Over the last year, the Coalition Facilities Access Action Team has been hard at work reviewing shared space and joint use agreements (JUA’s) to identify inequities and provide suggestions for future policies.
The Facility Access Action Team is focused on improving equitable access to public recreation facilities. Many factors play into accessibility of facilities including funding, geographic distribution, transportation, costs, reservation practices, and policies. Shared use, also known as joint use agreements, is one type of policy impacting community access and can be a strategy to improve equity. The team worked on refining a model JUA as a resource for park agencies, school districts, and community organizations to support strengthening community access to recreation facilities.
A prominent recommendation from the team is to develop and include equity goals related to access which involves collecting demographic data on who currently has access and who does not to inform goals and measuring progress. The team also encourages public agencies to identify community groups who have not been involved in shared use to understand their priorities to develop community driven solutions.
The document attached represents the outcome of their work this year. It is a model joint use agreement with comments and notes for agencies, community organizations, and schools to consider as they build, amend, or update their shared use agreements.
