(a) The Legislature finds that the land now known as Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area, the principal iron ore mining location for the Birmingham steel industry, contains a number of nationally significant historic mining sites, is critical to connecting a 64-mile network of trails and greenways within Greater Birmingham, and is suitable for the development of athletic complexes that could serve the entire region and state.
(b) It is further found that the preservation of the land known as Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area would place Birmingham first in the nation in the total acreage of green and open space per capita and would provide for alternative transportation routes for the citizens of the region.
(c) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to promote open space for physical activity in order to promote better health and combat obesity, including recreational space, and to preserve, restore, maintain, and promote historic sites and related relics.