Click the topics below to snap to the relevant section!
Defining Use Levels
Maintenance Budget Templates
Maintenance Frequencies
Maintenance Services
Programming and Events
Management Plan Components
Creating a detailed plan is an essential step towards successful public space management. But, what should a Management Plan contain? The document linked below presents a sample Management Plan outline, providing details about each key plan component. Community groups or other public space managers may use this outline as a starting point to create their own, customized management plans.
Defining Uses
How do I identify the use level and needs of the public space?
Public spaces have a variety of maintenance considerations and needs, and there is no one formula for determining the needs of your space. Indeed, the needs may shift during certain times of year (for example, you may see heavier use in the summer months than in the winter). Even so, there are a number of basic principles and considerations that public space managers can use to determine use level and maintenance needs for their space.
The templates presented in this section are designed to help stewards determine their site-specific maintenance frequencies, the estimated staff needed to provide those services, and an estimated cost to maintain and staff their public space.
In order to determine maintenance cost estimates and staffing needs, you must first determine how the project site is used on a daily basis. A few guiding questions to consider:
- Are there people frequently using the site?
- Is it a passive recreational site, or an active recreational site?
- Passive recreation refers to activities that no not require prepared facilities like sports fields or pavilions. Passive recreational activities place minimal stress on a site's resources. Examples may include observing nature, walking, hiking, picnicking.
- Active recreation refers to structured individual or team activity that requires the use of special facilities, courses, fields, or equipment. Examples include baseball, soccer, tennis, or golf.
- Does the site regularly feature events, or pick-up games?
- Does it have elaborate landscaping that requires special care?
- Is the site rich in amenities, does it include bike racks, tables and chairs, or a water refill station?
- Is there generally trash or refuse in or around the project?
With these questions in mind, review the use level definitions defined below, describing conditions for heavy, moderate, and light use hardscape and softscape sites. The use level definitions are intended to be a helpful framework, within which you should expect some variation. You may find that use level for your public space varies by season. Or, that the use levels for hardscape and softscape may not be the same. For example, your public space may have heavy use in hardscape areas, but light use for softscape.
As a reminder:
- Hardscape = Impermeable surface features (sidewalks, pavement, concrete)
- Landscape = Greening elements (plants, trees, greenery). Also often referred to as softscape.
HEAVY USE
HARDSCAPE
Hardscape features are considered to be in "heavy use" if they require:
- Daily cleaning and inspection, including sweeping, tidying, and removing pavement stains.
- Inspection of fixtures, furniture, and equipment daily, weekly, monthly, or semi-annually (frequency depends on amenity type)
SOFTSCAPE
Softscape features are considered to be in "heavy use" if they require consistent services throughout the week, or full service softscape management, including:
- Turf care: mowing, trimming, fertilizing, weed control
- Small tree, shrub, and ground care: pruning, edging, pest and weed control
- Irrigation systems management and repair
- Material procurement and delivery
- Trash removal
MODERATE USE
HARDSCAPE
Hardscape features are considered to be in "moderate use" if they require:
- Cleaning five days per week, including sweeping, tidying, and removing pavement stains.
- Inspection of fixtures, furniture, and equipment twice weekly, weekly, monthly, or semi-annually (frequency depends on amenity type)
SOFTSCAPE
Softscape features are considered to be in "moderate use" if they require twice weekly to monthly services, including:
- Turf care: mowing, trimming, fertilizing, weed control
- Small tree, shrub, and ground care: pruning, edging, pest and weed control
- Irrigation systems management and repair
- Material procurement and delivery
- Basic softscape maintenance: tidying, light pruning, planting
- Horticultural consultation
LIGHT USE
HARDSCAPE
Hardscape features are considered to be in "light use" if they require:
- Twice weekly cleaning services, including sweeping, tidying, and removing pavement stains.
- Inspection of fixtures, furniture, and equipment weekly, monthly, semi-annually, or annually (frequency depends on amenity type)
SOFTSCAPE
Softscape features are considered to be in "light use" if they require weekly, monthly, or annual services, including:
- Irrigation systems management and repair
- Material procurement and delivery
- Basic softscape maintenance: tidying, light pruning, planting
- Horticultural consultation
- Pest control
- Weeding
Maintenance Budget templates
Budget Templates + How to Use Them
After reviewing the examples of different use levels for landscapes and hardscapes above, assess the current or proposed project site and determine which of the mentioned examples is most comparable. Use this determination as a starting point to develop budgets to maintain your public space. Note that you may need to adjust your plan as you see how it performs. You may, for example, begin with "light use" landscape maintenance frequencies, and then decide you need to scale up into the "moderate" category.
Landscape Maintenance Budget Template
Measure the total square footage for landscaped areas within the project site. Use the total project landscape square footage, multiply by the price per square foot, add an additional contingency, and the result is the total annual rate to maintain the project site.
Hardscape Maintenance Budget Template
After categorizing the project site by use type, the totals generated reflect the estimated number of hours for janitorial or custodial work to keep the site in neat appearance, and engineer hours to address any complex issues, should they arise.
Maintenance Frequencies
Maintenance Frequency Templates
The following service frequency templates and checklists were developed according to the determined landscape and hardscape use type. These templates should serve as a "baseline" service frequencies for the proposed project site. Additional modifications should only increase service frequencies, not decrease them. It is assumed the landscape and hardscape services will be provided in accordance to the manufacturer's specifications, by a professional custodian or janitor, a licensed engineer, and/or trained gardener.
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Download Hardscape: Heavy Use |
Download Hardscape: Moderate Use |
Download Hardscape: Light Use |
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Download Softscape: Heavy Use |
Download Softscape: Moderate Use |
Download Softscape: Light Use |
Maintenance Services
Maintenance Service Checklists
Maintenance service checklists are a routine assessment of how the public space is performing on a daily or weekly basis. Landscape and hardscape amenities are generally categorized, then scored on a scale of one to three to record their condition.
- Good condition: no vandalism or damages, no additional maintenance required
- Fair condition: light cleaning or touch up required, but not urgent
- Poor condition: damaged amenities, dead plants, water leaks, all requiring near immediate attention
Checklists should be filled-out daily for heavily used sites, two to three times per week for moderately used sites, and weekly for lightly used sites. After each amenity has been graded, the project steward should document additional concerns or ongoing issues. Service frequencies should be reviewed and/or modified to address ongoing issues or concerns a few times per year.
Programming and Events
If the project site will be used for events and activation, the stewards should develop a list of event restrictions or guidelines for third parties to follow in order to protect the site. These guidelines or restrictions should reflect the character of the neighborhood or community. Examples include:
- Food set-up and distribution is required in specific locations;
- No events later than 8 PM;
- Power cords or cables cannot be placed across the plaza;
- Staking of tents or structures will not be permitted, etc.
Additional Programming Considerations:
- Inspect and record the condition of the project site before and after the event;
- Notify neighbors;
- Ensure a Damage Waiver Responsibility is signed and documented
- Insurance Requirements – at least $1,000,000 additional liability
Programming and Events Budget Template
This template is used to calculate the estimated costs to put-on events within the project site, according to the projected total number of visitors. Line items include staff time to help coordinate and organize the event, janitorial hours to clean the project site during and after the event, artist or performer expenses, and food truck rental costs.
An additional component to the Programming and Events Budget Template includes a fee for future capital improvements. The fee, based on a percentage of total programming costs, should be a percentage determined by the project sponsor.