Embrace Open Space A Look at Community Capacity to Conserve Open Space in the Twin Cities Area

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Embrace Open SpaceA Look at Community Capacity
to Conserve Open Space in the Twin Cities Area
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Agenda
Topics

• Purpose methodology of study
• Possible building blocks for community capacity
• Highlights of findings

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EOS Study of Community Capacity
If we dont measure it, we often dont value it
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Purposes of EOS Examination of Community Capacity

• Evaluate community factors that influence ability
  to balance growth and conservation (community
  capacity)
• Serve as a baseline assessment future
  assessments will reveal trends
• Guide the work of Embrace Open Space and other
  organizations

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Acknowledgements

• This questionnaire was commissioned by Embrace
  Open Space
• The questionnaire was conducted by 1000 Friends
  of Minnesota. Their Technical Resource Center
  offers community-based technical assistance,
  including geographic mapping, visualization, data
  collection and analysis
• Funding for this project was provided by the
  McKnight Foundation.

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Definitions

• Open space
• Land that is largely free of man-made
  structures, where ground cover is such that rain
  may enter the soil to replenish groundwater. May
  include, but is not limited to, natural areas,
  parks, and agricultural lands.
• Natural areas
• Sites that are largely undisturbed by
  humans. Native vegetation is distributed in
  naturally occurring patterns across the
  landscape. These patterns change over time under
  the influence of drought, flooding, fires and the
  interactions between plants and wildlife.

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Methodology

• Geographic scope 282 local units of government
  in the 11-county metro area ? 70 response rate
• Internet-based questionnaire (60 questions)
  during summer 2007
• Targeted respondent planners
• Communities were called to verify appropriate
  respondent and solicit willingness to participate
• Note qualitative data does not allow for
  statistical analysis

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Topics in questionnaire

• Planning and zoning
• Parks and open space planning
• Implementation of plans
• Conservation funding
• Citizen interest and urgency
• Natural resource information for decision-making
• Local staff expertise and experience

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COMMUNITY RESPONSE RATES
70 Overall response rate
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Counties that responded

• Anoka County
• Carver County
• Chisago County
• Dakota County
• Hennepin County
• Isanti County
• Ramsey County
• Scott County
• Sherburne County
• Washington County
• Wright County

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Cities that responded

• Afton Andover Annandale Anoka
• Apple Valley Arden Hills Bayport Becker
• Belle Plaine Bethel Big Lake Blaine
• Bloomington Braham Brooklyn Park Buffalo
• Burnsville Cambridge Center City Centerville
• Champlin Chanhassen Chaska Chisago City
• Clearwater Cokato Columbia Heights Coon
  Rapids
• Corcoran Cottage Grove Crystal Dayton
• Deephaven Delano Eagan East Bethel
• Eden Prairie Edina Elko New Market Elk River
• Excelsior Falcon Heights Farmington Forest
  Lake
• Fridley Gem Lake Golden Valley Grant
• Hamburg Ham Lake Hampton Hanover
• Harris City Hastings Hilltop Hopkins
• Howard Lake Independence Isanti City
  Jordan
• Lake Elmo Lakeland Lakeland Shores Lake St.
  Croix Beach
• Lauderdale Lexington Lilydale Lino Lakes
• Little Canada Long Lake Mahtomedi Maple Grove

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Little Canada Long Lake Mahtomedi Maple
Grove Maplewood Marine on St. Croix Mayer Medici
ne Lake Medina Mendota Heights Minneapolis Minne
tonka Minnetonka Beach Minnetrista Montrose Moun
ds View New Brighton New Hope Newport New
Prague New Scandia North Branch Northfield North
Oaks North St. Paul Norwood Young
America Oakdale Oak Grove Orono
Osseo Otsego Plymouth Princeton Prior
Lake Ramsey Richfield Robbinsdale
Rockford Rosemount Roseville Rush City
Savage Shafer Shakopee Shoreview Shorewood
South Haven South St. Paul Spring Park St.
Anthony St. Francis Stacy Stillwater St.
Louis Park St. Michael St. Paul Sunfish
Lake Vadnais Heights Victoria Waconia Watertown
Waverly Wayzata West St. Paul White Bear
Lake Willernie Woodbury Wyoming Zimmerman
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Townships that responded

• Albion Township Baytown Township Belle Plaine
  Township
• Burns Township Camden Township Chatham Township
• Chisago Lake Township Denmark Township Empire
  Township
• Eureka Township Fish Lake Township Grey Cloud
  Island
• Hampton Township Hassan Township Haven Township
• Helena Township Hollywood Township Laketown
  Township
• Lent Township Linwood Township Livonia Township
• Louisville Township Maple Lake Township
  Marysville Township
• May Township Nessel Township Orrock Township
• Oxford Township Palmer Township Rockford
  Township
• San Francisco Township Sand Creek Township Shafer
  Township
• Silver Creek Township Spencer Brook
  Township Spring Lake Township
• Springvale Township St. Lawrence
  Township Stanchfield Township
• Stillwater Township Sunrise Township Vermillion
  Township
• Watertown Township West Lakeland Township White
  Bear Township
• Wyoming Township

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Highlights Plng Zoning
 
Please indicate ordinances your community
utilizes to protect open spaces and/or natural
areas. (Select all that apply)
Park dedication and PUD are the most used tools.
 
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Highlights Plng Zoning
If you have a PUD ordinance, is it actively used
to protect natural resources or features?
PUD is not always used to protect natural
resources or features
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Highlights - Plans
 
Does your community have an adopted park and/or
open space plan? (Note either a stand-alone plan
or part of a larger plan, i.e. comprehensive
plan)

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132

51


86 of communities either have an adopted or in
progress plan
 
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Highlights - Plans
Which of the following are included in your plan?
(Select all that apply.)
97 of open space plans include parks, 50
include natural areas
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Highlights - Plans
Does the plan include proposed acquisition of
parks, open space and/or natural areas?
Results are very similar between metro and collar
counties
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Highlights - Plans
What implementation tools are included in the
plan? (Select all that apply.)
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Highlights Citizen Interest
 
What is your estimate of the sense of interest in
your community to protect open space/natural
areas?
80 of communities report moderate, increasing or
lots of interest
 
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Highlights Citizen Urgency
 
What is your estimate of the sense of urgency in
your community to protect open space/natural
areas?
Total

181

128

43

10

132

49

responses


58 of communities report moderate, increasing or
lots of urgency

 
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Highlights - NR info in decisions
Is natural resource information regularly taken
into consideration by policy makers as part of
development decision making?
55 of communities say that decision-makers take
natural resource info into consideration
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Highlights Plan implementation
In your estimation, how often is the topic of
DEVELOPMENT included on the agenda of city
council or town/county board meeting? 69 say
regularly or often
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Highlights Plan implementation
In your estimation, how often in the past year
has the city council or town/county board
addressed the topic of OPEN SPACE and/or NATURAL
AREA PROTECTION? 38 say regularly or often
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Highlights Experienced planner
 
How long have you worked for this community?
Interesting planners are often 1-3 years in
their job, or more than 10 years. Differs in
collar counties, where planners tend to stay
longer.
 
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MORE HIGHLIGHTS

• 16 of communities have held a voter open space
  referendum. Of the 23 of those who havent,
  report that it is possible to very likely they
  would consider one in the future.
• 52 say there is rarely, if ever, media coverage
  re land protection topics covered in the local
  paper(s)
• 33 of communities report that they have an
  active citizens group focused on land-use related
  topics

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Summary

• Regionally important to measure communities
  capacity to balance growth and conservation of
  open space
• Communities can benefit from self-assessing their
  building blocks of community capacity