Title
Discussion and Possible Adoption of the 2025 Open Space and Trails Management Plan
Recommended Action
I move that Council adopt the 2025 Open Space and Trails Management Plan.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the motion as presented.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
On August 14, 2025, Parks and Recreation Board (PRB) recommended "to Council the 2025 Open Space and Trails Management Plan with edits pending." These edits, which included comments from the Open Space/Trails Working Group, corrected page numbers, and a few grammatical errors, were incorporated into the Plan and presented to PRB on September 11, 2025.
Body
In 2024, Los Alamos County partnered with Sites Southwest Consultants to consolidate and update several existing trails and open space planning documents into one comprehensive Open Space and Trails Management Plan. This effort involved reviewing and integrating over nine prior plans and assessments dating from 2013 to 2023. The new Plan addresses overlapping recommendations, incorporates community feedback, and introduces unified strategies focused on accessibility, sustainability, and recreation.
Public input for the Open Space and Trails Management Plan was gathered through a series of community engagement efforts held throughout 2024 and early 2025, including in-person meetings, virtual workshops, and interactive feedback sessions. On October 7, 2025, the draft Plan was formally introduced to the Los Alamos County Council. During that meeting, Sites Southwest consultants delivered a comprehensive presentation that covered the purpose of the plan, the project timeline, the community engagement process and key input received, the overall structure of the plan, the strategies developed, their methodology for consolidating and reconciling the previous planning documents, and a summary of key changes and improvements introduced in the updated plan. They also responded to questions from Council members. Several public comments were made in support of the Plan’s direction and priorities. The Council expressed general support for the Plan, acknowledging its value in consolidating prior efforts and providing a clear path forward for managing the County’s open space and trail systems. Fiscal impacts are still being reviewed, and staff will submit funding requests during future budget periods to support both short- and long-term implementation of the Plan’s recommendations.
Alternatives
The Council may choose not to adopt the 2025 Open Space and Trails Management Plan at this time. Instead, Council could request specific changes or edits to the Plan and remand it back to the Parks and Recreation Board for further discussion.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned
Implementation of the plan will occur over time, based on priority and available funding. Staff will prepare future budget requests to address short- and long-term strategies outlined in the plan. Costs are currently undetermined and will be scoped during phased implementation.
Attachments
A - Open Space and Trails Management Plan
B - Appendices Pt.1
C - Appendices Pt.2
D - Strategies For Public
E - Presentation