1 2 3 OneBothell represents the voice of members of the surrounding area. Since establishing ourselves at the start of the year we have had over 7500 hits from members of the community visi ng our website. It is clear to us that people from Bothell, Snohomish, Redmond, Woodinville, Kirkland, Kenmore and Sea le ci es all along the Burke-Gilman Trail believe Wayne land is very important. to them. At this me, over 99% of our registered visitors have voted to reject the rezone and future development on Wayne land, and we're working to represent their concerns.
We have people talking today from Bothell, Mill Creek, Kirkland and Sea le from our team.
4 5 6 This precious land, along the Burke-Gilman Trail, has been a recrea onal corridor since Joseph Blythe established it in 1931 for the local community. The Richards family bought it in 1950, and its been through three Genera ons of ownership. In 1989 the council applied for a bond to purchase Wayne Golf Course for the City, to extend Blythe Park to create the Sammamish River Trail Greenway. They were quoted as wan ng to protect the open space before it was lost to developers. They tried again in 1990.
In 1996 this land was recognized as important through the purchase of development rights on the front 9 when a Conserva on Easement was established for residents of Bothell and King County to enjoy the open space in perpetuity. The owners were quoted as saying they wanted to preserve this land so their kids could enjoy it.
In 1997 The Open Space Taxa on was approved, reducing taxes by 90% for the Richards. Assistant City Manager Manny Ocampo said this is, “The last really big open space in Bothell.” Preserving the back 9 was in Bothell’s long term plan.
7 In the last two years, the Wayne Golf Course has been offered to the City for purchase, with no public response found.
The property is unique. It serves as a view corridor adjacent to the Burke-Gilman Trail, State Route 522, 96th Avenue, and forms a greenway along the Sammamish River, providing scenic value to the public, recrea onal open space and precious habitat for fish and wildlife.
The Conserva on Easement outlines rights for the city to acquire Wayne Golf Course. However, the city hasn't purchased the land despite outlining its desire to acquire the land in many of its plans since 1989. We understand the City has limited financial resources. We want to help them, working with the Richards.
Combined with Blythe Park, we have a wonderful opportunity to open Wayne Golf Course to the Burke-Gilman Trail and create a signature park for the rapidly growing community of Bothell and surrounding areas. This is important to the people of Bothell and surrounding areas.
8 My name is Jody Galvin… I’m a wildlife biologist and I work for the regional conserva on organiza on Forterra. I’m speaking here tonight though as a private ci zen from the north Kirkland area.
I want to just talk a li le bit about the environmental concerns and poten al impacts associated with any decisions made on the property. We all know that we live in a highly urbanized and heavily impacted watershed. Mul ple studies have found the aqua c habitat within the Sammamish River corridor to be severely degraded, and I actually have a chapter from one of these studies today that I will leave with you when I’m done.
The story of the Sammamish River corridor is very similar to the story of a lot of our urban streams and urban rivers. We’re dealing with a watershed where more than half of the aqua c habitat has been lost. The in-stream condi ons lack diversity, the channels and the substrates have been altered and are no longer suitable for spawning habitat in a lot of the areas. The na ve plant communi es are increasingly rare, water temperatures are elevated along with nutrients and pollutants. Flows have been altered where we have more flooding in the winters and lower in-stream flows during the summers. All of this impacts our fish and wildlife species.
9 We have ESA-listed chinook and coho that use the Sammamish river as well as sockeye salmon and the very rare Lake Sammamish kokanee which uses the Lake Sammamish watershed for all of its life cycle. What I think is really interes ng about this par cular project, and I think this is reflec ve of all of the work I’ve been doing in this field for the last seven years just here in the Sea le area. It’s very rare that you have 84 acres of open space in an urban area along with 4675 feet of river frontage on a property that been iden fied in mul ple studies as a prime loca on to improve stream and riparian condi ons. You also have an ac ve community interested in protec ng the property, support from the county, support from Olympia, and perhaps rarest, sellers that will actually sit down at the table with you and talk to you about the future of the property. So with all of this in mind and given the current request for increasing zoning on the property, I just really ask the city of Bothell to take this opportunity to be an ac ve partner at the table to inves gate any opportuni es that are available to protect this greater front and back 9 property and to make sure that you thoroughly review all the environmental studies before you make any decisions about the future use of the property.
