Description

The capital costs of parks as described in the previous section are based on the present level of service standards for the respective jurisdictions along with the existing acquisition cost per park acre and development cost per park acre. In order to provide a more realistic view, the FIELD model also analyzes the existing park acreage for each jurisdiction to assess the marginal deficiencies or surplus of park facilities that exist. Therefore, the model not only weighs the capital costs of providing park services to the new residents, but can also estimate the additional costs of existing deficiencies or cost savings if there is a surplus in park acreage.

The parks LOS module for Hillsborough County is shown above for illustration. This module is able to estimate the existing deficiencies or surplus of park acreage based on the level of service standard for the parks and the jurisdiction's existing population.

The module for Hillsborough County starts with the initial 2005 population for the County and calculates the total park acreage required for the County based on their adopted level of service standards. Hillsborough County classifies its park facilities into community level parks (3.4 acre/1000 persons) and district level parks (20 acre/1000 persons).

When multiplied with the base population for the County (2007), these standards provide the park acreage required for each type of park shown by community park LOS required Hillsborough and district park LOS required Hillsborough auxiliaries. The base park acreage is shown in the constants initial 2005 community park acreage Hillsborough and initial 2005 district park acreage Hillsborough. Subtracting the existing park acreage from the required park acreage provides the net deficits or surplus shown using auxiliaries community park net LOS Hillsborough and district park net LOS Hillsborough.

In the case of Hillsborough County, the module shows a deficiency of 1,271 acres of community parks and a surplus of 2,448 acres of district parks. Under an optimal scenario the existing surplus would be sufficient to meet the recreation needs of the new population for a certain period. This surplus represents a savings to the jurisdiction in terms of annual park costs until it is exhausted. The auxiliary Hillsborough net LOS parks calculates the value of the surplus park acreage that exists in the County at the beginning of the simulation period. This value is transferred back to the capital costs page for providing the required park infrastructure until the amount is exhausted. Lastly, this module enables the user to change the level of service standard for both the community parks and the district parks in order to simulate the associated fiscal impact.

Assumptions Used

• Initial Population = 1,198,825 (Hillsborough County)
  Source: Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission
  

• Community Park LOS Required Hillsborough = 3.4 acre/1000 persons
  

• District Park LOS Required Hillsborough = 20 acre/1000 persons
  Source: Adopted Level of Service from Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan

• Local Park LOS Hillsborough = 3.4 acres/1000 persons

• Initial 2005 Community Park Acreage Hillsborough = 2,805 acres

• Initial 2005 District Park Acreage Hillsborough = 26,425 acres

• Acquisition Cost per Park Acre Hillsborough = $42,286

• Development Cost per Local Park Acre Hillsborough = $78,261

• Development Cost per Regional Park Acre Hillsborough = $78,261
  Source: Comprehensive Impact Fee Study, Phase IV: Final Report, Prepared for Hillsborough County, Florida, by Duncan Associates and Dr. James C. Nicholas (June 2004).
  
  

Equations and Variables Used

• Community Park LOS Required Hillsborough = Initial Population [County-Hillsborough] x Community Park LOS Required Hillsborough

• Community Park Net LOS Hillsborough = Community Park LOS Required Hillsborough - Initial 2005 Community Park Acreage Hillsborough

• District Park LOS Required Hillsborough = Initial 2005 Population [City-Temple Terrace] x District Park LOS Required Hillsborough

• District Park Net LOS Hillsborough = District Park LOS Required Hillsborough - Initial 2005 District Park Acreage Hillsborough

• Value of Hillsborough Net LOS Parks = (Community Park Net LOS Hillsborough x (Acquisition Cost per Park Acre Hillsborough + Development Cost per Local Park Acre Hillsborough)) + (District Park Net LOS Hillsborough x (Acquisition Cost per Park Acre Hillsborough + Development Cost per Regional Park Acre Hillsborough))