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IV. Community Systems and Services <br />1. Parks and Open Spaces <br />The character and function of parks shown on the land use plan are described in greater <br />detail in the 2008 Comprehensive Park and Recreation Plan. (When complete, the Park <br />and Recreation Plan will be appended to this comprehensive plan.) The mission of the <br />City's Parks and Recreation Department is to provide quality parks and recreation <br />programs that promote healthy and active lifestyles to benefit residents and foster a sense <br />of community. Providing convenient access to parks and open spaces is considered part <br />of this mission. <br />Existing Parks and Open Spaces <br />Falcon Heights has four developed parks totaling 24.65 acres, equivalent to <br />approximately 4.3 acres per 1,000 population. This is significantly less than the National <br />Park and Recreation Association standard of 25 acres per 1000 residents. The City does, <br />however, embrace the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, the University of Minnesota <br />agricultural fields and the public University Golf Course, none of which are included in <br />the calculation of park needs. (The University recreation areas are, however, counted in <br />• the "Parks, Recreation and Preserves" category in Table 5, page III-43, and on the <br />Metropolitan Counci12005 Land Use data, Figure 5.) <br />Of the 24.65 acres, the City owns less than 2.0 acres of park property. The City leases <br />16.5 acres of land for park use from the University of Minnesota. Falcon Heights <br />Elementary School provides an additional 6.25 acres of park land. Four small open <br />"commons" areas, 2.1 acres in all, are located in the University Grove neighborhood. <br />These are not maintained by the City and are not counted in total park acreage. <br />Of the four existing parks, one is classified as a community park, two as neighborhood <br />parks and one as amini-neighborhood park. Curtiss Field, which serves one of the largest <br />neighborhoods, underwent expansion and major renovation during the summer of 2004, <br />when a portion of the former Snelling Drive frontage road was incorporated into the park. <br />• <br />Falcon Heights Comprehensive Plan Draft January, 2008 Page IV - 1 <br />Part IV: Parks, Community, Economic Development, Implementation, Appendices <br />