Public Comment Period: Draft Park Use Fee Proposal

The draft Park Use Fee Proposal (PDF) is now available for public review and comment.

Comments can be submitted using any of the following:

• Email: PAB@clark.wa.gov
• Mail to:  Clark County Parks and Lands, 4700 NE 78th St., Vancouver, WA 98665

Public comments can be submitted until 5 p.m., Friday July 28, 2023.

Background:

Parks and Lands division is seeking public comment on a proposed update to park use fees. This includes fees for picnic shelter reservations, sports field reservations, park use permits and meeting room reservations.

Parks and Lands has been working with staff and Parks Advisory Board (PAB) members to review existing fees and create a proposal for fee updates. The goal of the proposal is to better recover maintenance and operations costs to ensure park facilities and services meet standards expected by residents.

State law grants local government agencies authority to charge user fees to recover costs for personal choice services. Personal choice services are those that more directly benefit individual users such as classes and facility rentals. Facilities and programs that generally benefit all taxpayers, such as playgrounds and open spaces, are not considered personal choice services. Charging fees for personal choice services that recover most of their associated costs helps ensure that levy and general tax funds can sufficiently support maintenance and operations of general use services and facilities.

To create the proposal for fee updates, staff and PAB members reviewed current fees for Clark County’s parks, fees charged by neighboring parks agencies, industry-standard best practices, goals identified in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan, the existing budget and budgetary needs. The final proposal aims to ensure the Parks and Lands division is strategically meeting the needs of the growing community in a financially sustainable and equitable way. The final report includes recommendations for adjustments to personal choice service fees.

The comment period on the final proposal is open for a period of 30 days, beginning June 26. The final report and proposal is posted at clark.wa.gov/public-works/parks-advisory-board. To submit a comment about the proposal residents can email PAB@clark.wa.gov or send comments via mail to Clark County Parks and Lands, 4700 NE 78th St., Vancouver, WA 98665.