Parks and Recreation System Master Plan Update (2016) parks_and_recreation_system_master_plan_update_oct | Page 12

c. Over 4,500 acres of land has been placed in permanent conservation easements
and nearly 2,000 acres are owned in fee simple by land trusts in Louisville and a
quasi-governmental land trust, the Louisville/Jefferson County Environmental
Trust, was established in 1997 to oversee and manage conservation easements
that are offered to Louisville Metro Government.
5. A detailed package of regulatory recommendations was to be prepared by the end of
1995. This package was intended to address issues such as parks and open space
dedication and/or in-lieu fees, sensitive lands performance standards, use of flexible
development controls such as clustering and conservation easements, density credit
mechanisms, and transfer of development rights. Due consideration should be given
in these recommendations to the role of (and potential credit given to) private
recreational amenities in future developments. A few of these recommendations were
considered for the Land Development Code that was developed based on the
Cornerstone 2020 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, but virtually none were included other
than regulations for conservation subdivisions which provide incentives for developers
who maximize their density and provide additional open space within the subdivision.
6. Approaches to financing the acquisition and improvement of parks and open space
should be determined as part of Cornerstone 2020’s upcoming Coordinated Capital
Investment Strategy Project. This Coordinated Capital Investment Strategy, developed
by agencies other than Metro Parks, was never fully implemented and did not address
financing for acquisition and improvement of parks and open space.
7. No single entity or group alone can be expected to successfully address the
implementation, including acquisition, improvement, maintenance, and enforcement,
of the Master Plan’s recommendations. Louisville/Jefferson County will need to
engage in a wide range of cooperative ventures with community groups, public
agencies, nonprofit and private organizations, and the private development
community to develop and maintain the parks and open space system. This concerted
stewardship effort should target direct action, such as involvement in keeping the
parks and open spaces clean and safe, as well as generally building a wide
constituency of support for the system. This recommendation probably met with the
most success as the LMPRD has developed and expanded a number of very successful
partnerships that have resulted in greater investment in parks, open space and
recreational facilities and programs. Partnerships include: the Louisville Olmsted Parks
Conservancy, the Louisville Metro Parks Foundation, 21 st Century Parks, Inc., the Dream
Foundation, the YMCA, numerous recreation leagues and similar youth organizations
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SUMMARY | October 2016 Update