In Brief: Parks and Recreation Board Approves Master Plan

Birmingham's Parks and Recreation Board approved the city's Parks and Recreation Master Plan for 2012-16 at a special meeting Tuesday night.

The plan now goes back to city staff at the for revisions before moving to the City Commission for final approval.

The Master Plan has been a long time in the making. Late in 2010, the Parks and Recreation Board began making investigations into and surveys of the existing recreation resources, including the city's public spaces and parks. In February, the .

After months of work by city staff, the Master Plan was made available for public review Aug. 13. On Tuesday night, the Parks and Recreation Board opened up the plan again to community comment, holding a public hearing for an audience of more than a dozen residents representing various neighborhoods.

No major revisions were made to the plan based on the comments, which ranged from requests to improve the grassy spaces currently used as youth playing fields to concerns about specific parks. A contingent of residents from Birmingham Estates and the Poppleton Park neighborhood showed up, asking that Adams Park (located next to the ) be beautified and improved in coming years. Adams Park is slated for review in 2014, Parks and Recreation Board Chairwoman Therese Longe said.

The Parks and Recreation Master Plan is reviewed every five years. Longe stressed that the plan is a guide, not necessarily a strict implementation plan.

For more information on the 2012-16 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, stay tuned to Patch this week for our Need to Know: Parks and Recreation Master Plan.