That’s the presentation that will be shown to the City Council’s Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries & Waterfront Committee tomorrow morning, as two Parks and Recreation managers brief councilmembers on what they’re doing about encroachment – people who live next to Parks property and are encroaching on it in myriad ways, maybe something as simple as throwing yard debris over the line, maybe something larger like having a fence or a hedge that’s all or part on city land.
With so much Parks property in West Seattle, this could be a major issue, so we checked with Donald Harris, one of the Parks managers who will be at tomorrow’s meeting. He says this is something they heard from citizens on the advisory committee that put together the Park District levy approved by voters in 2014 – appreciation for acquisition but also, concern that the city isn’t fully using/appreciating what it already owns, so the levy included “encroachment removal” funding.
You’ll notice if you go through the slide deck above (or here) that the only West Seattle park mentioned is Schmitz Preserve Park. We asked Harris if that means they’re focusing on something major involving that park; he said no, but they will be looking at its boundary to see what’s happening around it. “We’re pretty methodical – we go out and do a survey to be sure we know where the boundary is.”
Overall, he said, the department “is looking to be a little more diligent in protecting the boundaries of parks where there are neighbors who might not have understood where the line is and gone over it.” If you’re interested in the topic, the briefing is scheduled during the committee’s 9:30 am Thursday meeting at City Hall; it’ll be live on Seattle Channel, seattlechannel.org or cable channel 21.
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