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Snohomish County officials released a revised concept design this week for the regional sports complex planned to replace the former Wellington Hills Golf & Country Club.
The design for the 100-acre area at 7026 240th St. SE. shows seven activity fields (four with synthetic material) a community center, two playgrounds and picnic shelters. There is a large parking area, maintenance building and an area for storage.
Across 240th Street SE, plans call for a mountain bike facility, two dog parks (one for shy dogs and one for large dogs), picnic tables, community open space and a parking area.
The site would be accessible from entrances from 240th Street SE with a roundabout. Pedestrians will also have access from 240th Street SE and via 156 Avenue NE (Bostian Road).
The proposal includes adding a sidewalk between Snohomish-Woodinville Road and the top of the hill on 240th St SE, and adding a left turn lane on 240th St SE at the intersection of Snohomish-Woodinville Road. Snohomish County Public Works will provide the engineering and design for the roadway improvements along 240th St SE, which is located east of Snohomish-Woodinville Road and leads to the future park, according to information on the Snohomish County website.
The outer edges of the area will have a fence "with gates as requested by property owners," according to the revised concept design, created by Bruce Dees & Associates, a landscape architecture firm in Tacoma specializing in park design.
Earlier this year Snohomish County bought the Wellington Golf Course site from the University of Washington with $9.7 million of $70 million in Brightwater sewage treatment plant mitigation funds agreed to by King and Snohomish Counties.
Part of the negotiations and settlement agreement conducted in 2003 mandated the acquisition of a property within a four-mile radius from Brightwater for:
· Recreational facilities or improvements (any active recreation like a golf course, walking trails)
· Community Resource Center
· Public Safety Improvements
· Habitat Mitigation
Neighbors in King and Snohomish Counties first heard of the Snohomish County Parks Department proposals for the golf course in a public meeting May 8, 2012. In the past few months there have been occasional public and numerous small-group meetings soliciting public input in the development of a master plan for the site.
A nearby group of residents opposed to the project has formed "Neighbors to Save Wellington Park," and hired an attorney to challenge the development.
What do you think of the proposed plan design? Is it workable in the area or does it seem like too much? Tell us in comments.
And it's not accurate to call this proposal a “park”. Yes, they've included perimeter walking/biking trails & two off-leash dog areas & a few picnic tables - but the 60,000 sq. ft. commercial mountain bike building is not a free activity, you’ll have to pay to play-ride on the indoor trails. And for teams to plays sports they will need membership in sports clubs & there are fees for using the fields. The County also plans to rent several of the covered outdoor structures -- the sort of thing a group or club would use for a picnic/party. Parks & Rec expects to have food wagons as in-the-park food vendors - meaning, people using the sports complex won’t need to go to Woodinville for food. The mountain bike business will also be selling bike stuff and accessories. Again, no reason to go to Woodinville. Bottom line: Sno. County Parks & Rec has taken advantage of Brightwater mitigation money which was meant to soften the impact of Brightwater on nearby neighborhoods They bought the Golf Course & their plans are to turn into a money-making mega sports complex - which has virtually nothing to do with nearby homes.
To have a big regional park with 2 large indoor facilities and 700 parking spaces located on the golf course road would be disastrous and so out of character for this rural area. Residents would have to deal with increased traffic on inadequate roads, lots of noise and lights. I moved here because of the rural nature of the area, but the proposed plan will change that. I'm all for parks, in fact, this little corner of Snohomish County could use a nice little park. We have none. Walking trails. Picnic area. Open space. Dog area. Children's play area. But not this big, regional money-making venture with a parking lot the size of Costco's.
Originally, Sno. County's Public Works (roads) had no plans to do anything with the roads in South Snohomish County UNTIL the sports complex was proposed... they are now in the process of assessing the situation and, hopefully will have detail maps of necessary improvements to the roads adjacent to the sports complex. As best as I can tell, that means the intersection of HWY 9 and 240th (across from COSTCO. 240th through the sports complex. And, the intersection of 240th and 156th (or 75th or Bostian Rd., whichever you prefer calling it). Since Public Works had no plans for the area before the proposed sports complex, in order to now do the new work, they will use some of the Brighwater mitigation funds for the job. Again, I haven't seen anything indicating road improvement beyond what I mentioned.
