Page 54 - parks-master-plan

D ublin has more than 1,400 acres of public land. Early community leaders

valued Dublin’s scenic beauty and natural resources, and Councils through the years have demonstrated their commitment with both strong preservation ordinances and a dedicated Parkland Acquisition Fund. While national planning guidelines recommend 10 to 20 acres of land per thousand people, Dublin currently provides roughly 34 acres per 1,000 residents. The Division of Parks and Open Space routinely averages 90 percent satisfaction rate for the provision, design and maintenance of parks and open spaces. The City should strive to meet and exceed the public’s expectations for park land acquisition.

The Village of Dublin was primarily devoted to agriculture, with vast areas of open space. Once the village became a city, the development rate jumped dramatically. Early village Councils made a commitment to preserve the area’s natural resources and open space. They created land dedication policies that help guide staff and developers to set aside land for the public. This has given Dublin a diverse and aesthetically pleasing park system.

Every housing development is required to dedicate 2 percent of the total gross acreage plus 0.03 acres per dwelling unit to the City. Staff works with developers to ensure the dedication is in the best interest of the public. Preserving stream frontage, woodlots and scenic road setbacks are among the priorities.

After the open space ordinance, a tree preservation ordinance was enacted that further provided protection of the natural environment. The tree preservation ordinance requires developers to replace “protected” trees (any tree more than 6