Do you, your neighborhood, Friends of the Park group, community group, corporation, or foundation have an idea for an improvement in a City of Atlanta park or recreation center? You’ve come to the right place! The Parks & Rec. Improvement Program allows community partners to raise funds and in-kind contributions to implement park improvement projects and collaborate with the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) Office of Park Planning & Design to plan, develop, and execute improvements on parkland or in recreation centers.

Improvement projects should reflect community and DPR priorities (as outlined on the PARKnerships page) and can include a wide range of projects, from invasive plant species removal or native plantings, to new benches, trails, wayfinding signage, nature play features, pavilions, exercise equipment, and much, much more!

Projects of all sizes require appropriate permits through the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) Office of Park Planning & Design. Projects that meet any of the criteria outlined below require permits to implement on city-owned parkland or recreation centers:

• Capital improvements, including the addition of new or replacement park amenities (playgrounds, exercise equipment, lighting, Little Free Library, trash cans, etc.)
• All plantings and new garden installations
• Tree planting, tree removal, tree impact, and tree pruning
• Invasive plant removal and habitat restoration
• Certain volunteer projects
• Temporary and permanent installations
• Signage installations
• Memorials
• Art installations and murals
• Trails
• Park master plans, management plans, or updates
• Anything that changes the physical nature of a city-owned park or recreation center

This is not an exhaustive criteria list – please complete the Parks + Recreation Improvement Form below to initiate the approval process.

The steps below represent the general nature of the process to attain permission to undertake work on a city-owned park or recreation center improvement. Depending on the size and scope of the proposed project, the process may require additional steps, and may vary in length from several weeks to several months. As the legal landowner, DPR can deny permission for a project at any stage if it isn’t deemed appropriate. Any improvements or work done in any City park without the appropriate permissions will be in violation of this process, and you may be required to remove or uninstall the improvement at your own expense.

Step 1 – Submit a Proposal Through the Parks + Recreation Improvement Form
This form will collect key information related to your project idea that will help to paint a picture of your proposal. Although as much detail as possible is helpful, ideas do not need to be fully formed to submit this form.

PARKS & RECREATION IMPROVEMENT FORM

Step 2 – DPR Internal Review
Parks + Recreation staff will review the information submitted through the form. They will also consider other planned/proposed improvement projects at the site, Departmental and City priorities, and City code while reviewing your submission. A DPR staff member will reach out via phone or email within 10 business days to get more details on your project, to share suggestions, or next steps to move your project forward.

After internal review has been completed, you’ll receive communication from DPR about whether your proposed idea can be explored further OR if it’s not feasible for implementation.

Step 3 – Site Visit and Project Prep

• 3A – Site Visit DPR may request a site visit on location to review project details. More than one site visit may be required if deemed necessary by DPR staff.

   

• 3B – Schedule Date to Present to Park Planning & Design Review Committee – After the site visit has been completed, you may be invited to present your plan to the Park Planning & Design Review Commitee for approval. Meeting dates and presentation guidelines can be found HERE. Please note: spaces to present are limited per meeting, and it may be several weeks before your project can get on the schedule.

   

• 3C – Refine Proposal, Build Community Support & Identify Funding – In the weeks leading up to your scheduled date to present to the Park Planning & Design Review Committee, you should continue to:
  1. Refine the details of your project proposal based on feedback from DPR;
  2. Build community support for the project proposal (for example, letters of support from the local Friends of the Park group or conservancy, community association, NPU, Council Member, or other key stakeholders in the vicinity that may be impacted by your project); and
  3. Identify funding available for implementation.

Step 4 – Present to DPR’s Park Planning & Design Review Committee
You must present the proposed project to the virtual Park Planning & Design Review Committee for final approval. At this meeting, the Committee—comprised of professionals in the Department representing a broad range of expertise—may request additional information or changes to your plan. They may also request that you return to present an updated plan/proposal at a future meeting. CLICK HERE for details about creating and delivering your Park Design Review Presentation.

Step 5 – Final Approval or Denial of Project
Final project approval, denial, or required changes will be communicated via an official letter emailed from the Office of Park Planning & Design within 4 weeks of your presentation. Project implementation cannot begin prior to receipt of the letter of approval*.

Please note, more than one presentation to the Park Design Review Committee may be required to reach final project approval.

Step 6 – Project Implementation
Once you receive your letter of approval from the Office of Park Planning & Design, you have received permission from DPR to move forward to project implementation. However, approval from DPR does not negate the need for submission to the Dept. Of City Planning, the Urban Design Commission, the Dept. Of Public Works, Dept. Of Watershed Management, for any applicable permits or variances specific and required, depending on the final scope of your project.

You’ll be assigned a point of contact within DPR. Any changes to your project must be communicated to your point of contact and receive final approval from the Office of Park Planning & Design*.  

*Project implementation prior to receipt of the letter of approval and/or implementing project changes that did not receive approval from the Office of Park Planning & Design will be in violation of this process. Any remediation deemed necessary by DPR will be at the proposer’s expense.

Contact

For additional information or assistance, please contact:

Tara Buckner, Urban Planner: tlbuckner@atlantaga.gov

Cassandra Edmond, Data Report Analyst Senior: cedmond@atlantaga.gov