directed to Parks and Recreation Headquarters. All comments and feedback were then synthesized and summarized into a Public Summary Report.

As discussed in the Summary Report, the themes from the community meetings, community survey, comment forms, and other modes of submittal were largely the same. Highlights are as follows:

• Many participants expressed the need for continued acquisition of land in order to increase green, open spaces in the City and create places of respite and recreation in the midst of a City growing in population and density.
  
  
• Many participants discussed the need to distribute all facilities equally throughout the City. Improving maintenance and the up-keep of land and facilities was also a top priority, with some advocating for ensuring maintenance before any new acquisitions.
  
  
• Participants advocated for a "greener," more environmental Parks and Recreation department, with increased focus on habitat restoration, more natural, native landscaping, and a reduction of energy use throughout the Parks and Recreation system.
  
  
• Most agreed that Parks and Recreation needs to improve its public engagement. Participants discussed a vision for public outreach in which Parks and Recreation strives to build and maintain trusting, strong relationships with the communities it serves.

Parks and Recreation is committed to continued improvement of its public engagement processes and in Phase 2 will continue to work to bring in new members of the community who may not use the Parks and Recreation system currently or be aware of what the system has to offer.

» Read the summary report

» Read the full report

» Read individual meeting summaries

About the Strategic Action Plan

Over the past decade, there has been a substantial expansion in Seattle's park and recreation system. In the face of continued growth, changing demographics, and emerging parks and recreation trends, Parks and Recreation must strategically evaluate its facilities, services, and operations so it can continue to meet its commitments to Seattle citizens to create community through people, parks, and programs.

The Strategic Action Plan will identify emerging issues and policy questions relating to Parks and Recreation's current strengths, challenges and opportunities. The purpose of the Plan is to focus Parks and Recreation's activities to ensure the most efficient and effective use of public tax dollars. It is not a laundry list of services but rather a roadmap that will express Parks and Recreation's vision and mission. It will also guide budget, capital development and investment decisions, and provide a planning framework for partnerships with other departments, organizations and businesses.

SAP Project Schedule

Public involvement is a critical part of Parks and Recreation's planning and decision-making process. Hearing from stakeholders across the city is a major priority and focus for the study and Parks and Recreation is firmly committed to soliciting citizens' ideas and incorporating that feedback thoughtfully to shape the Plan. Public comment will be used to assess what Parks and Recreation does well, what it could improve, what are its strategic opportunities, and to inform the overall vision.

October: Project Kick off November-January: Public input January-March: Plan development and refinement March: Public review draft released March-June: Public, Council, and Park Board input Summer 2008: Final Plan released

Project Schedule

About Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle's park system comprises 6,200 acres, about 11% of the city's land area. Parks maintains 430 parks, 185 athletic fields, 112 neighborhood play areas, 26 community centers and 10 pools. The system includes several major destination parks, Discovery Park, Green Lake Park, as well as neighborhood and special purpose parks. Parks maintains 22 miles of boulevards. Parks also has 151 outdoor tennis courts, four golf courses, and 11 off leash areas. Along the 24 miles of shoreline, Parks has nine swimming beaches, 18 fishing piers, and many moorages and boat launches.

Parks also operates and maintains the Washington Arboretum, the Seattle Aquarium, the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, and the Alki Art Studio, and many other facilities, and owns the Woodland Park Zoo property; the Woodland Park Zoo Society operates the zoo under an agreement with the City.

Some of the many programs and activities they offer include life-long recreation opportunities to for people fifty and better, a job readiness program for teenage youth, and a free supervised drop-in program for elementary and middle school aged children.

Parks works with myriad private citizens and community groups to provide safe and welcoming opportunities for the public to play, learn, contemplate, and build community by fostering human development, increasing cultural unity, and providing healthy environments.

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