Kristi Maxwell and her husband bought their Apple Valley home sight unseen because it was close to parks where their 5- and 7-year-old children could play. Then voters last fall approved a referendum giving city parks a $73.3 million boost, and Kristi was excited to hear about potential improvements.

So she was frustrated when she recently learned that the playground at nearby Chaparral Park is slated for demolition under a draft of the city’s new parks amenities plan.

“It just feels like a loss leader,” she said.

She and other residents have attended meetings at local parks in recent weeks to voice their concerns about how the new money might be used. City staff who hosted the meetings to gather feedback say the draft plan was created based on information gathered before the referendum passed, which relied on the city’s financial capabilities and the variety of amenities its parks could provide.

The plan calls for improvements to 40 playgrounds throughout the park system, but also proposes closing 14 of them. A city presentation noted that the south suburb has about one playground for every 1,064 residents, a higher concentration than neighboring cities like Eagan and Lakeville.

“We have so many of them that they’re geographically very close to each other,” said Eric Carlson, Apple Valley’s parks and recreation director. “It just begs the question: Do we want to try to do something different?”

The plan calls for replacing playground structures with basketball courts, natural playgrounds, a canoe launch and a fishing pier, although in some parks, changes would not occur for several years. In Chaparral and Nordic parks, for example, the plans call for community gardens instead of playgrounds. But several residents have objected, saying the gardens are not necessary since many people have large yards.

Apple Valley Parks and Recreation staff visit each park to discuss potential changes before creating an updated plan. Carlson said so far they’ve heard that people value their playgrounds and generally don’t like the proposed changes.