Give Input At Special Community Meeting Tomorrow On Waterway No. 1 Enhancement Project

 

Waterway Number 1 in Laurelhurst

Tomorrow from 6:30-8:30pm, Seattle Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring a special community meeting about Phase 3 of the Waterway No. 1 Enhancement Project, located in Laurelhurst at the corner of 43rd Avenue NE and NE 35th Street.

The community is invited to share ideas on the ongoing project. The meeting will take place on the basketball court at the site.

The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) recently sent out this information:

Come learn about the landscape plan, offer your comments, meet Parks Neighborhood Planner Pamela Kliment, landscape architect Michael Lee, plant expert Arthur Lee Jacobson as well as other project leaders. 

Michael C. Lee, registered landscape architect and owner of Colvos Creek Nursery, designed a landscape plan that addresses the safety and access needs of visitors; soil erosion concerns; vegetation that both helps wildlife and beautifies the site.  

The plan is based upon the concept plan developed as a result of community consensus at a design meeting years ago. The plan also includes design and possible installation of an ADA pathway.  

The Laurelhurst Community Club received a $25,000 grant from the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund to implement the plan.

What is Waterway #1?  Waterway #1 is a parcel of waterfront property located where Northeast 35^th Street meets 43^rd Avenue Northeast in Laurelhurst.  Long ago it was used as a boat launch for one of Seattle’s mosquito fleet ferries, the Laurelhurst Launch, which shuttled folks from Laurelhurst to Madison Park and back.  Now it is a rare and treasured public access point to the waterfront where people can go to observe nature, walk dogs, launch non-motorized boats and play basketball.  The property is owned by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and regulated by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

 

Community Consensus on WWI:  In addition to agreeing on safety improvements at the water’s edge, at the community design meeting in 2005, neighbors agreed to the following:

1.      Combination basketball court, grass, garden, and kayak launch

2.      Benches

3.      Accommodate a wide range of ages, interests and needs

4.      Drought tolerant, disease resistant plants

5.      Retain and improve the basketball court

6.      Path to water – not interfering with court if reasonable

7.      One or two small trees near the water’s edge with benches underneath to provide shading for older neighbors

8.      Enhance shoreline to improve ecology and habitat

 

Progress on the WWI Enhancement Project:  Phase 1 of the project in November 2005 involved installation of several large, granite, slip-resistant boulders on the water’s edge to improve safety for access to the water.  LCC was assisted by Shane DeWald, SDOT’s landscape architect, and DPD in planning, permitting and installation of this phase. 

Over the years, LCC hosted several work parties, most under the direction of Arthur Lee Jacobson.  LCC partnered with Seattle Children’s which contributed two truckloads of wood chips to cover the area where the large laurel hedge was removed. 

Over a lengthy period, LCC, with the assistance of State Representative Gerry Pollet, and the cooperation of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, received approval for implementation of Phase 2 of the project—replacement of the 80-year-old dangerously dilapidated basketball court.  This project would not have been possible without the support of many neighbors who contributed to the project.  The project was completed in 2014.

 

Phase 3 Plan:  Michael C. Lee, registered landscape architect,  designed a landscape plan that addresses the safety and access needs of visitors, soil erosion concerns, and vegetation that both helps wildlife and beautifies the site.  The plan is based upon the concept plan developed as a result of community consensus by SDOT’s landscape architect with input from noted plant expert Arthur Lee Jacobson.  The plan also includes design and possible installation of an ADA pathway.  LCC received a $25,000 grant from the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund to implement the plan.

Policies:  LCC has adopted specific policies regarding shoreline street ends and waterways.  These policies are similar to those of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, owner of Waterway No. 1, and SDOT, which has regulatory authority over the waterway.  LCC’s policies call for:

 

·          Supporting full public access except in areas of permitted private uses

·          Supporting the elimination of private use permits as circumstances allow

·          Protecting views

·          Improving ecology

·          Ensuring buffers are maintained along property lines in recognition of the impacts that public uses have on abutting property owners

·          Developing community consensus on improvements

·          Making improvements that consider the needs and interests of all of our neighbors

·          Encouraging community stewardship

To view a PDF of the plan, click here to visit the Waterway No. 1 page on LCC's website.

To comment on the Waterway Landscape Plan email waterway1@lcc.com.

For questions contact Liz Ogden at 517-5862 or lizogden@comcast.net, or Jeannie Hale at jeannieh@serv.net.

 

Possible Squatters Set Up Camp Next To The Beach Club



 



A neighbor out for a walk last Monday, discovered campers, or perhaps squatters, who had set up tents and a bonfire with a fire pit and pans on the public access shoreline right next to the Beach Club.

The neighbor wrote:

I was out taking a walk and the waterfront area next to the beach club, at the end of the parking lot,  had two tents pitched and people there.  I didn’t get too close as both of my daughters were with me, but I could see one man putting a shirt on.   

There was a red, older model Dodge pickup truck parked there as well, which may or may not belong to the people spending the night in that area.

When I went back a few hours later, the tents were gone, but the people were still there, as well as the red truck.   

Another neighbor reported that the following day around 3:15pm the red pickup was still there and there were at least two people that he could see.  One was African American and young-upper teens or 20’s and a young white male.

The neighbor also said that lots of cardboard and trash had been left, and that "it would probably take a good hour to clean up the mess,"

 

Vivian, Aquatics Land Manger, with Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told us that WAC 332-52-310 prohibits camping at day-use facilities. 

“Day-use areas and facilities" means any department-managed lands, trailhead, picnic area, viewpoint, and designated parking areas for vehicles, boat launch or other facility that is designated for day-use only. 

And the Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) said that the paved part, where the parking lot is, is shoreline street end.   The area on the other side of the fence, dividing the parking lot and the shoreline access, is State waterway, which doesn't allow camping.