The Liberty Lake Planning Commission reviewed a draft parks and recreation master plan and related natural‑environment and climate elements during a workshop at its Oct. 22 meeting, focusing discussion on how the city should count non‑city-owned regional assets such as the Centennial Trail and Liberty Lake Regional Park when setting park level‑of‑service standards.

Consultants reported that initial phases of the master‑plan process—demand and needs analysis and goals and objectives—are nearly complete and that staff intends to run a second community engagement phase over the winter to prioritize projects and inform capital‑improvement budgeting. The presentation said the Parks and Arts Commission is reviewing goals and will lead several items forward for the Planning Commission to finalize.

"Full aquatic center interest, the indoor community center, expanding trails, upgrading playgrounds, and maintaining existing facilities" were listed by the consultant as the highest‑priority items the public identified in survey and pop‑up engagement, and staff said those findings will guide next steps and cost estimates. Staff also described work to maintain RCO (Recreation and Conservation Office) certification to preserve future grant eligibility.

Commissioners pressed staff on the report's level‑of‑service (LOS) metrics—how many park acres or trail miles the city should target per 1,000 residents—and whether the analysis should include county and state facilities, golf courses and HOA open space. The consultant said the team produced two LOS calculations: one using only city‑owned park acreage and a second, broader calculation that includes regional public facilities such as the Centennial Trail, county parks, schools and HOAs.

"We did another that includes those regional facilities, public facilities such as a state park, such as a school, such as a county park, to take into account the broader level of service," the consultant said, explaining why totals differ depending on the chosen definition.

Commissioners argued that residents treat some regional assets as parks and that several significant public open spaces—including the Centennial Trail and local golf course—affect perceived access and should be reflected in planning. One commissioner asked staff to explicitly add Centennial Trail acreage and trailhead acreage to the narrative and LOS tables; staff agreed to update the draft with trail mileage and, where appropriate, acreage or right‑of‑way figures.

Staff also described outreach about possible partnerships for water recreation because Liberty Lake city limits contain no public lake frontage. Parks staff said they already have met with county recreation staff to explore swim lessons and other water programming at Liberty Lake Regional Park and intend to follow up with the city’s recreation coordinator to pursue options.

"We met with the county, not too long ago because we have had feedback from folks, on water activities... we have sparked their interest," Parks staff said, describing initial conversations and the next step of coordinating with the city recreation team.

Commissioners asked for a joint workshop between the Planning Commission and the Parks and Arts Commission to settle LOS definitions and priorities before the winter engagement phase. Staff proposed scheduling a joint meeting in late November or the first half of December to reconcile what should count in city standards, how to treat HOA and school acreage, and how to plan for the city’s 20‑year build‑out horizon under different population scenarios.

Other topics raised in the workshop included: the condition and mapping of erodible soils and aquifer boundaries (new figure added to the natural‑environment element); air quality text revised to tie into greenhouse‑gas reductions; and passive uses for a closed landfill and a county parcel in the city that may be available for acquisition. Staff said closed landfills nationwide have been reused for passive recreation (trails, cross‑country skiing) but that caps and monitoring constrain built facilities.

Next steps: staff will update the draft report to show Centennial Trail trail‑mileage and to clarify which regional facilities were included in the broader LOS calculation, then circulate revised materials. Staff also will propose dates for a joint Parks and Arts Commission–Planning Commission workshop to finalize LOS definitions and priority projects for the winter outreach and capital planning phases.