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Riverfront Park seeks sign‑off for downtown zipline; shoreline permit decision pending
Summary
Riverfront Park staff and the selected vendor presented a permissible‑use agreement and safety plan for a dual‑line zipline from the CSO tank (Place of Truce Plaza) to Red Band Park, including vendor payments to the city and safety measures; the landing sits in a 50‑foot shoreline buffer and a hearing examiner decision is pending.
Riverfront Park staff and a private operator described a proposed downtown zipline project and asked the committee to note a conditional use and permitting path that remains unresolved.
Why it matters: The proposed attraction would be a permanent, privately built and operated amenity that uses city and park property, requires shoreline permitting and air‑rights agreements, and includes vendor payments to the city and a large liability requirement.
John Mook, Riverfront Park director, reviewed a vendor‑selected proposal from Epiphany Applied Concepts (doing business as Mica Moon) that would run a dual‑line zipline roughly 1,400 feet from the eastern edge of the CSO tank/Place of Truce Plaza to the eastern edge of Red Band Park. The landing is inside the 50‑foot shoreline buffer, so the vendor must secure a conditional use permit and shoreline approvals; a hearing examiner hearing was held and a decision had not been rendered at the time of the briefing.
Key terms presented by staff and the vendor: an annual permit fee of $50,000 plus other park use fees that could bring the vendor’s annual payment to the city to a maximum of $362,000 with a 3% escalator; a required general liability insurance limit of $7,000,000 per occurrence; a program of 1,000 free tickets annually for underserved youth and charitable groups; ADA‑adapted harnesses and an ADA‑accessible shuttle service; and multiple engineered braking and safety systems including magnetic decelerators, passive braking at the landing and a two‑station “dead man” release system.
Mook said the selected contractor is Synergo (industry operator) and that Epiphany Applied Concepts has operated zipline attractions locally. The project team described measures to minimize ground disturbance near possible cultural resources, coordinate with the Spokane Tribe and the Spokane Club for air rights, and complete required FERC and Department of Ecology reviews. The vendor also proposed to operate a shuttle within Riverfront Park, with Friday–Sunday service that would provide small‑cart shuttle stops to improve accessibility to inner‑park destinations.
Council and committee members asked about site activation and neighborhood impacts; some members encouraged using the plaza activation to deter illegal activity. Mook and council members said they expect the operator to help maintain the plaza and Riverfront Park assets and to discourage parking impacts by operating the shuttle and by discouraging parking at Red Band Park.
Next steps: the hearing examiner decision on the conditional use permit is pending; Department of Ecology will have a 30‑day review and a possible 20‑day protest period if the hearing examiner grants the permit. Mook said the project will not move forward without required shoreline, FERC and air‑rights approvals.
Ending: Committee members praised staff persistence on the long‑running project but underscored that the project’s approvals remain contingent on multiple permits, agency reviews and negotiated agreements.