10 Fish
In the most recent data, volunteer fish spo ers counted chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon in the Sammamish River. Another species that hatches and spawns in the Sammamish watershed is the rare Lake Sammamish kokanee. This species of salmon spends its en re life cycle in fresh water. The decline of this species has been a ributed in part to altered storm water flows and dissolved oxygen levels, Development along the Sammamish River and its tributaries endangers the kokanee and other aqua c species.
Birds All these images of birds were taken by a local resident on Wayne Golf Course.
Winter and spring are prime mes for bird watching on the Sammamish. Canada geese and mallard ducks are regular inhabitants. In winter, cormorants, mergansers, and wigeons can be spo ed. A pair of bald eagles raises offspring every year in a tree on Riverbend Drive feeding from the Wayne Back 9 area. Herons feed in the river all year-round. These animals are directly affected by water quality and the amount of food available.
11 Mammals
O ers, muskrats, and beavers are year-round residents of the Sammamish River. Beavers are more likely to be seen in the shallower part of the river near the Park at Bothell Landing, but the other animals can be viewed near the golf course. The increased development of the Waynita Drive area (Over 250 lots in the last few years) has reduced the habitat for wildlife, deer are now a regular visitor on the golf course at dawn.
The golf course and Blyth Park, in combina on with the Burke Gilman and Sammamish River trails, offer a respite from the urbaniza on of Bothell. It is incumbent upon us to preserve this precious resource to assure that wildlife and humans can coexist in this ecosystem.
12 13 The recrea onal opportuni es that Wayne Golf Course has will a ract people from all over to the city of Bothell.
Wayne Golf course has approximately 84 acres of open field land and wooded property and about 4675 feet of riverfront property on the Sammamish River. It’s adjacent to Blyth park and could easily be connected, crea ng a recrea onal corridor up and down the Sammamish river and the Burke-Gilman trail. It has recrea onal opportuni es including open field recrea on, passive recrea on, hiking, mountain biking, dog parks, wildlife viewing and water recrea on on the Sammamish River. The woods behind the back 9 has an interconnected trail system that connects to Blyth park trail system. This trail system could be updated and using the Burke- Gilman trail and other open space as connectors could be linked to other large trail systems like North creek forest and St. Edwards state park. Crea ng a great place to hike, trail run, wildlife view and mountain bike.
14 The open fields could be used for many types of recrea onal ac vi es that the community needs and help the city of Bothell meet its shor all 675.5 acres short of core park land to meet the recommended na onal standards according to the 2014 Parks and Rec Ac on Program. That same Ac on Program outlined the Goal PR-A39: Acquire the land or obtain development rights to Wayne Golf Course, Back 9.
The water ac vity op ons and access to the Sammamish River creates many possibili es. Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding have become very popular in this area and could con nue to go and a ract people to Bothell.
15 This land could be used as a signature hub of recrea on for this area that connects to the downtown corridor by the river and the Burke-Gilman trail. The Clubhouse on the front 9 is a perfect loca on for a parks and rec hub that rents outdoor equipment, has a small eatery, and interpre ve center. Drawing people from all over the surrounding area. The image above was created by a professional architect who donated his me, as he cares about what happens to the area.
The top 5 recrea onal ac vi es in the state of Washington are all opportuni es on the Wayne golf course land: Walking Running and jogging Wildlife viewing Bicycle riding Playground use
16 According to the Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recrea on in Washington State study prepared January 2015, Outdoor Recrea on brings in 20.5 Billion dollars of Economic Contribu ons to the state of Washington per year.
With all the recrea onal opportuni es in the state of Washington local parks have the most use with 189,915 par cipant days per year with an average of 27 visit days per year per person. The next most used recrea onal land type is public waters with 101,701 par cipant days per year.
The ac vi es on the screen contributed large amounts of money to the Washington state economy in 2014 Recrea onal space brings money and interest to the area. It brings money to local businesses, in 2014 recrea on related contribu ons to local businesses like restaurants, Grocery stores, accommoda ons, gas sta ons, and fees to recrea on providers was $1,933,961,000.
17 Senator Rosemary McAuliffe made this statement. Outlining the value to families, job and revenue.
We have an opportunity to do something great. To create an ac ve vibrant lifestyle in the city of Bothell that will a ract people to this area for years to come. This land and the park it could become could be a significant economic driver for the City. Please work with OneBothell and ci zens of this community to find a way to preserve this land for future genera ons.
