General Plan - Moreno Valley

CHAPTER 4–P ARKS , R EC . & OPEN SPACE MORENO VALLEY GENERAL PLAN4.3.4. Local Park and RecreationFacilitiesThe Moreno Valley Department of Parksand Recreation owns and operates over335 acres of parks, trails, and park facilitiesand manages over 195 programs andservices for youth and adults. Refer toFigure 4-2 for locations of existing parksites. The planned parks and futureacquisition areas shown on Figure 4-2 areconceptual and subject to change.a. Regional ParksLake PerrisRegional parks meet those needs not servedby national facilities, community andneighborhood parks or private recreationalfacilities. These parks are either relativelylarge (in excess of 250 acres), providing theimpression of remoteness, spaciousness,diversity of use and environment, or aresmall in size, and of historical, geographic,cultural or special recreational interest.Moreno Valley does not operate a regionalfacility; however, the following paragraphsdescribe regional facilities that are readilyaccessible to Moreno Valley residents.The State of California Department of Parksand Recreation owns and operates the LakePerris State Recreation Area. The majorfeature of the recreation area is Lake Perris,a component of the State Water Project.Located along the southern periphery of theMoreno Valley study area, the facility offers8,300 acres of a variety recreationalopportunities, including swimming, fishingboating, sailing, water skiing, and scubadiving and also offers opportunities forhikers, bikers and equestrians and rockclimbing. The San Jacinto Wildlife Area isoperated by the State of California,Department of Fish and Game and providesaccess to about 5000 acres of undevelopednative habitat.The County of Riverside currently owns andoperates Box Springs Mountain Reserveand the San Timoteo Canyon park property.Box Springs Mountain Reserve is locatedapproximately three miles north of StateRoute 60, west of Pigeon Pass Road andencompasses 1,155 acres of open spaceand day use. Box Springs MountainReserve presently offers hiking andequestrian trails. The San Timoteo Canyonpark property, which includes the NortonYounglove Reserve, is located east of theCity’s sphere of influence on the north sideof State Route 60.b. Community ParksCommunity parks traditionally range from 15to 20 acres with at least 2/3 of the acresdeveloped for active recreation. They serve20,000 to 30,000 residents within a 20-minute drive from their homes. The greatersize and accessibility of community parksallow for more active play and are intendedto serve a wide variety of active and passiverecreation activities, which may includesports fields, tennis courts, family and grouppicnic areas, children’s play apparatus,community buildings, water sports, ponds,riparian areas, specialized activity areasand landscaping. Night lighting of activityareas is appropriate at community parks toincrease the availability and utilization ofcourts and playing field facilities. Parkinglots and restroom facilities are typicallyprovided at community parks. The Cityowns and maintains 10 community parksencompassing approximately 185 acres.Page 4-9 July 11, 2006