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 visiAng our website. It is clear to us that people from Bothell, Snohomish, Redmond, Woodinville, Kirkland, Kenmore and Seale ciAes all along the Burke-Gilman Trail believe Wayne land is very important. to them. At this Ame, 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 Seale from our team. 4 5 6 This precious land, along the Burke-Gilman Trail, has been a recreaonal corridor since Joseph Blythe established it in 1931 for the local community. The Richards family bought it in 1950, and its been through three Generaons 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 wanAng 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 Conservaon 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 Taxaon 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, recreaonal open space and precious habitat for fish and wildlife. The Conservaon 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 conservaon organizaon Forterra. I’m speaking here tonight though as a private ciAzen from the north Kirkland area. I want to just talk a liHle bit about the environmental concerns and potenAal impacts associated with any decisions made on the property. We all know that we live in a highly urbanized and heavily impacted watershed. MulAple studies have found the aquac 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 aquac habitat has been lost. The in-stream condiAons 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 nave plant communiAes 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 interesAng about this parAcular 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 Seale 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 idenfied in mulple studies as a prime locaon to improve stream and riparian condions. You also have an acAve community interested in protecAng 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 acAve partner at the table to invesAgate any opportuniAes 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 spoHers 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 enAre life cycle in fresh water. The decline of this species has been aributed in part to altered storm water flows and dissolved oXygen levels, Development along the Sammamish River and its tributaries endangers the kokanee and other aquac species. Birds All these images of birds were taken by a local resident on Wayne Golf Course. Winter and spring are prime Ames for bird watching on the Sammamish. Canada geese and mallard ducks are regular inhabitants. In winter, cormorants, mergansers, and wigeons can be spoHed. 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 OHers, 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 combinaon with the Burke Gilman and Sammamish River trails, offer a respite from the urbanizaon 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 recreaonal opportuniAes that Wayne Golf Course has will aract 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, creang a recreaonal corridor up and down the Sammamish river and the Burke-Gilman trail. It has recreaonal opportuniAes including open field recreaon, passive recreaon, hiking, mountain biking, dog parks, wildlife viewing and water recreaon 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. Creang a great place to hike, trail run, wildlife view and mountain bike. 14 The open fields could be used for many types of recreaonal acAviAes that the community needs and help the city of Bothell meet its shorkall 675.5 acres short of core park land to meet the recommended naonal standards according to the 2014 Parks and Rec AcAon Program. That same AcAon Program outlined the Goal PR-A39: Acquire the land or obtain development rights to Wayne Golf Course, Back 9. The water acAvity opAons and access to the Sammamish River creates many possibiliAes. Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding have become very popular in this area and could conAnue to go and aract people to Bothell. 15 This land could be used as a signature hub of recreaon 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 locaon for a parks and rec hub that rents outdoor equipment, has a small eatery, and interpreAve center. Drawing people from all over the surrounding area. The image above was created by a professional architect who donated his Ame, as he cares about what happens to the area. The top 5 recreaonal acAviAes in the state of Washington are all opportuniAes on the Wayne golf course land: Walking Running and jogging Wildlife viewing Bicycle riding Playground use 16 According to the Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recreaon in Washington State study prepared January 2015, Outdoor Recreaon brings in 20.5 Billion dollars of Economic ContribuAons to the state of Washington per year.