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While standards are important when analyzing and evaluating the adequacy of the.'.system, they do not consider factors such as: • Age distribution of the service area • Income ' • Type of housing/density • Availability and quality of natural amenities It is important to note that the standards identified should not be accepted as absolute determinants of park needs, but rather a guide to developing a park and open space system. Parks Inventory A total of 195 acres of park and recreational open space now exists in the City of Columbia Heights. The City owns and maintains a total of 125 acres of parks ranging in size from .26 to 28 acres. Anoka County maintains the. 15-acre Kordiak Park (counting the lake), and School District #13 has 55 acres within Columbia Heights. Table 13 identifies the existing park facilities, which include; 3 mini-parks, 8 neighborhood parks, 1 community playGeld, 2 community parks and I special use facility, and 4 school sites. From the standpoint of total park-area per population, Columbia Height's ranks at the high end of the scale. The National -Recreation and Park Association guidelines suggests: ". . . that a park system, at a minimum, be composed of a `core' system of parkland, with a total of 6.25 to 10.5 acres of developed open space per 1,000 population." The City currently has a ratio of 6.6 acres per 1,000 people when counting just the City-owned parkland and 9.5 acres per 1,000 people counting school district open space. This is fortunate since there is no vacant land within the City should additional parks be required. While the total amount of park land may be close to sufficient, analysis of population and demographic data is important when determining park needs. The population has decreased from 23,997 in 1970 to 18,910 in 1990, increasing park space per capita. While this may seem like a positive aspect, it does 09425 49