MANDATORY DEDICATION

by Eric J. Blank and John P. Joyce

Today the role of local government in providing close-to-home park and recreation opportunities is more important than ever before. This responsibility becomes even more important in today's climate of higher unemployment, depressed economic conditions and an emphasis on energy conservation.

While the question of the powers of local government units to require mandatory dedication of land for local facilities is still open on a state-by-state basis, there is much to be encouraged about. It is safe to say that the general trend across the land is to uphold laws requiring the dedication of land or cash in-lieu-of for parks in new developments. The American Society of Planning Officials report that;

". . . dedication of parks and recreational areas have become a common requirement in subdivision regulations and have found judicial acceptance in a growing number of jurisdictions."¹

Most recently in August, 1976, the Appellate Court, Second District, First Division (Elgin, Illinois) decided unanimously in favor of a City of Naperville, Illinois, school and park mandatory dedication ordinance. The ordinance requires dedication by developers of land or cash-in-lieu-of for park and school sites. Furthermore, the court recognized a "trend of cases and leading law review articles nationally in favor of reasonable school and park land donation requirements."²

The benefits of orderly distribution and dedication of neighborhood park land, in advance of the construction of residential units, has here-to-for been demonstrated most clearly in some of the more developed "New Towns" such as Reston, Virginia; Columbia, Maryland and Park Forest, Illinois. In these large scale projects, developers who realized the importance of adequate and easily accessible public recreation facilities, voluntarily included such facilities as neighborhood parks, schools, etc. as integral parts of their urban designs.

Park Forest, Illinois, the nation's first post W.W. II planned community, today enjoys over 300 acres of neighborhood park and school sites. No resident is more than 3/4 mile from one of these sites, all of which were dedicated by the developer. The functioning of these "New Towns" demonstrates clearly the logic behind developer dedication of public park land taken to its logical conclusion. Where this is done, all basic services and facilities, including adequate recreation facilities, are available when residents move in.

Why Mandatory Dedication?

Most units of local government have found themselves plagued in recent years by escalating costs of providing services and at the same time diminishing revenues. To meet the staggering costs of public improvements that must follow land subdivision through property tax alone, would bring most government units to a state of crisis. This is compounded by the fact that giving approval for residential development increases the demand for recreation lands, while at the same time, diminishing the supply. Neighborhood facilities especially need to be strategically located and developed along with the emerging population.

For years, it has been common practice to require developers to provide such facilities as sewer and water lines, streets, curbs and even plant parkway trees. Aside from being a reliable method of financing needed facilities, mandatory dedication of park land or cash-in-lieu-of increases the assurance that long-range plans and the desire for a total community environment will be realized. When facilities or cash-in-lieu-of are provided for

Illinois Parks and Recreation 8 May/June, 1977

at the time of approval of residential developments, they will become more accountable to new residents who expect a certain level of public facilities and services. In the end, the need for new neighborhood facilities is exactly attributable to the population that the developer is an agent for providing.

Writing Mandatory Dedication Ordinances

A mandatory dedication, ordinance is not a "free lunch" for a community that has not already done a great deal of homework in other aspects of managing its growth. This should include a well-conceived land use plan supplemented by a thorough analysis of the community's park, recreation and open space needs. An officially adopted comprehensive park and open space plan should be the basis for all decisions relating to a community's leisure services, including the acquisition and development of facilities.

Local standards of acreage requirements, quality of development and site distribution can reflect a community's own specific needs, but should also be supported by national or regional statistics. A consistent pattern of site size, service area and quality of development should be strived for after making allowances for varying densities, types of residential development and other local neighborhood factors. Formula used to determine population generated, i.e. demand, should be based upon current demographic studies either researched in community itself or currently up-to-date figures from regional planning agencies. To be effective, one must have a locally defined and adopted "level of service" and in turn be able to carefully and accurately relate land required to population generated by a given type of residential development.

Mandatory dedication is most effective, most equitable and most reasonable when used to provide for primarily "neighborhood facilities" and directed at residential developments. Since indirectly, the "costs" are passed on to the purchasers of residential housing. Mandatory dedication provides for the meeting of needs, both cost and benefit, at the point of impact-the neighborhood user.

A Model Mandatory Dedication Ordinance is available through the IPRA for a rapidly growing suburban community of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. It provides agencies with guidelines on how one community approached the problem of mandatory dedication.

Illinois Park Districts should assume the role of "initiator" and work closely with their respective Citys and Villages in the development of sound mandatory dedication programs. Furthermore, if dedication programs are to be justified by sound Park System Plans, Park Districts must play a major part. As a result it will be Park Districts, in most Illinois communities, that will be better equipped to provide a quality service and facility.

(Editor's Note: Eric Blank is the Director of Community Services, Maplewood, Minnesota and John Joyce is the Director of Parks and Recreation, Park Forest, Illinois.)

REFERENCES

1. Robert H. Freilich and Peter S. Levi, Model Subdivision Regulation; Text and Commentary, American Society of Planning Officials (Chicago, Illinois) pp. 118 and 119.

2. Marvin Glink, "Court Upholds Mandatory Park Donations," Practicing Planner A.I.P., September, 1976, p. 7.

3. Ordinance No. 361, "An Ordinance Which Recognizes the Need for Neighborhood Parks, Establishes Standards and Improvement Guidelines for Such and Provides Methods of Acquisition and Development." Passed by the City of Maplewood, Minnesota, April, 1974.

Ordinance No. 368.71, "An Ordinance Amending the Subdivision Control of the City of Naperville so as to Provide for Dedications of Park Lands and School Sites, or for Payment of the Fees in Lieu Thereof," City of Naperville, Illinois, September, 1971.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 9 May/June, 1977