Dear Collette:
One of the issues addressed in the draft Parks, Recreation, Open Space Plan (dated 2001) was
the recommendation to "encourage all major parks, regional and urban, to prepare and maintain
master plans, regularly updated and available to the public". The Audubon Commission supports this
recommendation. Enclosed are several copies of the current Audubon Park Plan. At the Audubon Commission
meeting on January 16, 2002, the Commission approved an updating of the Audubon Park Plan in 2003.
If you have any questions regarding the current Audubon Park Plan, please do not hesitate to call me
at 861-5119. We will keep you informed regarding the 2003 process for updating the Plan.
Sincerely,
Ron
L. Ronald Forman
President and Chief Executive
Commentary
The letter was accompanied by copies of the current "Audubon Park Plan", (shown above).
While we are encouraged that the Audubon Commission supports the development and publication of a plan
for Audubon Park, we are less than utterly impressed by this particular version.
What we have here is a "plan" in the sense of a "drawing" or "aerial elevation"
What is clearly intended by the city's recommendations is a "plan" in the sense of "would you mind telling
us what you are planning?"
Implicit in the City Planning Commission's recommendation is that the plan should be developed in
conjunction with public input before the fact, not devised and published after the fact. The current "plan"
is no more than a summary of work already undertaken, and largely completed.
The document represents a deliberate misinterpretation of the strong demand
for a binding and publicly deliberated blueprint for the future of Audubon Park.
We believe that any "plan" for Audubon Park should be reviewed by the City
Planning Commission for conformity with the city's Master Plan.
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