Page 10 - Park and Open Space Plan

Park Classifications
The classification system for Waukesha County Parks focuses on providing facilities of regional importance
for County residents. Municipal park systems within the County typically provide recreation facilities to
serve local residents through a hierarchy of mini-parks or tot lots, neighborhood parks, community parks,
and, occasionally, regional or special use parks. The Waukesha County Park system provides an overlay of
regional facilities to serve a county-wide client base and to conserve valuable natural resources that
frequently bridge multiple jurisdictions.
A. Regional Parks
B. Regional Greenways
C. Conservancy Areas
D. Regional Trail Corridors
E. Regional Special Use Areas
F. Wetland Mitigation Banking Sites

A. Regional Park
Regional Parks provide a wide range of natural resource-related recreation opportunities as well as
preserving high-quality and unique landscapes and open spaces.
Site Selection Criteria:

• Regional park sites should contain a minimum of 250 acres, with a four-mile service
radius. Regional parks may contain special use areas or other features that are unique
within the County and serve a wider radius of park users.

• Sites should contain a diversity of resources, either natural or artificial, in an adequate
space for both protection and management of the natural resources and the pursuit of
compatible passive nature-based outdoor recreation activities. Access to recreation-
quality water bodies is important.
• Sites should contain significant blocks of high-quality natural resource conservation
areas of high quality or those in a condition that permits restoration through adequate
management.

• Sites should contain land that will support resource-based recreation activities and
buffers for recreation activities. The recreation sites should not adversely affect the
areas of conserved or restored natural resources.

Implementation Criteria:

• Regional Parks are natural resource based parks, and to maintain that vision 70% of
each Regional Park will be managed in a natural condition, while 30% of each Regional
Park can be developed to accommodate needed recreational facilities and activities.

• Regional parks provide for passive nature-based recreation activities such as camping,
swimming, walking and hiking, picnicking, boating and canoeing, nature study, cross-
country skiing, sledding and snowshoeing.

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