This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Parks Dept plans to try again -- Let's Make Some Noise to Save Wellington Park!

Neighbors to Save Wellington Park, Neighbor
|


Although the initial ruling on the SEPA appeal was in our favor, the Parks Department has not abandoned the sports complex plan for Wellington Park.  According to the Parks Department site, the Parks Department expects to issue a SEPA determination in fall of 2013.  That means that the Parks Department will be asking the County Council to approve their design for developing Wellington Park very soon.


During the original discussions of the sports complex design, the Parks Department virtually completed its plan without significant input from the local community.  We expect the Parks Department to submit their sports complex plan to the County Council for approval without significant changes.   This is why we're still reviewing notices from the County, attending County Council meetings and watching for the scheduled vote on the Parks Department plan.  Once the plan presentation is scheduled, we will send out all the information about that meeting.  Please plan to come to the meeting, make a comment, and carry the fight for an appropriate Park to the County Council Members! 

What can we do right now to support the fight for for an appropriate Park?  Let's make some noise and make sure everyone knows about the destruction that the Parks Department has proposed for this rural site!


  • Write letters to every area newspaper.    
    • You can contact the Woodinville Weekly  -- 350 word limit, letters must be submitted by Thursday noon for the following week's edition.
    • You can also contact the Everett Herald  -- 250 word limit, submit your letter anytime for publication in the daily edition and / or the online edition.
    • We have a blog on the Woodinville Patch; we are happy to have supportive comments!
    • You can also contact the Seattle Times  -- 200 word limit, submit your letter anytime for online publication.


  • Write, call or email every member of the County Council, and the new County Executive, John Lovick.  Here is the contact information you'll need:   http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Council/Districts/">  for County Council members.  You can reach Executive Lovick at http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Executive/Contact/">.

  • Talk to your friends and neighbors.  The Parks Department is about to try again to force their commercial tournament facility onto a small rural site at the top of a hill.  It was a bad idea the first time and it still won't fit this site.  Don't be fooled by their "phases".  If the construction is included in the Plan, and the Plan is approved, the Parks Department can build it.  And they will likely do the demolition, tree removal, and hill levelling all at the same time -- at the start of the project -- to save money.  Anyone who lives in this community, or travels through it, should fight this ill conceived idea!  Put the sports complex where it can be better utilized and more easily accessed.

  • Make a donation to the legal fund.  We have the law on our side, and we have a top land use attorney to help us.  Our attorney is working with the attorney for the City of Woodinville on both SEPA and Land Use appeals. Woodinville has expressed similar concerns regarding the proposed development of the Wellington Hills site, and we greatly appreciate their support.

    • Our battle isn't over until the Parks Department scraps its plan to build a sports complex, works with the local community to design an appropriate community Park, and submits that Plan to the County Council.  We need to make it clear to the County Council that we want a COMMUNITY park that fits this site and this neighborhood!
    We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

    The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

    More from Woodinville