Parks commission continues drafting Park Zone; Aubrey Davis Park, art and critical-area rules draw debate

Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Commission members on Jan. 9 continued work on a draft Park Zone ordinance, hearing staff briefings and public comment on how the new zone should treat public art, Aubrey Davis Park (the I-90 lid park), critical environmental areas and street-end landings that host utilities.

The draft Park Zone will determine what uses, development standards and exceptions apply across the city’s parks. Jesse Vaughn, the city manager, told commissioners the staff is trying to assemble prior meeting topics into a draft ordinance and asked the commission to flag items for follow-up: "If you're not able to reach consensus on something tonight, please at least, let us know what your questions are, where we need to follow-up," Vaughn said.

Why it matters: the Park Zone will guide future changes to many of Mercer Island’s parks and may affect large, frequently used properties such as Island Crest Park and Aubrey Davis Park — the latter is partly on Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) right-of-way and subject to a long-standing airspace lease with the state.

Public comment and staff framing

Daniel Thompson, a Mercer Island resident who described himself as an early supporter of a parks commission, urged the commission to retain clear control over what appears in parks and to include Aubrey Davis Park in the Park Zone. "The parks commission represents the parks and the citizens, not the arts council," Thompson said, arguing that the commission should keep jurisdiction over placement of art in parks.

City staff framed several recurring tradeoffs. Vaughn summarized…