Shoreline Council moves to expand Twin Ponds Park

A map from the city’s website shows the location of properties the city of Shoreline would like to purchase to expand Twin Ponds park.

By Oliver Moffat

Directly south of Twin Ponds park are a row of homes built in the 1950s and early 1960s. The single family homes are visible from the tennis/pickleball court, the community gardens and the arboretum.

If the owners of those homes are willing to sell, those parcels could become part of the park in the future - expanding the 22-acre park in the neighborhood near the 148th street light-rail station.

A photo from the city’s website shows Twin Ponds in the evening from the boardwalk.

The Shoreline city council voted unanimously to expand Twin Ponds Park by purchasing one of the parcels at the Monday, February 12, city council meeting. The 0.17 acre parcel is located on N 149th Street a block away from the property on 150th the city purchased in August of 2023.

The city was awarded Conservation Futures Tax (CFT) Levy funds to pay for 75% of the acquisition. The rest of the cost would be paid from Park Impact Fees. King County Conservation Futures is a program that provides grants to acquire open space. Park Impact Fees are collected by the city from new developments to pay for parks.

Unlike eminent domain, the city can only use CFT funds to purchase property from willing buyers.

A photo from the city’s website shows the Twin Ponds playground.

According to the CFT Application once acquired, the city could build trails to allow access to the park from the south while restoring native tree canopy and wetlands.

According to the 2017-2023 Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan, Shoreline needs an additional 95 acres of park land with 43 of those acres within the 145th and 185th light-rail subareas. For comparison, Hamlin Park is 80 acres.

On average the city has 7.38 acres of parkland in walking distance of every 1,000 residents. But within the Parkwood neighborhood where Twin Ponds is located, there are only 5.7 acres per 1,000 residents.

The city expects 15,000 new residents by 2035 with 75% of that growth in the light-rail subareas. There are 1,605 new homes coming soon in the south Parkwood neighborhood including 151 “missing middle” townhomes and 296 affordable apartments.