80 people attended the Sunset Park and Boeing Creek Open Space community meeting

Over 80 people attended the most recent Sunset Park and Boeing Creek Open Space community meeting, held at First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach on February 23. This was the second meeting in the design process for a park to be created on the site of the closed Sunset Elementary School and the nearby Boeing Creek Open Space.

Lynn Huston opened the meeting by introducing several of the project partners, including the Shoreline School District, the City of Shoreline, the Friends of Sunset Park, and the facilitators from the Pomegranate Center. The Pomegranate Center is a non-profit, Washington-based organization with long history of helping communities design and create neighborhood gathering places. To read more about their work, check their website.

Dave Buchan, from the City of Shoreline, discussed the project background and explained the future of the site. The school district will continue to own the property, and any park development must take into account the possibility that a new school may be built on the site in the future, as the demographics and needs of the district change. In the meantime, the district has partnered with the city to allow a park to be developed for public use on this beautiful spot overlooking Puget Sound.

Next, Milenko Matanovic, of the Pomegranate Center, spoke. He summarized the many suggestions shared at the previous meeting, including trails, gateways, restrooms, parking, kiosks, art, expanding the memorial garden, benches, p-patch gardens, amphitheater, and playfields. He distributed large site maps to each of the 12 table groups, and instructed the participants to create a draft of their preferred design for the park. Each group of approximately 6-7 people discussed and drew their initial ideas on the map, choosing which improvements and amenities to include and where to place them. Next, each group shared their concepts with the entire group. Finally, each group had the opportunity to incorporate any ideas heard from other groups in a revised draft.

These drafts will be analyzed by the Pomegranate Center and the steering group, and translated into conceptual designs at the March 6 design workshop. This workshop will be held Saturday, March 6, from 9 to 4, at the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach, 18534 8th Ave. NW. The community is invited to participate as the various ideas are distilled into a cohesive design plan. If you are unable to attend the full-day workshop, you are encouraged to attend from 3 to 4 pm, to view the presentation of the proposed plan, and to offer your feedback. For more information, check the Friends of Sunset Park website or email them.