On Monday, October 7, the Council approved legislation creating a new Bryant Park to replace the land that will be taken for the construction of the new SR520 approaches in the Montlake area. The Council unanimously approved three pieces of legislation that exchanged Arboretum property for the new property, accepted funds from WSDOT to develop […]

As the SR 520 project continues into final design on the Seattle side, the City has concluded negotiations with the State on the first phase of mitigation funds for the Arboretum. The $7.8 million covered in this agreement will be used to develop a one mile multi-use trail for bicycle and pedestrian access connecting East […]

On Monday, March 11, the Council unanimously approved an ordinance approving a Memorandum of Agreement between the Washington State Department of Transportation, the University of Washington and the City of Seattle that is the first step towards providing full mitigation of the impacts of the SR 520 project on parks and open space. The agreement […]

  On a cheerful, sunny Friday evening this September, the Belltown Community Center opened its doors at 415 Bell Street.  It was great to see several hundred residents touring the rooms, enjoying music in the alley behind the Center and food donated by Belltown restaurants, and finally feeling the love of City government for one […]

Seattle has accepted a big challenge:  to turn around the loss of tree cover from developing a City on this formerly forested land, and to restore and regrow as much of the urban forest as we can.  Trees not only because they make the City more beautiful and our neighborhoods more livable, but also help […]

On Monday, August 13, the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 31399, which creates the framework for the new Seattle downtown waterfront.  The resolution supports the direction developed by the citizen group that has been working for years on this project, the Central Waterfront Committee, lays out a funding plan, and delineates the timeline for the next […]

On Saturday, October 1, the Parks Department and community partners officially broke ground on the Rainier Beach Urban Farm, which will transform the seven acres of the former Atlantic City Nursery into a working organic urban farm and demonstration wetlands restoration site.  The Parks Department nursery was closed in January, 2010.  Seattle Tilth and the […]

On Monday, August 8, the Council approved a proposed revision to the lease agreement for Building 11 at Magnuson Park, but the investors who are currently renovating the building under a 30-year lease with the City have publicly stated that they will not sign the new agreement.  The investors initiated the process to revise the […]

The Parks Department took a major hit in the 2011 budget and lost dozens of employees – but it could have been worse.  The Mayor’s proposed budget would have converted three community spaces to offices and cut drop in hours by up to 80% at five community centers proposed for ‘limited use’, with no plans […]

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee has completed a report on the first two years of work on the $146 million levy approved by the voters in 2008.  The City’s general fund has been strained by the recession, and the Parks Department is facing difficult challenges in keeping its operations going.  However, the […]