Title: Citywide Community Needs Assessment
Date: 2009
Prepared By: City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

Summary:
The 2009 Citywide Community Needs Assessment is the most recent needs assessment completed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. It incorporated community input and surveys, demographic and trend analyses, recreation and sports trends, facility and program assessments, a community values model framework, a prioritized needs assessment, and a service area analysis.

The survey results can be compared to current trends and data to understand changes over time within communities. Information and prioritization rankings were organized by seven geographic areas of the city as well as by age group, offering a structured framework for considering community needs.

While the 2009 assessment serves as a useful reference for understanding historic community priorities, it did not lead to significant funding.

Title: Parks Condition Assessment Report
Date: 2018
Prepared By: City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks: Planning, Maintenance and Construction Branch
Summary: The 2018 Parks Condition Assessment Report summarizes the site condition and recommended improvements for parks owned by the Department of Recreation and Parks. This includes information about the site’s history, recreational features, and information about buildings and facilities within the parks. This report includes information on the parks and sub-parks within RAP’s system. Within this report there is a summary of the main findings including the overall volume of facilities to be replaced including 20 of the 184 recreation centers, 12 of the 60 pools, and 1 of the senior centers. The assessment estimates that to complete each project within the report, the cost needed would be $2.1 billion dollars. The report notes possible funding sources for these projects as: Proposition 68, Measure A, Community Development Block Grant (CBDG), Proposition K, Quimby funds, public-private partnerships, and other grants.

Title: The City of Los Angeles General Plan
Date: August 2001 (Framework Element)
Prepared By: City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Department of Recreation and Parks, et. al.
Summary: The City of Los Angeles’s General Plan puts forth policy goals and objectives to inform land use decisions and planning. It is composed of 11 citywide elements that cover different aspects of the urban environment, including open space, public facilities, land use (which is further broken down in 35 community plans), and conservation. These citywide elements are organized by the Framework Element, which sets an overall strategy for long-term growth and acts as a guide for future updates. The Framework recognizes a deficiency of open space in the City and the difficulty in acquiring large, contiguous tracts of land to create new regional, community, and neighborhood parks. It also acknowledges that park acquisition is limited due to existing patterns of development and a lack of funding while communities that experience little or no development have limited resources but are often areas with the greatest open space need. The Framework calls for updated park standards to reflect changing population and urban form dynamics.

Title: Open Space Element
Date: June 1973
Prepared By: City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning
Summary: This plan is a framework and guide for preserving and managing the City’s open spaces. It defines “open space” as public or private land free of structures, buildings and/or natural in character, while “open space use” covers four main areas: preservation of natural resources, managed protection of natural resources, outdoor recreation, and public health and safety. “Desirable open space” is defined as land with characteristics that should be protected. The Plan outlines five goals: 1. Preservation and conservation of open space for recreation, environment, health, and safety 2. Conservation of unique natural features, scenic areas, cultural and historical monuments 3. Develop an open space system that provides identity, form, and a visual framework 4. Conserve and preserve environmental resources 5. Provide access to open space lands. Various policy recommendations and implementation programs target each goal. For example subdivision and zoning regulations on privately owned open space lands and desirable open space to establish access standards and consider natural hazards.

Title: Public Recreation Plan
Date: 1968, 2016
Prepared By: City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Department of Recreation and Parks
Summary: The Public Facilities Element (1968) is a part of the General Plan, covering cultural and historical monuments, City-owned power transmission rights-of-way (ROW) development, major equestrian and hiking trails, public libraries, public recreation, and public schools. The Public Recreation Plan, prepared by the City’s Department of City Planning and Department of Recreation and Parks, guides the development and management of neighborhood and community recreation sites, emphasizing priority on underserved areas of the City. The plan describes specific objectives, including developing and locating public facilities in areas that provide greatest benefit to the greatest number of people at least cost and least environmental impact as well as a guide of priorities for acquisition and development of public recreation facilities. Local and community recreation standards are set in the plan alongside policy recommendations for service levels.

In 2016, there was a proposed and approved amendment to the Public Recreation Plan. The amendment modernized the definitions for neighborhood, community, and regional recreational sites and included updated guidelines. The new guidelines modified recommended service area distances and recommended new service levels for each of the three recreational sites and facilities.

Title: Quimby Act Provisions to the Subdivision Map Act (California Government Code, § 66410:66499)
Date: 1971, 2017
Summary: The Quimby Act was first adopted in 1971, which required developers to dedicate land or pay an in-lieu fee as a condition of subdivision map approval. In 1985, the Zone Change Fee (aka Finn Fee) was also adopted which applied the same fee schedule to multi-unit housing developments that were increasing residential density. The underlying principle of the Act posits that new development brings in additional residents, placing more strain on the existing park system. The fees and/or land dedication collected via the Quimby Act intends to alleviate and mitigate this park pressure. RAP is permitted to use Quimby and Park Fees only for park capital improvements; these include land acquisition, design/construction of park and recreational improvements, and park rehabilitation projects. It does not include park operations, maintenance, materials and supplies, or equipment.

