Owen Beach will close for a year starting this summer. It’ll look different when it reopens
A popular beach at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma will close for renovations starting this summer.
Owen Beach will be offline to the public for about a year. An exact start date for construction has not been announced.
When the beach reopens, it will look a little different.
The $4 million project not only includes a new restroom building, picnic pavilion, children’s play area and improved parking, but those facilities will be farther inland, away from the beach.
“The design for Owen Beach is we’re pulling back away from the beach and retreating up slope somewhat,” said Marty Stump, deputy director of planning and development for Metro Parks.
Owen Beach’s promenade will move 18 feet inland. The lawn will move 34 feet inland, and the parking lot will move 57 feet.
The reason?
Sea levels at Owen Beach are estimated to rise high enough to put the current facilities at risk of being underwater in the future if action isn’t taken.
“This is really the first major project where we are taking into account climate change and sea level rise,” Stump said.
Owen Beach was established by Metro Parks in 1957 but was used by people prior to that. Of three miles of shoreline that makes up Point Defiance Park, about 1,000 feet of it is at Owen Beach, making it a popular spot for beach-goers.
Over time, facilities have fallen into disrepair, with aged drainage systems that can cause flooding on the park’s lawn.
In 2014, voters passed a $197 million bond that included funding for improvements at Point Defiance Park, including Owen Beach. Early in the planning process, Metro Parks partnered with Washington Sea Grant, an organization hosted by the University of Washington that provides research, education and outreach on marine-related issues.
“When they started looking at the parking lot and buildings, they said some of this is in harm’s way in 2050, 2060,” said Nicole Fagin, coastal management specialist for Washington Sea Grant.
By 2090, the net sea level rise is estimated to increase by more than six feet:
▪ 3.6 feet FEMA flood storm surge increase
▪ 2.5 feet sea level rise increase with 20 percent probability, according to data from the Washington Coastal Resilience Project
There’s no mandate that forces agencies to build behind a projected sea-level rise; Metro Parks made the decision to take that on.
“Those of us who are in positions of stewardship today, we’re challenged to keep the park open and accessible and healthy and safe to the public for the next hundred years and beyond,” Stump said. “It takes ongoing reinvestment to keep the infrastructure intact.”
Stump said it’s better to take action now rather than be caught off guard down the road.
“The measures that we’re taking now are somewhat reactive in that we are responding to some emerging conditions. But it’s also proactive, right? What we’re trying to do is really set an example for this project and future projects to really anticipate the sea level rise,” Stump said.
Other Owen Beach improvements
▪ ADA accessibility, including ramps and parking
▪ Habitat restoration and removal of concrete walkways
▪ Utility improvements
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:35 AM.
