Local activists saved a no-name park from destruction. That’s a big deal | Opinion
Score another one for the activists — and the agitators.
Put another mark in the win column for concerned citizens — the kind with too much time on their hands, prone to messing up government’s sprint toward the future with their annoying habit of paying attention (and caring).
As Daniel Beekman of the Seattle Times recently reported, the prize, this time, is roughly 11 acres of Federal Way parkland that was targeted for the development of a new city operations and maintenance facility. As of last week, those plans have been scuttled, saving two ballfields, the city’s only skatepark and a handful of other locally beloved outdoor amenities.
Things fell apart after opponents of the project brought the $42 million plan — which appeared to be moving full steam ahead after being approved by the Federal Way City Council last year — to the attention of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. After careful review, officials from the state office reminded city decision-makers that any lost parkland would need to be replaced, thanks to federal grants that originally helped develop the annex. Apparently that small detail had been lost in the shuffle. (Weird how that happens.)
According to Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, the new reality — which negates any savings that might be achieved by developing on existing city land — doomed the idea. The city will now focus on finding a different location for a new operations and maintenance facility, which still desperately needs to be built.
“It’s time to turn the page,” Ferrell told the Times.
Probably for the best.
So why should you care? Simple: Yes, we’re talking about a small park in a suburb to the north that’s likely foreign to many News Tribune readers. Just a few blocks removed from the strip malls and traffic of Highway 99, the 11-acre annex — which is across the street from the more established and better-known Steel Lake Park — isn’t much to write home about. On a recent Friday morning, the grounds were quiet, aside from a few recreationists defying the cold.
But this isn’t just about some park you’ve never heard of. That’s the thing. At its root, what happened in Federal Way is a testament to the power of local residents staying involved.
It’s also a reminder for often beleaguered elected officials that all that grating “public process” remains as important as ever.
Think about it. Last summer, paving over Steel Lake Annex to make way for a new operations and maintenance facility felt like a done deal. The Federal Way Council had voted 4-3 to approve the plan, despite concerns raised by many citizens, and construction was slated to begin next year. In an area that’s already being transformed by Sound Transit light rail construction — and one that’s predominantly home to people of color and a population earning less than King County’s area median income — it was just another new project on the books. Green space slated to be paved. A victim of necessity, and prudent city cost savings.
Now, thanks in significant part to the never-say-die efforts of locals — the same brand of sticklers, rabble-rousers and retirees that often band together in situations like these — that’s not going to happen.
As it turns out, the critics were right all along. The project was a bad idea, and there’s something valuable to be learned from what it took to prove it.
Here’s the important lesson for all of us:
There’s no doubt that public process, and the often slow pace of progress, can be tiresome. It can be irritating when city council meetings run three hours, with a never-ending lineup of aggrieved residents adding their two cents to the mix, some of them questionably informed. At a time when so many things feel urgent, it can be tempting for government to treat process as malleable formality. Critics can be unfairly vicious, and often represent a vocal minority. Passionate residents can be wrong, whether they’re fighting common good housing initiatives or emergency homeless shelters.
Still, every once in a while, the people showing up to the meetings have a point.
Sometimes — like in the case of Steel Lake Annex — the activists win, and it’s good for the civic soul when they do.
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
