30 Acre Transfer of Soaring Eagle Park Current Status: The King County Council final vote was March 10, 2008. Councilmembers Lambert, Phillips, Hague and Gossett co-sponsored a striking amendment which essentially rewrote the original proposed ordinance. The transfer of the 30 acres will go through with the following provisions: No policy precedent was set, no through road, no additional transfer until 2040 for active recreation purposes, a master plan process/regional input will be required. There is a statement of intent to consider future legislation to expand the conservation easement coverage to 548 acres. PRKC is very hopeful that the that legislation will be introduced in 2008 to protect the 548 acres discussed today and resolve the title and legal issues with the existing 330 acre floating conservation easement. What Can You Do? 1) Email sponsoring Councilmembers and the King County Executive to respectfully request that they take action immediately to ensure Soaring Eagle is preserved for future generations. CLICK HERE to email sponsoring Councilmembers. 2) Email Sammamish Parks and request to participate in the Master Planning Process for the 30 acres. CLICK HERE to request to be included in the master planning process for the Soaring Eagle 30 acres.
BACKGROUND: Soaring Eagle Park is a 640 acre hardwood forest and forested wetland, located on the urban growth boundary on the edge of Sammamish, WA.. Since 1993 it has been a passive-use regional King County park. The park has over 10 miles of trails used by mountain bikers, trail runners, boy scouts, and schools for outdoor and environmental education. Eastside Search and Rescue and King County Sheriff Canine Unit both conduct training exercises at the park. On September 4, 2007, Councilmember Lambert proposed ordinance No. 2007-0353 which will transfer 30 acres of the 640 acre Soaring Eagle Park to the City of Sammamish. On October 22nd, PRKC presented our findings to the Committee of the Whole which included concern for precedence setting, lack of regional public input, concerns over the possible development of a road through the park, and the questionable legal status of 330 park acres identified as "conserved". On November 13th, 2007, the King County Council heard public testimony from many opponents of the transfer with wide geographic, economic, social and age diversity. On March 10, 2008, Councilmembers Lambert, Phillips, Hague and Gossett co-sponsored a striking amendment which essentially rewrote the original proposed ordinance. The transfer of the 30 acres will go through with the following provisions: No policy precedent was set, no through road, tightlined (restricted) sewer, no additional transfer until 2040 for active recreation purposes, a master plan process/regional requirement. There was also a statement of intent to consider future legislation to expand the conservation easement coverage to 548 acres, but there is no condition or requirement to do this. The proceedings for all meetings can be viewed HERE. PRKC is appreciative of the hard work and dedication of all Councilmembers on this difficult topic. We are respectfully asking all sponsoring Councilmembers to act on proposing that legislation to preserve the remaining acreage in 2008 while the issue is fresh in the full Council minds. PRKC would also like to acknowledge the hundreds of people who took time out of their busy lives to send letters, testify, do sports field research, press outreach and prepare presentation materials. Over 1000 people signed the FOSEP petition, half of whom live outside the City of Sammamish! We have no doubt that without your participation and voice that the outcome would have much different and we encourage you to keep your voice strong in calling for immediate legislation to protect the balance of the park. Links: Click HERE to return to the main News page.
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Links: King County Council Status and Staff Report PRKC Analysis and Recommendations for the City and the County |
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