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 the legal and contractual constraints around Aubrey Davis Park, noting the city uses the park areas under multiple agreements with WSDOT, including an airspace lease executed in 1994 with a 40-year term. "We don't do anything in Aubrey Davis Park without the permission of WSDOT," Vaughn said, adding that WSDOT’s engineering and drainage concerns constrain many changes on the lid.

Public art

Staff reported that the Mercer Island Arts Council recommended allowing public art as a permitted use in the Park Zone but not creating specific development standards tied to art pieces. The Arts Council told staff it intends to keep reviewing acquisitions and to continue advising council on purchases. Staff recommended following that advice; commissioners debated where commission review should sit in the approval process. Commissioner Hay said art installations should be subject to Parks and Recreation Commission review in addition to Arts Council and city council approval. Vaughn and staff cautioned that approval procedures and budget authority may reside in multiple code sections and recommended further legal review.

Aubrey Davis Park: legal limits versus symbolic zoning

Staff recommended leaving Aubrey Davis Park in the current public-institution classification because the property includes WSDOT right-of-way and is controlled by intergovernmental agreements. Kim Pratt of Madrona Law said adding a park-specific zoning overlay could create confusion for future planners who must follow the lease agreements and state rules. "I think it would ... cause confusion for the people who are having to work with those regulations," Pratt said.

Some commissioners argued the designation should reflect how the community uses the land. Commissioner Westberg framed part of the debate as symbolic: "It's about the symbolic importance of including it in the park zone and whether that symbolic importance is enough to override all these other concerns," she said. Council Member Reynolds, participating in the meeting, cautioned that the city council often follows advice from the city manager and legal counsel when the two are aligned.

Critical areas and split zoning

Staff presented the technical constraints that come from critical-area rules governing wetlands, watercourses (streams), fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, shorelines and geologically hazardous areas. Staff said many of the city’s parks include critical areas; that is often the very reason those parcels were preserved as parks. Because those protections are layered — city code, state rules and site-specific studies — staff said subdividing a park parcel and rezoning parts to open-space for added protection would require field studies and additional staff and funding.

Island Crest Park drew specific attention. Planning staff and several commissioners said Island Crest has parts that read like open space and parts that are actively used for sports, making it the clearest candidate for a study to consider split zoning. Commissioners asked staff to return with options; staff suggested it is feasible to include Island Crest Park in the Park Zone now and recommend a separate council-funded study to evaluate a rezoning or carve-out.

Landings, street ends and utilities

Staff recommended excluding public street-end landings and certain lake access points from the Park Zone because they also serve as open rights-of-way for utilities (stormwater, sewer, power and other infrastructure). Jason Kittner, operations chief, confirmed many landings include underground utility vaults or other infrastructure that staff must maintain. Commissioners generally supported the recommendation to keep these sites regulated primarily as right-of-way or utility infrastructure while continuing to manage them for park uses where possible.

Wireless communications facilities

Staff recommended the Park Zone mirror the recently adopted language in the Open Space Zone and expressly reference the city’s wireless facility code sections. Staff noted federal law limits local authority over wireless siting; the commission agreed to use wording consistent with the Open Space Zone and to track any future code updates.

Next steps and outstanding items

No formal, binding ordinance decisions were made at the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to return with follow-up legal review and draft language on several issues — including the approval process for public art, a recommended approach to Island Crest Park (study scope and timing), and precise references for wireless-code citations. The commission plans to continue the Park Zone discussion at its February meeting and to bring any items requiring legal counsel back when Madrona Law can attend.

The meeting also included unrelated formal actions (see separate "Votes at a glance" article for the recorded votes on minutes and absences).