King Conservation District approves $4,500 for Lake Forest Park canopy mapping; city to finalize authorization

King Conservation District’s board has approved a $4,500 use of jurisdictional funds for Lake Forest Park to obtain canopy mapping and parcel-level geographic data, the tree board heard on Thursday.

The KCD amount will pay for setup of mapping geographies—including parcel boundaries, land-use zones and a hexagon grid useful for analysis—and will provide access to a mapping tool that city staff and the tree board expect will produce standard canopy-coverage maps. The board discussed which geographies to request from KCD and confirmed the city will supply existing GIS shapefiles where available.

Mark Phillips and staff described the three custom geographies the tree board requested: individual parcels, land-use zones and an additional wetlands/watershed layer (the board noted some wetland geographies can be coarse in county datasets). Staff said the King Conservation District asked the city to provide GIS data or links to the requisite shapefiles; the city does not currently have a dedicated GIS staffer for routine export, so staff will pursue limited public-works GIS support to supply those files.

The tree board made a motion to endorse pursuing the KCD grant allotment; members voted in favor. Staff said because the amount is under the mayor’s signature authority, the next step will be a short administrative authorization by the mayor after tree board endorsement and staff coordination with KCD.

Board members also discussed how the new canopy maps could feed into the SFI scope-of-work conversation and into public-facing story maps being developed by local volunteers and scientists. The KCD-supported mapping is intended to produce the parcel- and geography-level data the tree board and volunteer mapping partners want to display in public story maps and in the tree-canopy analysis.