I clicked on the link above and read the statement about the new park. It was stated that the vast majority of daily use will be by local citizens. If the fields in Woodinville are comparable with respect to who uses the fields, the non-local users will represent at least 80% of the players. It's hard to define who is a local person, though. Can you define local for us. How far away can a person live and still be a "Local"? Having the park close when play is completed, around 10:30 pm, would mean there could be a flood of traffic at nearly midnight! By the time a team packs up, showers, loads their cars, and leaves the park, who knows what time area residents will get to sleep. You need a park closing time, period. Lights off, game over, gates closed. I'm anxious to see the traffic study and SEPA....but I can tell you right now that I understand why the neighbors are not happy...
It was written by Tom Teigen the Director of Sno. County's Parks and Rec Dept. - the person who has spearheaded the proposed sports complex.
Snohomish officials made offers on multiple other locations suitable for a regional park. I’m curious to review the bidding documents. Granted, the Wellington Hills location was probably available at a very reasonable price, but I’d want to be assured that the county made serious offers on the other sites, especially if the park could have been built in a more suitable location. Even if the county had to pay more money for commercial property, that option should have been weighed against putting the facility in a residential neighborhood where the impact to the public would very high. If the county saved a lot of money by purchasing property in a residential neighborhood, they should have sufficient funds for making substantial mitigation measures.
Maybe the Snohomish Park will be a boon for the NYSA, but neighbors, taxpayers, and local businesses will not benefit in any real sense. What is really happening is that there is a trade going on. Trade peace and quiet for noisy games and loud cars. Trade flood light for starlight. Trade wildlife for dogs. Trade green grass for blacktop parking lots. Trade light poles for trees. Soccer is a great sport. But the more I think about it, a huge facility like this one really does belong in an area where development has already stripped away the niceties. Put this park in an industrial or commercial area. It doesn’t belong in a residential neighborhood.
Keep up the fabulous education, Dale!! Thank you so much!
However, the issue with Wellington Park is not at all about liking or not liking sports. It's about what that parcel of land CAN or cannot accommodate and also about the specifics in the Mitigation Agreement. The facts are that the proposed improvements (none of which are final and ALL of which are subject to change) are not suitable for this location. The purpose of Snoho County buying a park was to help EASE THE BURDEN of Brightwater on the surrounding citizens -- not increase it. Also, the zoning and Urban Growth Boundary in this part of Snoho county prohibits R-24 residential lots, jails, apartments and condo's. So, none of these items are legally allowed to be built on this property. It is highly unlikely that zoning would be changed to accommodate any build-out like this as it would be absolutely contrary to the Snohomish County Master Plan, UGB, etc. To respond to your question -- NO DEAL. The legal process allows any citizen of Snohomish County to appeal to their government. In fact, this same legal process enabled NON-RESIDENTS of Woodinville to persuade the building of artificial turf fields--we can do the same. This is NOT DONE -- it is only beginning
Yep, sure, you bet ... and that's why PACs, lobbyists and special interest groups are doing so well ... they convince government bureaucrats and lawmakers their special interest niche products are the best deal to vote on. Meanwhile, average citizens think voting in an election is their only responsibility. Special interest groups usually present plans on the low-key, their plans are generally unknown to the general public so that when a vote comes up in a legislative or council session there's generally no opposition and the special interest group usually win. We've seen this happen at the Federal, State and local levels - over and over again. Do you really believe the decision for a mega commercial sports complex was not influenced (or created) by special interest groups? If you think the proposed sports complex popped up as a virginal idea then you're more worried about kids smoking cigarettes than how local politics is done.
Nancy - that is a stunningly inaccurate remark, which I strongly suspect you have no data to back up. I believe that there are more voices of opposition (who aren't all rich) just in this discussion. This blatant "invention" certainly casts a shadow of doubt on your agenda in the role you've taken on as defender of Snohomish Country's plan. What is your motivation? What do you get out of this park?