18 19 I am speaking here today as ci zen of Bothell. I moved to Bothell to be a part of what I feel Bothell was to become. When we choose to move here and we did not look at it like Snohomish Vs. King County.
This is one of the last big open spaces in Bothell. It would make for a wonderful gathering place for families like mine to enjoy the outdoors and recrea on along with our neighbors and friends
We all live in Bothell and we all have issues. The community who live in Snohomish County are just as concerned about Wayne Land as those in King County. The opportunity Wayne land represents for my family, and the fear of it being taken away by development. It is a Bothell community resource and everyone from Bothell no ma er what county should be able to enjoy this space as well as surrounding ci es.
As a member of the Bothell community living in Snohomish County please reach out to us on this issue. Don’t exclude us as we are all part of this community and should be able to work together for what’s best.
20 21 We are mee ng with our state legislators on the 13th of February. Senator Rosemary McAuliffe and Representa ves Luis Moscoso and Derek Stanford have agreed to meet in Olympia with leaders of OneBothell.org. We are mee ng with Senator Andy Hill from outside our district on the 13th also. This is a real privilege for OneBothell.org. We are inves ga ng poten al state funds available for land purchase, which will be our main topic of conversa on.
We have the support of King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski. We have the support of some of the members of the City council in this room. We’re in discussions with professional organiza ons and we’re confident of their support. We are inves ga ng private equity funding sources. We have met with the Wayne Golf Course owners. They are, “Hopeful we can find a way to proceed that allows all of us to achieve our objec ves.”
22 23 We have had phone calls with a few of you. But no official support.
24 25 Your ac ons in the upcoming weeks will define you. This is a call to ac on that cannot go on any longer. Respec ully you don’t have the right to make a decision on something so significant in this community without public comment. This is not a simple land transac on where someone is offering you a parcel to buy. This land was wri en in a conserva on easement where approx. 900,000 dollars was paid by the taxpayers of King County for which the city of Bothell was given the right of first opportunity to save the land in perpetuity for all to enjoy. The community of Bothell should work to purchase the Front and Back 9 as wri en in the contract easement. Simply saying we don’t have the money is not an excuse. Organiza ons like OneBothell have worked with the city to save other land within our community
WHY NOT WAYNE which has been part of the plan since an offer was made by the city manager in 1989.
26 To Dale Training fire rescue we need space to train water rescue and other will this land work for that. Parks / Public Safety. We can use the land to have community events and gathering for public safety help To Bill Parks get other ci es involved, speak with King County, the City of Sea le, Kirkland. I have personally spoken with other parks folks and they are willing to help. To Mark You said during the last mee ng. We don’t have the right to stop any development or block a sale. We should work with the Richards to purchase the property, which would stop development. Don’t allow it to slip away. Help us work with the Richards, County and State. You men oned to me this is an issue with only 1 or 2 associa ons. Clearly there’s not 850 plus people living in those associa ons. Bothell is made up of many associa ons but we are one community whether King or Snohomish County. Everyone needs to be heard please just listen.
27 To Tris I have heard you speak about Bothell Snohomish County and we hear tonight that this is an issue for them also. Help us make sure are community is not divided but united by reaching out to those in Snohomish county and hear their needs as well. We are all neighbors of the same Bothell. To Andy If we can work together on grant funding, this can really be a special place for fish and wildlife for future genera ons. It starts with us! Please help us apply for and get this funding. We have something special in our community that others would travel to see. To Tom Last week you showed that passion s ll exists in these se ngs. This is what we need to keep things moving forward. We need your passion to help push things forward.
28 To Bob The city manager in the past found a way to meet with the council and put forward an offer on the course. That resulted in the conserva on easement. Please do not waste another minute. We suggest you meet with the council and find a way to work with the Richards, County and State to acquire this land for our community as it was intended.
To the Mayor The buck stops with you. Take your developer hat off as I have. Listen to your community OneBothell. We are trying to work with the city, county and state to preserve something special for our community. Don’t use a failed parks bond as an excuse. Listen to the community on why the bond failed. We are fortunate that those before us put the first opportunity of purchase in the easement so future genera ons can enjoy the Front and Back 9 of Wayne golf course. My family has been part of Bothell for the be er part of 49 years.
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