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Park and Open Space Data Compiled by Kaytee Holcombe

**Wake County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan: Citizen Survey** · 52% of respondents supported acquiring open space for passive recreation. · Based on potential benefits that are most important to respondents; 70% improves health and fitness, 48% preserves the open space and environment, and 33% improves mental health and reduces stress. · Based on potential benefits that are most important to the future of Wake County; 46% preserves open space and environment, and 31% improves physical health and fitness. Summary of key findings: · Support for the acquisition of open space is very high with 90% being in favor of it. · Walking and hiking trails are the highest rated new facilities that citizens want. · Citizens want the County to partner with cities to acquire open space for environmental purposes: 84% are supportive in this endeavor. · 78% of the respondents are supportive of the County’s effort to protect 30% of its land area for environmental stewardship, water quality, large parks and trails. **City of Raleigh Citizen Survey** Summary of key findings: **OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION:** Between 1982 and 2002, North Carolina lost 2.8 million acres of cropland and forestland. At that rate, the state loses 383 acres to development every day. In this same time frame, developed acreages increased by 82%, while population grew by 42%. If the current trend continues, North Carolina’s open space will disappear as acres of land are developed into urban areas over the next 20 years. // Will Coyne and Elizabeth Ouzts, NCPIRG Education Fund, Losing Our National Heritage: North Carolina’s Disappearing Open Spaces, September 2003. // __Land Use Costs:__ According to the 1997 Natural Resources Inventory, 42% of Wake County’s total land area is developed, 8% is working farmland, and 48% is forest or undeveloped land. Property in working farms or undeveloped lands require $0.47 in expenditures for every dollar they bring in revenue. In contrast, residential lands require $1.54 in expenditures for every dollar of revenue. // Mitch Renkow, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, The Cost of Community Services in Wake County: A Report to Wake County and The Triangle J Council of Governments, June 2001. // __Property Values:__ Properties close to Hemlock Bluffs State Natural Area in Cary are on average 44% more valuable than those a mile away. In a study to determine whether or not Wake County’s open spaces are increasing property values, Katherine Henderson calculated that an average home would be worth approximately $4,220 more if it were within 1500 feet of a public open space than it would if it were located farther than 1500 feet from a public open space. This different represents a 2.09% change in property value, and would generate an additional $42 annual in county property taxes per house. // Katherine Henderson, The Economic Benefits of Open Space in Wake County, North Carolina. // Property values are likely to be highest near open spaces that: // John Crompton, “The Impact of Parks on Property Values: A Review of the Empirical Evidence,” Journal of Leisure Research 33:1, 2001. //
 * Of the percent of respondents who reported participating in an activity during the previous 12 months. Respondents were interested in Walking on a Trail (77.5%), Walking in a Natural Area (74.2%), and Viewing Wildlife (58.7%).
 * Have limited vehicular access, but some recreational access
 * Highlight natural areas rather than highly developed facilitates
 * Have effective maintenance and security