The Dry Creek Greenway
is a multi-jurisdictional open space and park system providing resources to
the local communities in southeastern Placer County as well as the
surrounding region. The Dry Creek Greenway provides a critical link
in the continuous 60-mile open space and trail system that includes
Folsom Lake State Park, the American River Parkway, the Ueda Parkway and
the Dry Creek Parkway. The impetus to create the Greenway came from
the recognition that Dry Creek and its tributaries provide important
natural habitat, flood control capacity, cultural resources, water
quality benefits and unique recreation opportunities. These benefits are
potentially threatened by the increasingly urbanized character of the
watershed. The Dry Creek Greenway Master Plan will protect the natural
waterways and riparian corridors by describing the types of land uses,
recreation activities and management practices that will be allowed
within the Greenway boundaries as the surrounding communities and County
change over time.
Development of the Master Plan
was critical to preservation of the Dry Creek Greenway because provides a uniform and consistent planning tool for the various entities
that have jurisdiction in the Greenway. The Greenway is located in
portions of Placer County, the City of Roseville, the City of Rocklin,
and the Town of Loomis, each of which has its own General Plan and
zoning ordinance. In addition, there are a number of special districts
and regulatory agencies that have oversight for particular resources and
services within the Greenway. An important goal of this project was to develop a Master Plan that
could be adopted by these various entities
and incorporated into their planning and operational strategies.
Preserving and enhancing the integrity of the Greenway's many resources
depends on this jurisdictional coordination. The collaboration
demonstrated through adoption of the Master Plan enhances the
ability of the Greenway partners to secure funding for individual and
joint Greenway projects.
This project included a significant public participation
element. The successful design of the Greenway facilities, policies for
management and operations, adoption by local jurisdictions, and public
stewardship depended heavily on how well the Master Plan reflected
the needs and values of the local communities and neighborhoods. In
addition, there were a number of related planning and stewardship
initiatives that were underway in the watershed that contributed important information to the Greenway Master Plan process. These included
development of the Dry Creek Watershed Plan, the Placer Legacy Open
Space program, and activities of the Dry Creek Conservancy, the Dry
Creek Watershed Group, and the City of Roseville.
One of the key challenges of developing the Dry Creek Greenway Master
Plan was balancing the multiple resource objectives of the Greenway.
The final Master Plan concept addresses a wide variety of
sometimes conflicting objectives, such as:
Habitat preservation,
Public access,
Equestrian, pedestrian and bicycle trails,
Recreation,
Flood conveyance and capacity,
Water quality,
Cultural resources,
Private property rights, and
Public safety.
Given the complexity of the existing land use and ownership patterns
within the Greenway, and the multi-jurisdictional issues discussed
above, it was necessary to consider each portion of the Greenway
separately to determine the feasible range of preferred alternatives,
and then evaluate how best to fit each alternative into the
comprehensive Greenway design. Continuity and connectivity are key
Greenway concepts and solutions for addressing currently discontinuous
portions of the Greenway were addressed by the Master Plan.
The Dry Creek Greenway
is a multi-jurisdictional open space and park system providing resources to
the local communities in southeastern Placer County as well as the
surrounding region. The Dry Creek Greenway provides a critical link
in the continuous 60-mile open space and trail system that includes
Folsom Lake State Park, the American River Parkway, the Ueda Parkway and
the Dry Creek Parkway. The impetus to create the Greenway came from
the recognition that Dry Creek and its tributaries provide important
natural habitat, flood control capacity, cultural resources, water
quality benefits and unique recreation opportunities. These benefits are
potentially threatened by the increasingly urbanized character of the
watershed. The Dry Creek Greenway Master Plan will protect the natural
waterways and riparian corridors by describing the types of land uses,
recreation activities and management practices that will be allowed
within the Greenway boundaries as the surrounding communities and County
change over time.
Development of the Master Plan
was critical to preservation of the Dry Creek Greenway because provides a uniform and consistent planning tool for the various entities
that have jurisdiction in the Greenway. The Greenway is located in
portions of Placer County, the City of Roseville, the City of Rocklin,
and the Town of Loomis, each of which has its own General Plan and
zoning ordinance. In addition, there are a number of special districts
and regulatory agencies that have oversight for particular resources and
services within the Greenway. An important goal of this project was to develop a Master Plan that
could be adopted by these various entities
and incorporated into their planning and operational strategies.
Preserving and enhancing the integrity of the Greenway's many resources
depends on this jurisdictional coordination. The collaboration
demonstrated through adoption of the Master Plan enhances the
ability of the Greenway partners to secure funding for individual and
joint Greenway projects.
This project included a significant public participation
element. The successful design of the Greenway facilities, policies for
management and operations, adoption by local jurisdictions, and public
stewardship depended heavily on how well the Master Plan reflected
the needs and values of the local communities and neighborhoods. In
addition, there were a number of related planning and stewardship
initiatives that were underway in the watershed that contributed important information to the Greenway Master Plan process. These included
development of the Dry Creek Watershed Plan, the Placer Legacy Open
Space program, and activities of the Dry Creek Conservancy, the Dry
Creek Watershed Group, and the City of Roseville.
Given the complexity of the existing land use and ownership patterns
within the Greenway, and the multi-jurisdictional issues discussed
above, it was necessary to consider each portion of the Greenway
separately to determine the feasible range of preferred alternatives,
and then evaluate how best to fit each alternative into the
comprehensive Greenway design. Continuity and connectivity are key
Greenway concepts and solutions for addressing currently discontinuous
portions of the Greenway were addressed by the Master Plan.