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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEPA EPIC-ND-20 - CITY OF TUKWILA - PARK AND OPEN SPACE PLAN (CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM)PARK AND OPEN SPACE CIP EPIGND -20 CITY OF TUKWILA �a STATEMENT OF DECLARATION ON THE PROPOSED PARK AND OPEN SPACE PROGRAM January 16, 1976 .: ;. Pursuant to Chapter 18.98 of the Tukwila Municipal Code dealing with environmental requirements and the State Environmental Policy Act • of 1971.. Proposed legislation to adopt a Park and Open Space Program with a Capital Improvement Program. CITY OF TUKWILA - APPLICANT INTRODUCTION: The following is a statement of declaration by the undersigned as the Responsible Official pursuant to Chapter 18.98 of the Tukwila Municipal Code and the Washington State Environmental Policy Act of 1971. An Environmental. Assessment has been completed on the proposed legislation to adopt a Park and Open Space Program and Capital Improvement Program. DECLARATION:. Based upon the environmental assessment submitted, the City of Tukwila Municipal Code Chapter 18.98 dealing with environmental policy, and the guidelines issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology for the . implementation of the State Environmental Policy Act, I.find that this proposed action will not have a significant effect upon the environment and therefore an environmental impact statement is not required... CITY OF TUKWILA Stoknes, Planning Director CITY OF TUKWILA ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRELIMINARY PARK AND OPEN SPACE PROGRAM January 8, 1976 This environmental assessment has been prepared to report on the potential impacts of the City of Tukwila upon the adoption of the proposed Park and Open Space Program and Capital Improvement Program. A. THE PROPOSED ACTION: 1. The proposed action is the adoption by the City of Tukwila of a park and open space program with a capital improvement program attached. 2. This program is justified in that it will enable the city to acquire matching monies to supplement local monies in the develop ment of parks and trails, and their acquisition, as well as be useful as a local decision tool by the City Council. 3. Location: Projects proposed to be implemented in this park plan vary in location throughout the community, the facilities location based upon generally accepted standards as identified in section three of the document, as well as citizen participation and Park Board involvement. 4. Historical Background: This proposed park and open space program is intended to be an update of the original park and open space plan adopted by the City and developed by Olsen, Richert and Bognold Associates, in 1969. 5. Public Participation: This document has had considerable public input to date and will receive more in the future. Actions occuring to date include involvement by approximately thirty citizens during a published meeting to receive their ratings on the various project proposals. This same type of presentation was given to the Park Board to develop a rating of their priorities on projects. Public participation will be available at the following meetings: 1. During a public hearing before the Planning Commission on January 22, 1976. 2. At a published public hearing before the City Council after receiving recommendation from the Planning Commission. Environmental Assnt Preliminary Park a, pen Space Program Page 2 8 January 1976 Additional public input would be available to the Park Board, Planning Commission and City Council at any study meetings they. should wish to hold on this Park and Open Space Program. •" h 6. Relationship to Existing Laws, Policies and Plans: The City of Tukwila presently has an adopted Park PraTijnch is more than five. years old and consequently outdated. The City of Tukwila to date has not taken action to adopt a capital improvement program for parks. When adopted, this plan and capital improvement program will take the place of the existing park plan and should be implemented through annual budget allocations. The City of Tukwila_ operates as a third class municipality under the laws of the State of Washington. Its authority to acquire, maintain and operate parks, playgrounds and other outdoor areas is contained in RCW 67.20.010. The content of this document follows the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation procedural guidelines as contained in section 02.04.000, the short form approach. In order to qualify for the long form approach, for those cities with a population in excess of 5,000, it would merely be a matter of combining the general goals and open space objectives and policies of the comprehensive plan with this park and open space program. Therefore, the mechanisms are available for both the short and long forms without any further City Council action . since all portions of both would have been adopted by the City Council. 7 Decisions Remaining Before Implementation of the Legislation:, At the writing of this assessment, the proposecT'Ic'9is`lation must appear before the Tukwila Planning Commission at a public hearing and a favorable recommendation must be passed to the Tukwila City Council. The public hearing is scheduled for January 22, 1976. As a policy, the Tukwila City Council holds public hearings on most items that public hearings are held on at the Planning Commission level. It is difficult to estimate when this date will be since it is undetermineable to say when the Planning Commission recommendation to the Council will occur. However, once the City Council receives the document and holds a public hearing, the normal procedure is to take two additional meetings for first reading and adoption of the ordinance adopting the Park and Open Space Program by reference. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: At the present time the City of Tukwila has a park plan which is over five years old and consequently outdated since it would no longer qualify as a guideline for providing matching funds by the .Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation. The City also at this time does not have a capital improvement program for parks, which is also a requirement prior to funding by the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Roci'o,rtio►r. Environmental Assess'', t Page 3 Preliminary Park and Open Space Program 8 January 1976 Based on'a needs analysis and input by citizens in the community, it has been determined that there is generally not adequate park and opdn space facilities within the City of Tukwila and its associated Planning Area. _ C. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION: The environmental impact of this legislation would be minimal. Parks and playgrounds generally are developed to a low intensity which minimizes disturbances to the natural environment. Where major disturbances are needed during the development phase of any park or playfield facility or other, an analysis of the impact of that project should be undertaken at the time of development. The primary unavoidable adverse effects of the Park and Open Space Program after adoption would be in its implementation. At such time temporary distrubances to vegetation and top soil in those areas that will be developed will probably occur. Efforts will be made to avoid disturbance of fragile areas and to minimize any impacts on the environment. D. ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED ACTION: The primary action proposed here is the adoption of a park plan and capital improvement program. The primary option or alternative to this is to not adopt either one. Other alternatives would be that which is contained within the document, primarily chapter 5 dealing with the Capital Improvement Program. Other chapters of the document are primarily factual in nature and do not propose . specific acquisition or development programs but set the stage for their prioritization. The basic alternatives available then in the Capital Improvement Program would be the changing of priorities of the various projects and /or.additions of new projects and deletion of some proposed. For a determination of the proposed priorities, reference should be made to chapter 5 of the Park and Open Space Program. For ideas on alternative projects that could be included in the Capital Improvement Program, an investigation should be made by the reader of Chapter 4 of the proposed Park and Open Space Program, ratings of proposals. In this section are contained various proposals and ratings as given by citizens and Park Board members. E. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL SHORT TERM ENVIRONMENTAL USES AND THE MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT OF LONG TERM PRODUCTIVITY: The proposed legislation is intended to benefit the public interest and the citizens of Tukwila both in the short and long term and provide them with adequate recreational opportunity. This type of recreational land use will hopefully encourage better land management practices and development practices in and surrounding these areas. As a statement of fact, recreational areas that are done in an attractive manner can be a stimulus to neighborhood improvement and general development patterns.