Staff outlines major audit of PROS dedication and development manual; 539 substantive comments shape update

Parks staff told the Parks, Foundations and Quality of Life Policy Committee that an extensive audit of the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) dedication and development criteria manual is nearing completion and will be posted publicly when finalized.

"We had a total of 539 comments," Nicole (Ankeny/Anthony) said, characterizing the input as substantial and policy-oriented rather than simple editorial edits. She described the manual as more than 300 pages and said staff are reorganizing content to be more visual and user-friendly, converting lengthy narrative sections into graphics and flowcharts and tightening technical specifications.

The audit will address alignment across city documents — including the Uniform Development Ordinance and separate manuals used by Aurora Water and the Mile High Flood District — to reduce confusion about requirements such as seed mixes and construction standards. Staff said developers have raised questions about when flexibility should apply and how cash-in-lieu and land-dedication calculations are done.

Staff also discussed fee methodology options. "The vast majority of methodologies throughout the country are population-based," Nicole said, but added that San Diego's value-based approach — which assigns points to park features, activation and access — is under review as an alternative that some developers have expressed interest in. The manual's next steps include an impact-fee and cost-recovery study and a draft proposal for further stakeholder review later this year or early next.

Committee members pressed staff on trade-offs, noting rising costs associated with some seed mixes and potential implications for housing affordability. One staff member said a developer reported that preferred native seed prices "have gone up 500% in the last four years," a cost trend staff said factors into considerations about when stricter seed standards are appropriate.

What's next: staff will finalize and post the audit report, produce draft edits and an impact-fee study for review, and convene development-community meetings to illustrate how proposed changes would affect actual projects.