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OVERVIEW OF STANDARDS <br />Each type of park within the park classification system consists of a set of standards. The <br />standards are generated from the Park Plan Principles, and incorporate analysis of existing <br />Lake Elmo parks and current park planning practices. Standards include guidance in park <br />purpose, service area and location, size, level of service, key facilities and a facilities menu <br />that offers a range of recreation facility options. Natural Resource Areas and Regional Park <br />types have additional policies to address considerations unique to these park types. <br />Purpose <br />Each park type within the system has a unique purpose. The purpose defines the needs <br />that the park type meets and its defining characteristics. <br />Service Area and Location <br />Service area is expressed as a distance from the park's edge to describe the home <br />locations of the park's primary users. The service area of some park types is the entire <br />Lake Elmo community. <br />Size <br />A minimum area, in acres, is a standard to allow adequate room for the facilities and open <br />spaces that make up a park. Size standards are based on evaluation of Lake Elmo's <br />existing parks and on NRPA guidance. <br />Level of Service <br />Levels of Service standards are ratios that describe adequate park facilities for a <br />community. For park types, the ratio is expressed as the number of park acres per 1,000 <br />persons. Park planning practices regarding Level of Service have shifted in the last ten <br />years. Since the 1930s, the NRPA had published national Level of Service standards, most <br />recently published in 1983. In 1996, the NRPA changed this practice and published <br />guidance for local communities to develop Level of Service standards that reflect local <br />interests, needs and realities. <br />DRAFT Comprehensive Park Plan 2 13713.000 <br />