Urban Growth Boundary and Wellington Hills Park

• How many undeveloped public parks are there on the Eastside (east of Lake Washington & Seattle)?

• ... with vistas, 75-100 year old trees & home to deer, bobcat, coyote, eagles, owls and other critters?

• ... and, as a destination, not requiring long drive-times? 

• How many 100 acre natural parks are there in Woodinville and nearby communities?

• How many parks did you name? None? One? Two?

This map shows "Maltby UGA" that is, the location of Urban Growth Boundary for this specific area.

Wellington Hills Park is not labeled, it is in the white area near the bottom of the map
(above the words, "Land Status", on the rural side of the line.

Aerial view
The Urban Growth Boundary, more or less follows Hwy. 522.
Wellington Hills Park is OUTSIDE the Urban Growth Boundary.

And now a few bureaucratic sharpies say it's simps to move the Urban Growth Boundary for their proposes.

If that's true ... why do we have laws, rules & regs in the first place??

There are consequences when the Urban Growth Boundary is moved

Take a close look at the photos ... see those trees on the ridge?  That's the western edge of Wellington Hills Park.

OK, big deal, what's the point?

During the first public disclosure (Oct. 13, 2015) concerning the secret sale by Snohomish County of Wellington Hills Park to the Northshore School District... one of the bureaucrats more or less blew off concerns that the Park was outside the Urban Growth Boundary (located close to the photo's tree line) as unimportant ... the bureaucrat said it was no big deal to move the Urban Growth Boundary to suit their needs.

What happens if he gets his way ... and the boundary separating urban and rural IS moved up the plateau and wraps around the two schools they want ... what else follows?

Look at the kind of stuff in the foreground of the photos ... both commercial sites are very near Route 9, just below the plateau where Wellington Hills Park is located.

And, even closer to the western boundary of the park, in fact so close it's nearly touching the property line of the park.

For the moment, that precious Urban Growth Boundary is all that separates rural places from urban expansion.  And, Wellington Hills Park sits on the rural side of the Boundary, between the commerce in thse photos and people's homes and lives.

And that bureaucrat wants to callously move the Urban Growth Boundary??

It can happen here

Yes, this can happen here ... and quickly too ... what was once a rolling hills park, with tall trees and an assortment of wildlife ... can be destroyed.

A once cherished community park gone, replaced by asphalt, concrete in the greedy churn towards more and more urban development, aka, Urban Sprawl.

Of course you'll almost always have your apartment & work cubicle ... and your cell phone/video console and there's always recreational shopping ... that's enough, right?

                                        •••••  Buildings come and go ... but parks, those aren't easy to replace  •••••

Wrong agendas for Wellington Hills Park

Timeline of Events:

May 8, 2012
First public notification Snohomish County's Department of Parks intends to build a "regional sports complex" on Wellington Hills Park property. This would be accomplished by using Brightwater mitigation funds from King County.  Plans for the "regional sports complex" had been in development for many years, "under the radar".

Final "master" plan illustration

October 13, 2015
First public notification Snohomish County was selling Wellington Hills Park.
Additionally, it was the first public notification Snohomish County was selling Wellington Hills Park to the Northshore School District.

Based on inspection of public records, a drawing of what the School District planned for Wellington Hills Park was discovered. Drawing is dated July 15, 2015 so the actual date of the secret agreement to develop the park was at some earlier date.

Call it a concept drawing but it does reveal Northshore School District's intentions...

• The park that people have been enjoying will be clear-cut then bulldozed flat.

• After the terra-forming - one high school, one middle school.

... on the drawing are the words "cut" and "fill"... which refer removing existing ground and to filling in valleys in the existing topography.

click on images to enlarge for easier inspection