10-105 - King Conservation District No 9 - Duwamish Gardens Grant Funding

Browse Search

The Duwamish Gardens project is located in the Duwamish Estuary Subwatershed of the Green /Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed (WRIA 9). The property is located in an industrial /commercial area of the city of Tukwila. It will act as an open space feature in a string of habitats along the river The City of Tukwila is concentrating on open space in the northern half of the city along the river because of the combined benefits for ecological values, salmon recovery, and recreation. During the final, construction phase, a short path leading to an overlook of the restored habitat portion of the site will be constructed As indicated by development of social trails at other sites along the river, there is greater demand for passive recreation opportunities than available properties. The property is across the river from and easily viewed from the Interurban Regional Trail. The restored site will be easily accessible from the Interurban Trail via the pedestrian friendly East Marginal Way South bridge. Trail users probably represent a wide range of incomes and include people from across the southern King County region. The nearest residential community is immediately southeast of the site and across the river and is lower- to middle income. When restored, this site will include educational and interpretive signs explaining the importance of the river to Indian people in pre- settlement times and the farmers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Signs also will explain the ecological features of the site and the reasons for restoration The Sound Transit LINK light rail line crosses the Duwamish at the east end of the property. The restored site will have exceptional visibility as thousands of LINK passengers each day will gaze on the site as they glide over the Duwamish River. In 2007 and 2008, discussions with the adjacent property owner revealed that the Duwamish Gardens project could potentially have a significant negative impact on the neighbor, who leases his property to a trucking company This impact would have occurred because the movement landward of the shoreline through restoration also would shift the 200 foot jurisdiction of the Shoreline Management Act landward. This shift in jurisdiction would have brought more of the neighbor's property under provisions that would have increased permitting costs and reduced possible land uses, and thus his property value. In response to this potentiality (and a similar situation downstream at North Wind's Weir estuary restoration), Tukwila teamed up with WRIA 9 staff, The Boeing Company, People For Puget Sound, and the Washington State Department of Ecology to push for passage of an amendment to the Shoreline Management Act during the 2009 legislative session This effort paid off with unanimous passage of House Bill 2199. The bill allows local governments such as Tukwila to grant regulatory relief to neighboring properties when a restoration project in an Urban Growth Area moves the Ordinary High Water Mark landward. As a result of this legislation and proposed changes in the city's Shoreline Master Program, the Duwamish Gardens project should have no negative regulatory impacts to the neighboring property (It also should have no negative ecological or drainage impacts.) Based on the popularity of the very similar North Wind's Weir estuary restoration with the employees at neighboring businesses some of whom raised $1,100 to install boulder benches on the site the project may be seen as an amenity benefiting neighboring land uses. 7. Evaluation of Intended Results describe the evaluation mechanisms you will use to track, document, and report that the project has achieved the intended results described in questions 1- 3. Because the purpose of this grant is to develop plans and permits that will allow the final, construction phase, evaluation of grant- funded activities is straightforward Various designs, cost estimates, and permit applications will be prepared as sot forth in the response to Question 3. Progress reports and final reports will summarize the deliverables and electronic copies of each deliverable will be attached to the reports Measures to inonitor and track changes to the ecosystem as a result of the constructed project will be determined during the design phase. Member Jurisdiction WRIA Forum Grant Program, Application July 18, 2008 Page 6 of 7