Politics & Government

Proposed Big Finn Sports Field Upgrade to be Reviewed by City of Kirkland

The city has signed a memorandum with county, which owns Big Finn Hill Park, because with annexation, the park is now inside Kirkland.

The City of Kirkland will evaluate an environmental checklist being prepared for major improvements to a sports field at proposed by a local lacrosse group under an agreement it recently signed with King County.

The memorandum of understanding was worked out between the city and the county, which owns the park, because the park became part of Kirkland when annexation of Finn Hill and other northern neighborhoods  took effect on June 1.

The group Kirkland Youth Lacrosse is proposing a $1.6 million upgrade to the grass field at the 220-acre park, including adding synthetic turf, lights, bleachers and fencing, as part of King County Parks’ Community Partnerships program. Group officials say the growing sport of lacrosse lacks locations because of a serious shortage of sports fields on the Eastside, and that they’ll have to start turning kids aways if they can’t find more places to play.

Some residents who live nearby have expressed concerns and some outright opposition to the project because of the potential for increased noise, activity at night, traffic and fears that it would change the character of the largely forested park. See a Patch story about a June public meeting on the project here.

Kirkland’s role will be limited to evaluating impacts to the environment and neighborhood under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), said Jon Regala, a senior planner with the city, and the King County Council will still decide whether the project can move forward.

“We really don’t have any authority over it other than issuing the (SEPA) permit,” Regala said. “But we do have a major role in the environmental part of it: the noise, lighting, traffic.”

Contrary to one recent news report, the memorandum signed with the county does not mean the project is expected to breeze forward under the city. “It’s too early to say that,” said Regala. “We need to make sure the proposal mitigates any environmental impact.”

Steve Lytle, Kirkland Lacrosse president, said he expects the county council to take up the issue in November. The group is currently hammering out a “use agreement” with the county on exactly how the field would be managed, and that must be approved by the council for the project to move forward.

“I think it’s pretty far on its way to a judgement day,” Lytle said. “It feels like pretty quickly here the powers that be will have it before them, and will either have to fish or cut bait.”

Kirkland Lacrosse filed for a grading permit with the county in May, before annexation, and Kirkland must also sign off on that. However, its memorandum with the county stipulates that the permit has been reviewed and found complete by the city.

The county has already gathered a significant amount of public comment, and earlier this year met with opponents of the project. But the city’s SEPA review will initiate another public comment and appeals period.

Lylte said Kirkland Lacrosse has made every effort possible to alleviate residents’ concerns, including planning to use state-of-the-art lighting that would direct the beams downward and not toward any homes, and agreeing not to use the traditional air horns used in lacrosse games during substitutions.

The group plans to pay for the project over time through donations, and through rental fees it would charge for use of the field by other groups, such as soccer leagues, as stipulated in its use agreement with the county.

“I feel good about its chances, not great,” Lytle said. “The whole thing is a Rubik’s cube. There’s a lot of moving pieces. I don’t think this is a great situation for everyone. There are going to be more people there, until 10 o’clock at night. I don’t think the impacts are going to be as great as some people think, but there will be impacts.”

If the plan meets approval by the city and county, work would probably not start at the site until the spring of 2012, Lytle said.

For updates on the city’s environmental review, which is expected to be finished some time is fall, see its web pages here.

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Kirkland