CITY OF SAMMAMISH DRAFT | November 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS City Council Christie Malchow, Deputy Mayor Tom Hornish, Council Member Karen Moran, Council Member Jason Ritchie, Council Member Chris Ross, Council Member Pam Stuart, Council Member Ramiro Valderrama, Council Member Parks & Recreation Commission Loreen Leo, Position 1 Katherine Low, Position 2 Cheryl Wagner, Position 3 Sid Gupta, Position 4 Doug Eglington, Position 5 Stephanie Hibner, Position 6 Sheila Sappington, Position 7 Nancy Way, Position 8 Hank Klein, Position 9 City Staff Lyman Howard, City Manager Angela Feser, Parks & Recreation Director Anjali Myer, Parks & Recreation Deputy Director Consultant Team TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Community Profile ........................................................................................9 Chapter 3: Community Listening .................................................................................17 Chapter 4: Park System Inventory ................................................................................25 Chapter 5: Needs: Parks & Open Space ........................................................................53 Chapter 6: Needs: Programming ..................................................................................95 Chapter 7: Needs: Trails ..............................................................................................113 Chapter 8: Goals & Objectives ...................................................................................131 Chapter 9: Projects & Implementation.......................................................................141 Appendix A: Community Survey Summary ................................................................153 Appendix B: Public Meeting Summaries ....................................................................181 Appendix C: Stakeholder Meeting Summaries ...........................................................203 Appendix D: Recreation Program Assessment ...........................................................225 Appendix E: Past Community Plans ...........................................................................253 Appendix F: Implementation Tools ............................................................................261 Page left intentionally blank SAMMAMISH PRO PLAN REVIEW DRAFT 1 1 | INTRODUCTION This Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan is a six-year guide and strategic plan for managing and enhancing park and recreation services in Sammamish. It establishes a path forward for providing high quality, community-driven parks, trails, open spaces and recreational opportunities. PURPOSE OF THE PLAN This citywide Parks, Recreation & Open Space Plan, or PRO Plan for short, is an update to the 2012 PRO Plan, builds on the recreation planning foundation provided in that plan and incorporates the diverse feedback from the extensive community engagement program conducted for this plan update. This Plan creates a vision for an innovative, inclusive and interconnected system of parks, trails and open spaces that promotes recreation, health and environmental conservation as integral elements of a thriving, livable Sammamish. The Plan will establish a path forward to guide the City’s efforts to provide high-quality, community-driven parks, trails, natural areas and recreation programs across and throughout Sammamish. Sammamish has experienced significant changes since the adoption of the 2012 PRO Plan, and this Plan update has been revised to reflect current community interests and opportunities related to a strong demand for locally-provided recreation services and to plan for an expansion of the park system in response to continued residential and commercial development in the city. 1 The PRO Plan is a document that will guide City elected and appointed officials, management and staff when making decisions or taking actions regarding planning, acquiring, developing or implementing parks, open space or recreational facilities and programs. The PRO Plan is part of the City’s broader Comprehensive Plan and is consistent with the guidelines established by the Growth Management Act (GMA). The PRO Plan must be updated every six years for Sammamish to retain eligibility for state grants through the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), which administers are variety of outdoor recreation and conservation grant programs. This 2018 PRO Plan considers the park and recreation needs of residents citywide. It provides updated inventories, demographic conditions, needs analysis, management considerations and capital project phasing. The Plan establishes specific goals, objectives, recommendations and actions for developing, conserving and maintaining high-quality parks, trails, facilities and programs across the City. PLANNING PROCESS OVERVIEW This citywide Parks, Recreation & Open Space Plan is a reflection of the community’s interests and needs for parks, recreation programs, facilities and trails. The planning process was aimed to encourage and enable public engagement in the choices, priorities and future direction of the City’s park and recreation system. The Plan project team conducted a variety of public outreach activities to solicit feedback and comments, in concert with a review of the recreation system inventory, level of service review and the current and future needs assessment. Efforts to update the Sammamish PRO Plan began in spring 2017. Current community interests surfaced through a series of public outreach efforts that included a mail-based survey, open house meetings, stakeholder discussions, online engagement, website content and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings. An assessment of the park inventory became the basis for determining the current performance of the system. An overarching needs analysis was conducted for recreation programs and facilities, parks, trails and open space to assess current demands and project future demand to account for population growth and expanding cultural demographics. To guide the implementation of the goals of the Plan, a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) was developed with a set of strategies that identified costs and potential funding sources. Together, this process is represented in this planning document, which will be reviewed by the public, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission and City Council. Once adopted, the Plan can become a component of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and direct park system and recreation program service delivery for the next 5 to 10 years. PLAN CONTEXT: CURRENT CHALLENGES As with any citywide strategic planning effort, current community challenges provide a context for developing and assessing strategies for the future. The following represents an abbreviated overview of current community concerns that may affect planning for parks and recreation services and amenities in Sammamish. 2 REVIEW DRAFT REVIEW DRAFT SAMMAMISH PRO PLAN Growth & Development The Sammamish community has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years. The population of the City has risen over 70% between 2000 and 2017, and a portion of that growth is tied to the annexation of Klahanie in 2016. With a strong uptick in new development, existing residents have voiced concern over the pace of growth and its impacts on the community, such as traffic and tree loss, among others. The City has undertaken an aggressive suite of strategic planning efforts to guide its future growth, and the concerns over the pace of growth caused the City Council to enact a development moratorium during the preparation of this Plan. The intent of the moratorium is to halt most new development and allow city leaders additional time to consider amendments to the City’s planning documents and development regulations. Open Space Preservation Linked with the concerns about rapid residential growth, local residents have voiced interest in preserving some of the City’s remaining open space. Concurrent with the development of this Plan, the City also prepared a targeted land acquisition strategy and implementation plan to guide near-term and long-term acquisition activities. The efforts toward open space preservation will focus on capturing the environmental benefits of preserving natural resources, wildlife habitat and tree canopy, in addition to accommodating new parks and trails. The 2017-2022 Parks Capital Improvement Plan, adopted by City Council in July 2016, identified land acquisition as a high priority and allocated a total of $13 million for land acquisition over a six year period. Connectivity & Walkability Much of the development on the plateau has occurred prior to Sammamish becoming a city in 1999. Prior to incorporation, local development was guided by King County land use, standards and plans. As the City continues to mature, residents are interested in safe walking routes to community destinations and improved non-motorized connectivity. Sidewalk and recreational connectivity was one of the core aspects of the Town Center Plan, and trail improvements and the relationships to complete streets, sidewalks and bike lanes have been cited in other Sammamish plans. Recreation Facilities & Programs The development of the Community & Aquatic Center has been a significant boon for indoor recreation in Sammamish and has provided