City of Lake Forest Park News Release

The Lake Forest Park 100-Year Legacy

The Lake Forest Park the 100-Year Legacy final report results in a proposed plan for a Green Infrastructure framework made up of four interrelated systems: connections, natural drainage, habitat and people places. The systems work together, combine and layer to form a plan for how we move incrementally over the next 100 years to preserve, retain and enhance the environmental and natural resources of the City.

The framework has interrelated systems.

Connections
Increase safe, multi-modal networks among parks, open spaces transportation hubs neighborhoods and commercial centers.
Natural drainage
Improve stream and lake water flow and quality and restore natural hydrologic functions.
Habitat
Create and enhance habitat for fish and wildlife.
People Places
Promote and develop diverse gathering places for our community.

When this framework was presented to citizens in forums and on line, they were “field tested” by asking residents to describe the impact on the City over the next 100 years if they used this framework as a screen. The results were imaginative and attainable.

The citizens highly value the streams and creeks. As they project the future they imagined projects, acquisition and habitat protection. Together these projects make up creekways around our major and minor creeks and streams, creating areas of special concern and protection.

Lake Washington was viewed as a community asset. Citizens are eager to leave to future generations greater access to the lake. In the future they proposed a lakeway, which includes enhanced access to the lake, habitat protection and non-motorized access along the existing Burke-Gilman trail.

The residents of the City of Lake Forest Park envisioned a walkable city with trails connecting the entire city to neighboring cities and linking neighborhoods to each other and to town center.

Complimenting the trail system is the creation of hubs and gateways. These are gathering places at parks, open space, schools, new nature centers and coffee shops, town centre and public and private clubs and entry ways.

One of the key elements of the imagining of the future of the City of Lake Forest Park is the reclamation of the existing public assets as part of green infrastructure. A significant part of the city-owned property is its streets and rights-of-way. Part of the proposal for the Green Infrastructure is over the next 100 years these conduits become green streets. (Green streets are already in some locations in Seattle.) In addition to their primary function of moving traffic, they are envisioned as enhancing drainage, providing habitat and space for pedestrians and non-motorized movement.

A “shelf report” is a report that does not get implemented and resides on a shelf. In order to improve the actual implementation of the Lake Forest Park 100-Year Legacy, the report includes priority recommendations for the Six-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and identifies 20-year projects as well.

The report also includes implementation strategies. This section includes financing options, grant programs, acquisition tools and how to respond to opportunities.

Hundreds of people participated in the process, gathering data, participating in the Green Infrastructure Festival, the Planning Charrette and the Priority Forums. Other people participated on line and in the open house or subscribed to the Legacy email.

The Lake Forest Park Legacy is a citizen-driven process that envisioned the future it wants and developed plans to achieve it so that:

The City of Lake Forest Park is, and always shall be, a forested lakeside community that embraces the city’s unique sense of place, protects its incredible natural assets and honors its citizens with safe walkable ways to experience the city and each other.

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The Lake Forest Park 100-Year Legacy final report is available in hard copies at the LFP library and at City Hall. The complete report is available on the website and on disk at City Hall.