Parks blueprint

LAST NIGHT, the newly formed Commission on Parks and Recreation released a draft blueprint for how to protect the city's open lands.

This Open Lands Protection Ordinance is a big deal, since despite the city's vast acreage of recreation and parkland, no written guidelines have ever been drafted that establishes a process to review how and whether precious public land can be given up for development or other nonpark uses.

The perils of that process is evident to anyone who paid attention to the fight between park lovers and the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Fox Chase wanted to expand its facilities into neighboring Burholme Park. The Fairmount Park Commission, now dissolved, approved the expansion, though it had designed no formal process for evaluating such a decision. City Council also OK'd it. In the end, the park prevailed, due to a court decision and to strong neighborhood protest.

This new document will be subject to much public input and revision. The commission will hold a public hearing on Oct. 27 at the Free Library. Go to www.fairmountpark.org or www.philaparks.org for more details. *