A big new park in Olympia?

Citizens hope to preserve land planned for development, for trails and fields in southeast Olympia

A new citizens group has formed with the goal of turning Olympia largest remaining privately-owned undeveloped property into a park.

The property is actually two parcels in southeast Olympia, known as “Trillium” and “Bentridge,” named for the housing developments that have been proposed, but not built, on the parcels. If developed, each parcel could hold as many as 500 housing units. Located immediately south and east of LBA Park, near Boulevard Road and Morse-Merryman Road, the parcels total 151 acres, about the same size as Watershed Park and roughly half the size of Priest Point Park.

Park advocates say the owners of both parcels seem open to selling the land. The Bentridge parcel has been listed for sale for $6.5 million. The Trillium parcel recently had a development plan rejected by the city because it did not meet development standards, primarily relating to pedestrian and transit-friendly street design. In 2012, a court upheld the city’s decision after an appeal from the owner, and the owner has not yet made a new proposal. The full cost of purchasing and developing the properties is not clear.

Brian Faller, one of the organizers of the LBA Woods Park Coalition, describes the property as a “true gem” – largely forested, with habitat for various birds and other animals, and crossed by unofficial trails used by urban hikers, dog walkers, and runners. A petition from the coalition describes the land as “a lovely setting with a forest canopy, winding trails, modest hills, solitude, and varied habitats,” all in an urban surrounding. The groups vision is that the property mostly stays that way, as a “nature park.”

The city’s parks plan supports the goal of preserving large open spaces, and also recognizes a need for more local soccer (and football and rugby) fields. Faller suggests that the flatter areas of LBA Woods might hold up to six soccer fields, and perhaps also an off-leash dog park and a cross-country bike trail (also mentioned in the parks plan), which would still leave most of the property forested.

The big challenge is finding money to pay for it. In the 2004 voter-approved park funding measure, there was $4 million designated for a large “community park” in southeast Olympia, anticipated to be somewhere along Yelm Highway. However, that money has since been shifted to other parks projects. Reconstruction of Percival Landing, in particular, has had a major impact on the city’s parks budget. While the current (2010) parks plan includes a “40-Acre Community Park Acquisition and Development,” it has no funding identified for it. It is not unique in this: a potential park on the isthmus and the next phase of work on Percival Landing are also in the parks plan but without funding.

(Disclosure: The author was a member of the Olympia City Council in 2004, and supported passage of the parks plan and funding measure.)

Both park advocates and the city parks department have suggested raising money by applying for state grants, seeking donations from private foundations or private individuals, or going back to voters for more tax revenue.

In any case, the LBA Woods Park Coalition is ramping up efforts to convince the city council to make this property a priority. So far, they have collected over 800 signatures on a petition. They see the 2009 controversy over the isthmus as an example of the public organizing to sway the council, and hope to replicate that effort through the petition and potentially through electoral action.

So far, the coalition has presented its idea to the city’s parks advisory board, but the city council has not discussed it. Next Tuesday, February 11, the coalition is holding a public kickoff event to promote the future park, at 7 PM at the Washington Middle School cafeteria. ◙

For more information about the proposed LBA Woods Park and the park advocates, visit lbawoodspark.org.