Published February 9 2016
Also, Olympic Pipeline franchise and ST3 discussed
The City Council expressed enthusiastic support Monday for a long-range parks plan updated to include downtown urban trails and parts of a "Grand Connection" from Meydenbauer Bay to the Eastside Rail Corridor.
"Great work," Mayor John Stokes said after a presentation of the draft 2016 Parks & Open Space System Plan. Stokes particularly praised the "connectivity piece, with the trails we have."
Parks staff and Parks & Community Services Board chair Kathy George presented the draft plan to obtain feedback from the council. The Park Board approved the draft plan in November and recommended approval by the council. Staff will present the plan to the council for final approval in the future.
The Parks & Open Space System Plan, updated every six years, includes an inventory of the city's parks (including facilities), trails and open spaces, plan goals and long-range capital project objectives. While the plan focus areas have changed little since the 1987 edition of the plan, the capital projects list changes with each update.
The city conducted extensive outreach to develop the 2016 plan, with almost 575 residents participating in a random survey and more than 575 responses to a web survey. Residents ranked trails, open areas and waterfront parks 1, 2 and 3 respectively among their priorities. The plan was also aligned with the Comprehensive Plan and other long-range plans.
Based on public feedback and city studies, additions to the capital projects list includes:
- new neighborhood parks in Eastgate and Wilburton;
- improved undeveloped park sites in Bridle Trails and Newport Hills;
- shelters and large-group picnic areas; and
- redevelopment of Sweyolocken Boat Launch.
Since 2010, as capital projects have been completed, they are removed from the plan's list, including Bridle Trails Corner Park, a new Bellevue Youth Theatre, a new visitor center at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, as well as sports field upgrades at Newport Hills, Bannerwood and Hidden Valley parks.
Olympic Pipeline franchise agreement
After a thorough briefing about Olympic Pipeline’s safety measures and oversight by federal and state agencies, councilmembers said they were prepared to renew the city's franchise agreement with the company regarding Olympic’s pipeline through Bellevue.
Transportation staff reported on technological advances, including "smart pig" robots that inspect pipes from the inside and new pipe coatings that prevent corrosion. They also noted that Olympic will share emergency response plans, damage prevention procedures and other information about its pipeline as part of the franchise agreement.
The city has had a franchise agreement with Olympic since 1964, when it installed its first petroleum pipeline through Bellevue. The draft 10-year agreement calls for Olympic to pay Bellevue an annual fee of $22,500, with the rate adjusted for inflation each year. Staff will bring the 10-year franchise agreement to the council for approval on Feb. 16 (agenda memo).
Sound Transit 3 finances discussed
In a follow-up to a presentation to the council on Jan. 11 about the planned Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, Sound Transit officials answered questions about the financial policy for ST3 on Monday.
ST3 would guide transit operations and infrastructure improvements in the Puget Sound region, including projects such as light rail, bus rapid transit and regional express bus service. Bellevue and other Eastside cities issued a joint comment letter to Sound Transit about ST3 candidate projects.
A draft ST3 plan is expected to be issued for public comment in late March, with a final plan slated for completion in June. The public will have an opportunity to vote on an ST3 ballot measure in the November general election.