Parks Board Wants to Cut Red Tape

The Parks and Recreation Commission plans to seek a special permit to make it easier to hold events in Irwin Park. The special permit is needed because the park is in a residential zone. It will be requested at the Jan. 28 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting,

Scott Gress, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said a special permit would empower his commission to approve applications for events in the park. This would be easier than having to go to multiple boards, such as Planning and Zoning, as many applications do currently, said Gress.

He discussed his plans Thursday with the Conservation Commission as part of an update of the Irwin Park master plan. "There's a myriad of things you would have to do instead of going to Parks and Recreation," Gress said. The special permit "would allow people to do events that are not enormous."

Building in the park would still have to be approved by the PZC, Gress said. The permit application is still being developed, but Gress said there has already been a good dialogue in advance of the meeting.

The three members of the Conservation Commission on hand, John Rice, Tom Nissley and Gwynne Pfeifer, were supportive of the idea. Gress said about 50 percent of the ideas in the master plan have already been implemented.

Parks and Recreation officials have defined the park in three pieces. Twenty-two percent is designated as an active recreation area with athletic fields and parking, 35 percent is in the area of the Great Lawn and consists of open spaces, and 43 percent is considered natural area.

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