The North Branch City council gave approval to a city-wide park plan Jan. 24. The plan addresses park, trail, and open space areas for the next 20 years. The city currently has nine park sites encompassing 101.8 acres.
Residents also use four school sites and a county park for recreation.
The plan identifies existing and proposed park areas, and takes a look at four potential sports complex sites. It also points to a need and desire for a community center, providing six potential sites. A proposed open space system would include major landforms and natural features such as the Sunrise River, lakes, wetlands, woodlands and the St. Croix bluffline. This system is intended to preserve and protect natural resources such as corridors that allow wildlife to move freely unrestricted by development areas. Finally, the plan includes a series of connector trails that would provide important connections between neighborhoods, schools, parks and downtown .