PRECM 03-05-1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGE DISTRIBUTION AGE GROUP . NUMBER OF PERSONS % OF TOTAL 0 -13' 8,670 43% 14 - 17 1,489 7% 18 - 24 1,919 9% 25- 34 4,376 21% 35 - 49 2.909 - 14% 50-64 902 5% 65 or over 226 1% Studies indicated that this age distribution will be relatively constant through 1981. During the next 5 years, the school districts of Centennial #12 and Spring Lake,Park #16 expect some drop in the number of students in the first to sixth grades and a slight increase in Junior High, however District #11, Anoka-Hennepin, is expecting an increase in elementary attendance. The average family lives in Blaine for eight years, which indicates that new and often young families move in, maintaining a fairly stable 10 year cycle. It is anticipated that the senior citizen population will show a considerable increase and provisions to accommodate their needs are necessary. Population and growth trends can be used as a basis for determining what recreation facilities are needed to serve the residents of Blaine. The National Standards of Recreational Open Space recommends a ratio of 25 acres- of parkland to every 1000 population unit. in relation to this recommendation, based upon current population, the City of Blaine should maintain 600 - 700 acres Of parkland. The city as of August 1977 has approximately 350 acres of park. These figures indicate that the city is lacking about 50% of needed park space and that by 1981 this deficiency would be greater unless acquisition of park areas is continued, Blaine has had a very active and progressive program of acquiring parkland and 700 acres of parkland in the city may be disproportionately high, as a considerable amount of the land area in Blaine is relatively undevel- oped; however, the following land acquisition needs are immediate and should be met as soon as funds are available. 1.) An additional neighborhood and community park residents in the eastern and central portion of Blaine are not afforded the use of a large and developed park within close proximity of their homes. 2.) Additional acreage to Lochness Park - based upon the recommended standards of regional open space as established by the MetropolitarlCouncil, Blaine should maintain a regional park. Standard acreage size of a regional park is 200 - 500 acres. Lochness offers good potential to satisfy this community need if the size of the site is increased, 3.) Additional acreage to many of the neighborhood parks - a neighborhood park based on Metropolitan Standards should be 10 - 25 acres in size. Only one of the ten neighborhood parks in Blaine is over ten acres in size. The city should seek larger parcels of land for a neighborhood park in future developments. IJ 10