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2001-05-01 Planning workshop CITY OF BEVERLY OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION COMMITTEE PLANNING WORKSHOP SENIOR CENTER THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2001 7PM INTRODUCTION: The City of Beverly Open Space and Recreation Committee invites you to a workshop on open space and recreation planning to be held on Thursday, May 17, 2001 at the Senior Center on Colon Street. This will be a planning meeting to provide the Committee with your specific and detailed ideas about open space in Beverly. Please bring your ideas, sketches, photographs, knowledge of how things have been done elsewhere, etc. and be willing to share those with other meeting attendees. PURPOSE OF MEETING: We are conducting this workshop to tell you about the ideas and priorities that the Committee has identified to date, to solicit your reaction to them, and to hear your ideas. We are particularly interested in how the open space priorities we have identified (as shown on the inventory map) fit with your own ideas. This will enable the Committee to prepare a comprehensive Open Space and Recreation Plan most useful to Beverly citizens and the administration_ At some point, implementation of projects turns on details, eg. which particular streets should be identified, signed and marked for pedestrian and bicycle use, how wide should sidewalks be to allow two people to walk side-by-side and where should they be located. Other details might include: where the special views worthy of preservation and enhancement are; where should playing fields be located and what sort of fields are most appropriate; where some special hidden wildlife areas are, etc. At this meeting, we encourage you to give us this information based on your knowledge of your neighborhood and the City. The Committee is striving to develop a plan that will have sufficient detail to provide the city administration with a benchmark against which to evaluate both private and public development proposals. Naturally, we want to make sure that the City does not lose priority open space parcels that we have identified to development. The plan will also benefit developers by clearly identifying community priorities in open space. Those interests can then be included in developers' planning at the beginning of projects, so that they avoid conflicts with boards and costly project changes that may be required for approvals. HOW THIS INFORMATION WILL BE USED: The Committee will incorporate ideas expressed at the meeting and felt to be feasible in a draft Open Space and Recreation Plan and a draft Action Plan. This Plan will differ from the Open Space and Recreation Plan recently developed and submitted to the Commonwealth for grant funding eligibility in the significantly greater level of detail and direction which it will give the City Administration. The Committee will then conduct subsequent public meetings to finalize the plan. BACKGROUND: In April 1999 the City Council created the Open Space and Recreation Committee to act as an advisory committee to the City's administration, private organizations and the general public. The Committee conducted its first meeting in September 1999 and has been meeting monthly since. We have prepared an inventory of open lands using assessor's information, mapped open space and identified priority properties for acquisition or control by easements andi conservation restrictions. Please see the evaluation criteria attached. The Mayor and City Council have supported our efforts and purchased land to expand Sally Milligan Park. They are currently working on other priority parcels across the city. The Committee has formed several standing subcommittees, including public participation, trails, regional issues and, funding, We also have two ad hoc subcommittees: One working to determine the Committee's role in promoting participation in the Community Preservation Act, and; another to identify parcels most suitable for active recreation. We solicit your participation in work of the Committee as a whole or one of its subcommittees. Please send in the coupon below with your expression of interest. MEETING FORMAT: We ask that you bring your knowledge of and ideas for particular areas in the city, whether by neighborhood, or street or very small scale such as creating a pedestrian friendly intersection. Please find a table of interest and review the issues listed on that table. The Committee has identified the need to resolve these issues and is particularly interested in your responses as persons knowledgeable about your area and Beverly as a whole. Of course any matters you feel to be important can be raised. Following this analysis we ask that you list conclusions from your discussion and select a chairperson to briefly present them to the meeting as a whole. Schedule: 7-7:30 Registration and Introduction 7:30 - 8:30 Issues analysis at tables. 