Beginning in January 2017, the current park fee ordinance dictates that new dwelling units must dedicate land or pay a fee in-lieu (‘Park Fee’) for developing park and recreational facilities. A land dedication must be located on-site or within a certain radius from the project site depending on the park classification (neighborhood park: within a 2 mile radius; community park: within a 5 mile radius; regional park: within a 10 mile radius).

Title: Los Angeles Countywide Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment
Date: 2016
Prepared By: LA County Department of Parks and Recreation
Summary: In 2016, the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) underwent a countywide Park Needs Assessment to inventory and identify needed parks and recreational facilities in cities and unincorporated areas. The assessment emphasized community priorities as well as deferred maintenance projects, using five key metrics to determine park need and priorities: park land available, park access, park condition, park infrastructure, and park pressure (acres of park). The PNA led to the creation of a countywide dataset on parks and recreation facilities, which provides a regional understanding of where park need is highest and where funding may be leveraged for park and open space projects where they are needed the most. The County updated the PNA in 2022 with PNA+.

Title: Los Angeles Countywide Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+)
Date: 2022
Prepared By: LA County Department of Parks and Recreation
Summary: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2022, the PNA+ builds on the 2016 LA County PNA and is led by the County of Los Angeles’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). The updated report focuses on environmental conservation and restoration, regional recreation, and rural recreation. The report also serves as the county’s 30×30 plan, which sets a goal of conserving 30 percent of lands and coastal waters by 2030. Priority areas were identified as those with most environmental benefits, such as habitat connectivity, as well as areas that have the most environmental burdens, like hazardous waste. The PNA+ focuses on most vulnerable residents who live in park-and-tree-poor urban and rural areas and have limited access to local and regional parks or facilities. PNA+ also includes an updated database on regional park and open space access, trails, beaches and lakes, and local parks in rural areas. Based on the findings, the report outlines funding priorities and coordination opportunities for DPR as well as recommendations for capacity building and increased access to parks and recreation facilities.

Title: The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan
Date: March 2023
Prepared By: LA County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)
Summary: Released in 2023, the Department’s Strategic Plan describes LA County DPR’s action plan for providing services to residents and stewarding existing and future parkland. The document identifies six goals to guide the agency’s work over the next five years. These include:

1. Promote play and well-being of youth, families, and seniors

2. Strengthen programs, experiences, and engagement in the community

3. Increase park equity and access to park space

4. Invest in staff and volunteers

5. Provide stewardship of public lands, natural resources, and urban forestry

6. Advance organizational excellence.

Each goal includes strategies to achieve DPR’s vision. For example, to improve the park experience and increase equity, DPR highlights strategies such as expanding revenue generation, prioritizing park safety, and increasing park amenities in high and very-high need communities. Throughout the plan, LA County DPR codifies its commitment to uplifting historically marginalized communities and increasing park equity countywide.

Title: OurLA2040 Open Space Working Group Summary
Date: September 2017
Prepared By: Los Angeles Department of City Planning
Summary: In 2017, the City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning convened subject matter experts for an Open Space Working Group to develop key goals and policies for the Open Space Element of the 2020 General Plan, also known as OurLA2040. While the update to the element has yet to take place, there are key trends that were identified for open space and land use in Los Angeles. The working group focused on four topics: Parks and Recreation, Wildlands, Waterways and Beaches, and Connections. Drawing on their technical expertise and community feedback, the working group identified challenges, opportunities, and policy recommendations within each topic, with several themes spanning across all four topics. The key “cross-cutting” themes were as follows:

1. Create a network of interconnected urban open spaces and green infrastructure

2. Capitalize on opportunities to repurpose existing land for parks

3. Strategically invest in improving equity and access to parks

4. Promote citizen education, involvement, and stewardship

5. Identify opportunities for climate-smart open space investments that deliver multiple environmental benefits

Title: Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles: A Health, Wellness, and Equity Element of the General Plan
Date: November 2021
Prepared By: Los Angeles Department of City Planning
Summary: Released in 2021, the Health, Wellness, and Equity Element of the Los Angeles General Plan provides goals, strategies, and high-level policies to achieve better health outcomes for residents in the City of Los Angeles. This document uplifts beneficial health policies in the General Plan and, where gaps exist, provides recommendations for additional health policies. The plan outlines a holistic vision towards achieving better health outcomes for Angelenos, with portions of the plan detailing how parks and open space can achieve improved health outcomes. The plan includes a chapter, titled Bountiful Parks and Open Spaces, that describes specific objectives and strategies the City should pursue to improve and increase park access for residents. For example, the chapter emphasizes the need to adequately fund park development in low-income communities and identifies funding strategies to achieve this goal, such as leveraging transit development funds or developing public-private partnerships. The chapter also uplifts existing exercise opportunities that the City can promote to increase health outcomes in Los Angeles.