Bel-Red West Tributary master plan kicks off; staff weighing stream daylighting and trails

City staff on Tuesday laid out early plans for a neighborhood park on an 8-acre, city-owned site in the Bel-Red area, saying feasibility studies will determine whether an underground stream can be daylighted and how trail, right-of-way and utility constraints affect park design.

"We will be evaluating whether or not we can daylight that and what daylighting looks like," said project lead Zarian Smith during the Parks and Community Services Board meeting, describing the stream as currently piped in places and noting potential regulatory buffer zones that would limit design options. Staff said the project is funded in part by the 2022 parks and open space levy and that feasibility work will guide later design decisions.

The parcel, roughly bounded by 124th and 130th avenues and adjacent to Sound Transit infrastructure and commercial properties, contains existing utility infrastructure and a storage building staff said they will evaluate for possible reuse. Smith said site constraints include a planned Northeast Spring Boulevard right-of-way and sewer and utility sites that must remain accessible to operations and maintenance.

Staff identified potential park elements under consideration: daylighting or restoration of stream segments; multiuse trail connections, some aligned with the stream corridor; and adaptive reuse or artistic treatment of an existing building. They also said they will evaluate how the project might meet the city's sustainability goals, including possible certification under the Envision Sustainability Program.

Public engagement is planned to guide design. "We anticipate three to four community meetings and tabling events, plus two to three additional park board meetings," Smith said, adding staff plans targeted outreach to nearby apartment complexes and to the Spring District. Staff aims to present a preferred plan to the board by the fourth quarter of 2026 and forward a recommendation to City Council in 2027.

Board members pressed staff on ecological and access questions. One board member asked whether the buried stream is truly fish bearing; staff said that, where piped, the channel is currently not conducive to fish and that daylighting and broader redevelopment could improve conditions over time. Members urged the team to consider off-leash space options, multiple user "personas" (neighbors, transit users, workers) and stronger bicycle and pedestrian connections into the surrounding network.

Next steps: staff will complete feasibility studies, prepare a walk-shed analysis, expand outreach plans, and return to the board for further review as the project moves toward master planning and design.