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Lake Forest Park council adopts 2025 work plans for parks, tree, climate and planning bodies
Summary
The City Council accepted annual work plans from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Tree Board, Climate Action Committee and Planning Commission and adopted all four plans in a single vote by unanimous consent.
LAKE FOREST PARK, Wash. — The Lake Forest Park City Council on Thursday adopted annual work plans from four city advisory bodies, formalizing priorities for parks, urban forest management, climate action and planning for 2025.
The plans, presented to council members during the meeting, were bundled and approved by a single motion and carried by unanimous consent.
The approvals set each advisory group's near-term work for the year. Tyler Dittman, chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, told the council the board will continue community outreach for the Lakefront Park project and expects a public design workshop in late spring or early summer. "As the work enters the next phase, we are ready and able to continue that work to on with community outreach," Dittman said.
Mark Phillips, chair of the Tree Board, outlined efforts to update the city's general tree list and recommend a new "do not plant" category for species that are invasive, disease-prone or otherwise unsuitable; the board also plans incremental changes to the size thresholds used to designate "exceptional trees" that receive added protections.
Sarah Phillips, chair of the Climate Action Committee, summarized the committee's three goals: reduce local greenhouse-gas emissions, enhance ecosystem health and increase community resilience to climate impacts. The committee said it will continue public outreach, partner with neighboring cities on pilot programs, and develop the Climate Hub mural project as a public information venue.
Mark Hoffman, Community Development Director, said the Planning Commission completed last year’s comprehensive plan update and is focused this year on drafting middle-housing code amendments. The commission also conducted substantial outreach to other advisory bodies during the comprehensive-plan process.
Deputy Rebecca moved to adopt the four work plans — for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Tree Board, the Climate Action Committee and the Planning Commission — as a single action. The motion was seconded and adopted by unanimous consent.
The council did not debate the individual plans at length during the vote; each board had presented its summary and answered members’ questions during the meeting. The council discussion that preceded passage highlighted volunteer recruitment needs: the parks board said it currently has five members and two vacancies; the tree board reported one vacancy and said three member terms expire in 2026.
The adopted work plans schedule public events, outreach and technical steps the advisory bodies will use to inform residents and to advise staff and council on parks design, tree protections, climate programs and middle-housing code changes.
Council action places the boards’ priorities into the city’s near-term workflow and gives staff and the council a formal document for tracking each group’s next steps.