8:30 - 9:30 Issues presentations and conclusions. We have set up several tables by what we felt were areas of likely interest. Each table has a list of questions about which the Committee is soliciting your views. We would appreciate your thoughts on those subjects (and any others of course). These tables are: One each by ward (Including: natural resource and wildlife areas, open space management, special opportunities e.g. Bass River perimeter walk and regional issues) Tables by function. Playing fields and playgrounds. Linkages and trails (Including bicycling) Public Participation Funding for open space incl.Community Preservation Act. Please feel free to join in at any table and move about if you have interest and ideas for more than one area. AN EXAMPLE OF ISSUES ANALYSIS: How best to create walking and biking links between Obear Park and Raymond Farms? What streets are most suitable for safe and pleasant links? What signage is appropriate? Where should pedestrian crossings of busy streets be located? Where should a path be recreated on the west edge of the Folly Hill Golf Course to avoid conflicts with golfers and provide a natural woodland experience? How would it be surfaced- paved, stone dust, left natural? Who would be likely users? RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT THE MEETING: Yourself. City map showing all properties in the city and existing open space, potential trails and streets that can be used to link open space. City street map. Open Space Committee site acquisition criteria. Open Space Committee members and Planning Department Staff. VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP The Committee has several subcommittees. We would appreciate any help you can offer in support of their work. Funding: Of most immediate concern is the promotion and Beverly's approach to the Community Preservation Act. Public Participation: Community involvement is essential to building sustained support for open space and recreation in the community. Activities might include nature walks, creating and maintaining trails, clean-up days, educational programs in conjunction with the schools, etc. Regional: The regional subcommittee will be hosting a series of meetings with our adjoining towns of Manchester, Wenham and Danvers. The intent of the meetings are to see how we can best link our open space lands and activities. Ideally we will be able to start out on a trail in Beverly and go off-road to, for example - Essex or Rockport via the Manchester Woods or link up with the Bradley Palmer State Park via trails in Hamilton. Folks in other communities would be able to access the Beverly coast as well. Playing Fields: There are many issues that need to be resolved including: how many playing fields are needed for the thousands for children and adults registered in City programs. It is important that adequate fields be located in suitable locations thereby preserving the recreation need for passive open space. Several questions come to mind: where should the fields be located; what type fields are required; how can improvements to the Brimbal Avenue dump site be funded and developed; etc. Please use the coupon to tell us of your interest. Open Space and Recreation Committee Ellen Flannery, Planning Board Anthony Paluzzi, Conservation Commission David Gardner, Parks & Recreation Commission, Chair Charles Raymond, Harbor Management Authority Guido Lauranzano, Community at Large Kathleen Skrabut, Ward 1 Kathern Tracy, Ward 2 William Squibb, Ward 3 Robert Buchsbaum, Ward 4 Cynthia Modugno, Ward 5 Richard Baker, Ward 6 CITY OF BEVERLY OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION COMMITTEE I am interested in assisting with Open Space issues in the City. Name Address Phone Interests: Public Participation __ Regional Issues__ Trails __ Playing fields__ Funding & Community Preservation Act __ Please mail to: Tina Cassidy, City Planner City of Beverly City Hall Cabot Street Beverly, MA 01915 7 ISSUES FOR ANALYSIS Give the Committee your thoughts on the following issues and any others of Open Space and Recreation interest to you. WARD 1: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for the public via easements or restrictions? WARD 2: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for the public via easements or restrictions? WARD 3: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for thc public via easements or restrictions? WARD 4: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for the public via easements or restrictions? WARD 5: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for the public via easements or restrictions? WARD 6: Which streets could be designated for walking and biking? What park improvements are appropriate? Additional lands to be acquired or reserved for the public via easements or restrictions? NEIGHBORHOODS: North of Rte 128 along 1A and Dodge Street-Ward 5 Where is appropriate access to Norwood Pond? Where should parking be located? How important is it to have playing fields associated with the No. Beverly School? How can the open area north of Wirling Drive be utilized for open space? How can the area east of Grover Street and the Centerville area be linked to the rest of the City? Raymond Farms and along Cabot Street-Wards 5 and 3? What streets in Raymond Farms can link up with a trail ending at Colgate Road park? Ryal Side-Wards 1 and 2? FUNCTION TABLES Playing fields and playgrounds: Where should playing fields be located? what type?, facilities-lights, toilets, backstops, etc. ? Natural resource areas. Where are the highest priority resource areas? What minimal size is needed to preserve their character and functioning? Linkages and trails: What streets and rights-of-way are needed to link existing and proposed open spaces and parks for safe and pleasant passage. Public Participation What public activities i.e. Hikes and nature walks, clean-up days, educational activities are most important? Community Preservation Act: What is the appropriate allocation between open space, housing an historical interests in Beverly?. How should the campaign to raise public awareness and acceptance be conducted? Who should be contacted? What information do people need? Regional Issues What trails are most important to link to adjacent towns? What open spaces in towns adjacent to Beverly border open space are most important us? How should Beverly cooperate with other towns to preserve that open space?