SUBJECT:
Title
Property Acquisition Strategy Update
Department
DEPARTMENT: Parks & Recreation
Presenter
PRESENTER(S): Luke Bolinger, Director of Parks & Recreation
end
Time
TIME ESTIMATE: 60 minutes
Fiscal
Policy
Recommendation
BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
In late 2025, staff developed the Town's Land Acquisition & Protection Strategy (LAPS) to create a more structured and objective approach for evaluating land acquisition and conservation opportunities. The strategy establishes a framework for identifying, ranking, and prioritizing properties for potential fee simple acquisition or conservation easements in support of the Town's parks, open space, natural areas, and trail system goals.
Historically, the Town has maintained a list of potential acquisition opportunities and periodically sent letters to property owners expressing interest in fee simple acquisition or conservation easements. While this approach has been successful in initiating conversations and identifying willing landowners, it treats all properties similarly regardless of their relative strategic value to the community. Given the finite nature of TNACC funding and staff resources, the Town is unlikely to acquire every property identified on the acquisition list. As a result, there is a need for a more deliberate process that helps identify and prioritize the properties that provide the greatest benefit toward achieving Erie's long-term parks, open space, natural areas, and trail objectives.
The newly developed LAPS criteria establish a framework that evaluates properties against factors such as trail connectivity, ecological value, climate resilience, community identity, recreational opportunity, adjacency to existing open space, and other community priorities. This framework provides a more transparent and defensible basis for determining acquisition priorities while allowing the Town to evaluate both previously identified properties and new opportunities that emerg...
Click here for full text