The Board of Park Commissioners will host a public hearing on Thursday, June 11, to take comments on Supplemental Use Guidelines for Greenbelts and Natural Areas.
The public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Kenneth R. Bounds Board Room at Seattle Parks and Recreation headquarters, 100 Dexter Ave. N.
The Supplemental Use Guidelines will serve as a transparent tool to evaluate use proposals in Parks’ classified Natural Areas and Greenbelts. This tool will include a checklist of criteria that will allow for low-intensity, passive and active recreation activities while minimizing adverse impacts on the environment. It will provide criteria to determine the compatibility of activities in these areas, their design character and level of use; while providing access, opportunity and sustainability.
The intent of this effort is to develop values-based guidelines for the appropriate use of Seattle’s natural areas and greenbelts. This process will result in a vision for natural areas and greenbelts that will maintain the native forest ecosystem, protect public safety and enhance positive uses over the long-term.
Parks staff will present their findings based on their robust outreach efforts, which includes feedback from key stakeholders, the mind-mixer website, and the mini-summit held in April.
Those who want to give input, but are not able to come to the meeting can give written comments, which bear equal weight to verbal comments. Please email comments to rachel.acosta@seattle.gov.
The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners is a nine-member citizen board created by the City Charter. Four members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council; four members are appointed by the City Council; and one member is a young adult appointed by the YMCA Get Engaged PROGRAM (http://pugetsoundoff.org/getengaged).
The Board generally meets twice a month, normally on the second and fourth Thursday, to advise the Parks and Recreation Superintendent, the Mayor, and the City Council on parks and recreation matters.