Shoreline council discussed parks, storm water, and property acquisition at April 22 meeting

By Oliver Moffat

At the April 22nd meeting, the Shoreline city council discussed parks, storm water fees and property acquisition.

Shoreline council discussed parks, storm water, and property acquisition at April 22 meeting

Parks, Recreation Open Space and Arts (PROSA) Plan

After a public hearing, the council discussed the proposed 2024-2030 Parks, Recreation Open Space and Arts (PROSA) Plan.

New in this year’s plan is a goal to make park land acquisition more equitable and transparent. As Shoreline’s population grows, the need for more open space and park land has become a strategic goal for the city.

Currently, the city acquires park property when funds are available and the property is for sale and maintains an internal list of properties it would like to acquire in the future.

To make this process more equitable and transparent, the proposed plan says the parks department will create a framework to guide which properties the city will buy and where money should be spent to develop existing park land.

The proposed plan includes maps that rank neighborhoods by demographic features (income, age, race, language, and disability) along with maps showing walking distance to parks. Those maps may be used to inform future park acquisitions but the details of the framework have yet to be defined.

The council is scheduled to vote on whether to adopt the PROSA at the May 6 meeting.

A map shows the location of the city-owned storage court and the office building adjacent to Shoreline city hall the city wants to buy

City Hall Expansion

The council discussed a plan to expand the city hall campus by purchasing the office building immediately to the north at 17544 Midvale Ave N.

The owners want to sell the property to the city and (according to city staff) the income the city will earn from renting the office space will cover the cost of the acquisition.

Council member Keith Scully had previously been the lone dissenting voice against the acquisition of the office building over concerns that the city did not have clear plans for what to do with the property.

The property will be added to a portfolio of properties the city has purchased near city hall including four properties on 175th the city acquired as part of the 175th corridor project and the storage court the city purchased in hopes of building an aquatic center at the site.

A bond measure in 2019 to pay for the pool failed to pass because it required 60% approval and only received 54% of the votes. The proposed PROSA plan says the city will “continue to pursue opportunities” to build an aquatics center.

The council will vote on whether to acquire the office building at the April 29 meeting.

Back row (L+R): Councilmembers John Ramsdell, Betsy Robertson,
Annette Ademasu, Eben Pobee, Keith Scully
Front row from left: Mayor Chris Roberts, Deputy Mayor Laura Mork

Surface Water Plan

The city council reviewed an update to its Surface Water Master Plan (SWMP) which considered whether to charge higher fees for properties with more hard surfaces.

Shoreline gets more than 38 inches of rain each year with five inches in January alone. All that water needs to go somewhere - ideally, the city would like the water to soak into the ground near where it falls.

Impervious surfaces like roofs and pavement shed the water into ditches and drains that can lead to flooding and pollution.

The city considered charging property owners more if they have more pavement and other hard surfaces. In survey results, residents supported the change because it would be fairer and council members supported the plan because it could encourage property owners to remove hard surfaces.

City staff raised concerns that administering the fees would require maintaining a database of all hard-surfaces on all properties in the city which would be expensive.

After discussion, the council agreed to stick with the current flat rate fee structure while expanding the Soak It Up Rebate Program which incentivizes owners to build rain gardens.