BRANCHING OUT: Parks sprout up throughout valley

Just like the grass, bushes and trees they contain, parks in the Las Vegas area are growing. Not only are they increasing in number, but also in variety.

Between 1990 and 2000, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas each added 11 parks. Clark County added 43 new facilities and 453 acres to its park system in the past 12 years, and Henderson added more than 130 acres of park in 2001 alone.

The growth and demand for parks is attributed, in part, to the higher cost of raw land and shrinking size of home lots, said Jeff Harris, parks planning manager for Clark County.

"As lot density increases, the demand for parks goes up," Harris said.

"Where else are people going to go to learn to play catch, kick a ball or fly a kite?" said Stacy Allsbrook, public information officer for Las Vegas' Leisure Services department.

The need for more parks goes hand in hand with the need for more amenities at each facility.

No longer satisfied with just grassy areas, playgrounds for young children and picnic benches, officials are adding attractions such as tennis and basketball courts, areas for skateboarding, and interactive water activities.

Describing a butterfly-themed play area planned for the new Centennial Hills Park in northwest Las Vegas, Allsbrook said park amenities are becoming "really cool," as well as more abundant.

Chris Stanfill, assistant director for the county's Parks and Community Services department, said people often spend more than just an hour or two at the park, turning their excursions into daylong trips. Picnic facilities, especially those able to accommodate groups, are reserved months in advance and are practically unavailable except during the summer's hottest hours, he added.

Park departments officials said it became apparent in the early 1990s that there weren't enough parks to serve residents' needs.

Meeting those needs is an especially daunting task considering that since 1990, the valley's population has more than doubled. About 70,000 people move to the valley each year.

"We're tap dancing as fast as we can on these things," said Tony Taylor, parks planner for North Las Vegas.

To help deal with the growth, local governments created master plans and established a uniform goal of creating a minimum of 2.5 park acres per 1,000 residents by 2020.

Created in 1999, the master plans are based on guidelines suggested by the National Recreation and Parks Association. They have been adopted by Boulder City, Clark County, Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

According to Allsbrook, the national standard is 10 park acres per 1,000 residents, but that is an unrealistic goal for Southern Nevada.

"The East Coast has more national, protected land available -- and grass grows naturally," she said.

"Our plan is to add at least 80 acres a year," Harris said, noting the county has accelerated park development to offset its deficit.

Currently, the county has 1.5 acres of parks per 1,000 residents.

Patricia Marchese, director of the county's Parks and Community Services, said park building has increased tremendously during the past four years, part of which can be attributed to $50 million in tax bonds. The funds were earmarked for parks, however their future availability remains cloudy in light of recent shortfalls at University Medical Center.

In addition to setting goals for the number of parks, the county plan calls for a regional park of 160 acres or larger within a five-mile radius of every home. Regional parks offer recreational opportunities such as community centers, pool complexes, performance arenas, playgrounds and trails.

Among existing county facilities are parks devoted to equestrian activities, dog fanciers, remote-controlled cars and airplanes, the county fairgrounds, and the Clark County Wetlands Park, Marchese said.

According to Marchese, it's rare to have designated wetlands in the desert. The park was recognized by Harvard University's Department of Architecture as one of five premier wetlands projects in the world.

Department officials seek to build facilities people will use. To assess each area's needs and desires, officials consult citizen advisory committees and hold public forums.

Stanfill said input from teenagers has been particularly helpful in designing skate parks. He said placement of features is critical to preventing accidents and "kids have played a major role" in developing the county's last three skate parks.

Also, parks within a two- or three-mile radius are inventoried to see what amenities they offer, demographics of the area are studied, and lists of user groups are created, Allsbrook said.

"We look to see where the holes are," she added.

If there are no skate parks, tennis courts or softball fields nearby, those would become a priority for the new park, she said.

The same holds true for already established parks. Taylor said Joe Kneip Park in North Las Vegas is a prime example. Set in an area with a largely Hispanic population, Taylor said tennis courts were empty but the open areas were used as soccer fields.

"We took the tennis courts out and replaced them with an enclosed soccer area," he said.

Parks do more than just improve residents' quality of life, they also increase property values, the parks officials said.

Summerlin is cited as a prime example. Basically a large homeowners association, Summerlin has made creating parks and trails a priority.

"People gravitate to areas with parks," Taylor said. "Most people don't just go to their houses and stay there until the next day when they go to work. They go to the neighborhood park ... especially for special celebrations."

The end result is increased revenue for both the municipality and developer because housing prices are higher, he said.

Local governments charge builders impact fees on each new home in part to defray the cost of new parks and other services.

Sometimes, the builders opt to develop a park instead of paying the fees, but Allsbrook said building a park is usually a more costly alternative. Sometimes builders designate some of their property for park development in exchange for variances in municipal code.

In those instances, Taylor said park planners work closely with the builders to ensure that the necessary amenities are included.

"We at the parks and recreation department want to make sure that 3 acres of open space is more than two palm trees and a path," Taylor said.

The private parks built by developers and maintained by associations still meet the city's open space requirements, Allsbrook said.

Another way the municipalities try to keep their costs down is by working jointly with Clark County School District to build playgrounds, ball fields and lawns on school grounds or adjacent to each other. The campuses can be used as parks when school is not in session, or through city and county Safekey programs.

Real Estate home