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City seeks variance for 200-foot public pier in Lake Forest Park; opponents cite ecological and neighborhood impacts
Summary
City planners said a 200‑foot pier and associated upland improvements require variances from Lake Forest Park's Shoreline Master Program because of shallow water near the Lion Creek delta; neighbors and appellants pressed the hearing examiner that the deviations and mitigation studies fall short and risk "no net loss" of shoreline ecological function.
Lake Forest Park officials pressed a case on Feb. 26, 2026, for a major overhaul of three lakefront parcels that would remove two degraded docks, build a new public pier and rework upland trails and facilities. Kenny Booth, a planner and principal at Facet, told the hearing examiner the project needs several shoreline and zoning permits and "is proposing a pier 200 feet in length" to reach sufficient water depth near the Lion Creek delta.
The proposed pier and float exceed multiple dimensional limits in the city's Shoreline Master Program (SMP). Booth said the city is seeking variances because existing SMP standards (a 120-foot maximum pier length, a 4-foot maximum walkway width and a 100-square-foot maximum float in a minimum 10-foot depth) are written for residential docks and do not accommodate the publicly accessible facility Lake Forest Park is proposing. He described the site constraints: "we're right close to the Lion Creek Delta, and in order to reach any kind of adequate depth ... we need to get out to a length of 200 ft." Booth also said the project proposes a float of roughly 230 square feet in about 4.25 feet of water and pile spacing of about 16 feet 8 inches where soils preclude wider spacing.
Appellants challenged the variance rationale and the breadth of the requested relief. "The variance narrative does not expressly seek modification of the wetland buffer areas," appellants' counsel Kayn Anaker told the examiner, and he argued the application does not demonstrate the "minimum necessary" deviations allowed under SMP variance criteria. Appellants contend the city purchased residential parcels and then sought to intensify shoreline uses, raising the question whether any hardship relied on by the city is self-created.
City staff said they have coordinated with state and federal reviewers. Booth and a city planner, David Gream, noted that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Washington Department of Ecology and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have active reviews. Booth said WDFW issued a hydraulic project approval earlier in the project record, and the Corps' review is ongoing. Gream said condition language would be adjusted in the staff report to clarify emergency access and that Ecology will not act on shoreline permits until after the hearing examiner's recommendation.
Both sides emphasized mitigation and the "no net loss" standard in SMP policy. Booth described a mitigation package that includes native vegetation plantings, invasive removal and bulkhead removal. Appellants and neighborhood witnesses said the mitigation plans lack measurable performance standards for aquatic habitat loss and raised questions about earlier mitigation efforts in the adjacent Lion Creek preserve that, they said, did not meet year‑five monitoring targets.
The hearing remains open; the examiner did not adopt a final decision at the session. The record includes multiple permit applications and staff recommendations; parties entered new public comments and exhibits during the hearing.
