by Nicole Bradford
The master plan of Pearland’s parks and trails will soon be updated, and it is expected to include potential new park space.
“We have identified several locations within the city that are spread out across the west, central and east end of Pearland and once we go through the process of determining community needs, those will be sites where we do some conceptual overlays to see where we could actually build those amenities,” Parks and Recreation Director Carry Capers said, referring to a parks master plan update approved by city council on December 16.
The plan is updated every five years for several reasons, including keeping eligibility for state Parks and Wildlife grants, such as the $750,000 in funding for the Ed Thompson inclusive park.
“(Texas Parks and Wildlife) requires a standard assessment which looks at the distribution of parks across the city,” said Aaron Tuley, senior planner with the firm Baxter & Woodman. “We gauge the degree of walkability to each park.”
In addition, the National Recreation and Parks Association sets standards for park acres per capita for communities, Tuley said, “so we can compare Pearland to a host of other cities of comparable size.”
The process to update the parks plan includes “extensive public engagement,” City Manager Trent Epperson said.
The firm will work closely with parks and recreation to obtain “good, demand-based information from a variety of user groups,” Tuley said.
The Pearland Economic Development Corp will reimburse the $280,000 cost of the update.
