I have received a number of inquiries from residents about playgrounds for their neighbourhood, and how they were promised a playground from a developer and yet there's no playground, and I wanted to clarify the Town's approach to developing and maintaining playgrounds.
Open space and playground development within subdivisions are considered along with the unique circumstances of each development proposal. The Town has an option of accepting land cash for open space purposes within a proposed subdivision. A decision to accept land for open space is made considering many factors, including:
the size of the subdivision;
the demographic target for the proposed subdivision or development;
the availability of usable land for open space purposes;
the impact on operations and maintenance for any open space land that might be acquired;
any existing open space amenities in the general area; and
guidance from the Town’s Recreation and Cultural Master Plan.
The cash option is calculated as 10% of the pre-development land value. Cash received by the Town for this purpose is set aside in the Town’s Open Space Fund. The Town also collects $400 for every lot within subdivisions regardless of whether the Town acquires land or cash.
In addition to subdivisions, the Town also received $2.50 per square meter of floor in new commercial, industrial, or institutional development within the Town. Those funds are also allocated to the Town’s Open Space Fund.
So what does this mean? Monies in this Fund are used to finance development and replacement of open space infrastructure (including playground equipment) and recently, to fulfill the Town’s contribution requirement for infrastructure and development of the Community Park in Downtown Conception Bay South.
We are in the process of developing a priority list for playground upgrades across the Town. We are hopeful that with this list and the completion of our new Community Park, we may be able to avail of these funds for playground upgrades and development in Budget 2024.
Until next time,
Josh Barrett
Councillor At-Large
Conception Bay South
Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it. - Andy Rooney
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