Consultant updates Lake Forest Park board on lakefront project, permits and interpretive exhibits

Amber, the project presenter for the Lake Forest Park Lakefront Improvement Project, told the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board the design is in Phase 2 — design and permitting — and that the team has submitted local, state and federal permit applications.

"We are in project phase 2," Amber said, describing the work to advance designs to construction drawings, acquire permits and then move into bidding and construction administration. She added federal permits are paused until federal funding is formally accepted and that the project will resume federal permitting once funding is in place.

Board members pressed for likely outcomes from the recent hearing examiner session. Amber said the hearing examiner may approve the land-use application as presented, approve with minor or moderate design adjustments, or remand the application and request substantial redesign if the proposal conflicts with Shoreline Master Program or critical-area code standards. "The range of outcomes would be approved with no design changes, approved with moderate or minor design changes, or remanded with massive design changes," she said.

The consultant walked the board through three interpretive exhibit concepts that remain in design: 1) a set of inlaid markers tracing a historic 28-foot Lake Washington contour to show pre-1916 lake level, 2) a wildlife scavenger-hunt using concrete inlays and artist stamps, and 3) small historical viewpoints that pair archival photos with the exact site where those photos were taken. "28 feet — Lake Washington was lowered by approximately 9 feet in 1916," Amber said, explaining the lake-level marker concept.

The team described materials chosen for longevity and vandal-resistance (metal inlays, