Parkland, Florida

This article is about the city in Florida. For the school shooting in the same city, see Parkland high school shooting.

Parkland, Florida
City
City of Parkland
Motto:  Environmentally Proud
Parkland, Florida Parkland, Florida Parkland, Florida
Coordinates: 26°18′55″N 80°14′26″W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Broward
Incorporated	July 10, 1963
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	Richard "Rich" Walker
• Vice Mayor	Simeon Brier
• Commissioners	Bob Mayersohn, Jordan Isrow, and Ken Cutler
• City Manager	Nancy Morando
• City Clerk	Alyson Morales
Area
• City	14.35 sq mi (37.16 km2)
• Land	12.50 sq mi (32.38 km2)
• Water	1.84 sq mi (4.77 km2)  3.77%
Elevation	9 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	34,670
• Density	2,772.93/sq mi (1,070.61/km2)
• Metro	6,166,488
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	33067, 33073, 33076
Area code(s)	754, 954
FIPS code	12-55125
GNIS feature ID	0307615
Website	www.cityofparkland.org

Parkland is a suburban city, 42 miles northwest of Miami, in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people in 2020.

Parkland's zoning laws are designed to protect the "park-like" character of the city. There were no stores or traffic lights in Parkland until the mid-1990s and early 2000s when large neighborhood developments (Heron Bay and Parkland Isles) were built. The city of Parkland has been known since its early days for its assortment of park spaces and its emphasis on environmental preservation. For the first few decades of its existence, horses outnumbered the town's population.

History

On July 10, 1963 a city charter was passed upon legislative approval after actively supported through the Florida State House of Representatives as House bill 2079, guided through the Florida House with the aid of Representative Emerson Alsworth Esq., from the original idea of a city charter for an unincorporated rural ranch style open spaced town of founder and local farmer, rancher, veteran, and politician Bruce Blount. Early on, Blount put up tracts of his private land, calling his town BBB Ranches, in his original attempts for official recognition. Rep. Alsworth would facilitate this process of approval by adding in the bill the name of the proposed town as Parkland, a description befitting Blount's initial proposal of an undeveloped town out of the way of the building boon of Broward County. And after a passing vote in July, on August 12, 1963, Parkland was officially recognized as a city of the state of Florida, by C. Farris Bryant, the Governor of Florida. Blount would go on to be the inaugural mayor of Parkland, previously having served as mayor and city commissioner of Pompano Beach.

On February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the lone public High School in Parkland, Florida became the scene of a deadly mass shooting perpetrated by a former student, Nikolas Cruz. Surpassing the death toll at Columbine High School, the Stoneman Douglas shooting became the fifth deadliest shooting at a school inside the United States overall.

Geography

Parkland is located at 26°18′55″N 80°14′26″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.8 square miles (33.2 km²), of which 12.3 square miles (31.9 km²) is land and 0.50 square miles (1.3 km²) (3.97%) is water. The northern boundary of Parkland coincides with the border between Broward and Palm Beach counties. West Boca Raton, an unincorporated area of Palm Beach County that extends west of Boca Raton's city limits, lies to the north. Coconut Creek lies to the east, Coral Springs lies to the south and the west is bounded by the Everglades.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1970	165		—
1980	545		230.3%
1990	3,558		552.8%
2000	13,835		288.8%
2010	23,962		73.2%
2020	34,670		44.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Parkland racial composition
(Hispanics excluded from racial categories)
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	20,756	59.87%
Black or African American (NH)	2,067	5.96%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	33	0.10%
Asian (NH)	3,071	8.86%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)	13	0.04%
Some other race (NH)	373	1.08%
Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)	1,951	5.63%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	6,406	18.48%
Total	34,670

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,670 people, 9,819 households, and 8,526 families residing in the city.

2010 census

Parkland Demographics
2010 Census	Parkland	Broward County	Florida
Total population	23,962	1,748,066	18,801,310
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010	+73.2%	+7.7%	+17.6%
Population density	1,943.3/sq mi	1,444.9/sq mi	350.6/sq mi
White or Caucasian (including White Hispanic)	84.0%	63.1%	75.0%
(Non-Hispanic White)	73.1%	43.5%	57.9%
Black or African-American (including Black Hispanic)	6.5%	26.7%	16.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	13.0%	25.1%	22.5%
Asian	5.9%	3.2%	2.4%
Native American or Native Alaskan	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
Two or more races (Multiracial)	1.9%	2.9%	2.5%
Some Other Race	1.6%	3.7%	3.6%

As of 2010, there were 8,292 households, out of which 7.4% were vacant.

According to a 2016 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $131,340, and the estimated median house value was $596,212. Males had a median income of $103,942 versus $81,425 for females. The per capita income for the city was $56,793. About 2.0% of families and .4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

In 2000, the city population was spread out, with 35.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

As of 2000, 82.79% of inhabitants spoke English at home, while 11.48% spoke Spanish, of 2.03% spoke Italian, and 1.20% spoke German.

Politics

Parkland elects a five-member City Commission. Elections are non-partisan, however, all current members are party-affiliated (4 Democrats and 1 Republican).

Parkland vote
in presidential elections

Year	Democratic	Republican	Third Parties
2016	51.17% 7,839	46.11% 7,063	2.72% 417
2012	46.88% 4,954	52.70% 5,569	0.42% 45
2008	52.15% 5,178	47.41% 4,707	0.44% 44
2004	47.72% 2,632	51.59% 2,845	0.69% 38

Education

Broward County Public Schools operates public schools in Parkland.

Public high school

• Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School serves almost all of the city limits, while small sections are zoned to Coral Springs High School

In addition the community is in the service area of the magnet school Pompano Beach High School.

Public middle school

• Westglades Middle School in Parkland serves almost all of the city limits, while small sections are zoned to Forest Glen Middle School in Coral Springs.

Public elementary schools

• Riverglades Elementary School
• Park Trails Elementary School
• Heron Heights Elementary School

Portions are zoned to Coral Park and Park Springs elementaries in Coral Springs.

Private primary schools

• Mary Help of Christians School (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami)

Notable people

• Caesar Bacarella, race car driver
• X González, political activist who organized protests in response to the 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School
• Roberto Luongo, former NHL goalie for the Florida Panthers, has lived in Parkland since 2000
• Andrew Peeke, professional ice hockey player
• Anthony Rizzo, professional baseball player for the New York Yankees
• XXXTentacion, rapper and singer, lived in Parkland from 2017 until his death
• Jon Weiner, ESPN radio host
• George Poveromo, Renowned saltwater angler and host of World of Saltwater Fishing on the Discovery Channel.

External links

• Official website