Gresham Parks 2035

The City is setting the course for Gresham’s parks and trails system over the next 10 years.

Our project, called Gresham Parks 2035, includes developing high-quality parks, recreation facilities and services for all residents. We are updating the 2009 Parks and Recreation, Trails and Natural Areas Master Plan.

This Parks System Plan is a 10-year roadmap for community-informed decision making. With a limited budget and resources, the Park System Plan will guide how and where to invest.

The Draft Plan is now available for review with public comment taken from November 14-28.

Send your comments to Senior Parks Planner Tina.Osterink@GreshamOregon.gov.

Project goals

1. Make sure the location, design and development of parks, trails and open spaces are good for the environment, save money and help the community.
2. Get strong and broad community input from Gresham residents, park visitors and often-overlooked community members.
3. Provide many community benefits by planning in a way that includes community goals and resources from other City services like transportation, stormwater management, water use and natural resources.
4. Create a park system that is safe, easy to access, welcoming and fair for everyone, with activities that everyone can enjoy, no matter what their ability or identity is.

Plan purpose

Gresham Parks 2035 is a multi-year effort to establish a renewed vision to maintain, enhance and invest in Gresham's parks, trails and recreation spaces over the next 10 years and beyond

Planning process

Gresham Parks 2035 was developed through a nearly two-year planning process, organized around four phases that combined extensive community engagement with data-driven technical analysis:

Review

November 2023-April 2024

• Background materials review
• Park tour
• System summary and evaluation
• Inventory and base map
• Funding review

Analysis

May 2024-December 2024

• Needs assessment and level of service evaluation
• Maintenance and operations analysis
• ADA facility barrier report
• Access and equity analysis

Strategies

January 2025-October 2025

• Core values and key directions
• Recommendations and priorities
• Implementation strategies and actions
• Funding strategy

Final plan

November 2025-February 2026

• Draft plan
• Community plan review
• Final plan and adoption

Who have we heard from so far?

The Gresham Parks 2035 engagement process provided numerous opportunities for community members to provide their ideas for the future of Gresham's parks, trails and recreation spaces.

• Two rounds of targeted outreach meetings in multiple languages
• Parks Task Force and Technical Advisory Team meetings
• Two online questionnaires
• Multiple pop-ups and Neighborhood Coalition meetings
• Community open house

Plan inputs

Development of the Parks 2035 was driven by a wide range of inputs -- from qualitative community outreach findings to information from other citywide and site-specific planning efforts to data from multiple different technical analyses.

• City staff directions
• Community priorities and preferences
• Parks Task Force insights
• Technical Advisory Team guidance
• Park condition and ADA assessments
• Other City plans and park facility plans
• Park level of service and needs assessment
• Operations and maintenance analysis