Citizens viewed drafted maps and listened to a presentation about the proposed 10-year management plan for three local state parks: Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Rock Springs Run State Reserve in Sorrento, and Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park in Sanford.
The two-hour public hearing, which included the 30-minute presentation, was done on Thursday, March 30, at the Youth Camp Recreation Hall of Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks (DRP), manages the three state parks.
The only other public hearing on the proposed management plan was conducted on Wednesday, March 29, at Sorrento Elementary School in Sorrento.
The proposed plan is the result of a collaboration between state park management and officials in Tallahassee. Since this is a decade’s worth of time, the proposals are not expected to happen overnight.
Additionally, the public is invited to review and submit comments to the Division of Recreation and Parks at FL_StateParkPlanning@dep.state.fl.us until Tuesday, April 4.
The following are the proposed improvements for the updated Wekiwa Springs State Park management plan:
• Extend park entrance turn lane
• Create a new training facility and improve parking in the group camp/training area
• Create a 2-mile shared-use trail and two trailheads at the Neighborhood Lakes property
• Increase parking capacity at the springhead
• Create a biking trail up to 5 miles and a mile-long hiking trail at the Markham Woods use area
• Construct a multi-purpose/special events pavilion at the Sand Lake use area
• Improve trailhead and create a mile-long nature trail at the Sand Lake use area
An extended version of this story will appear in the Friday, April 7, issue of The Apopka Chief.
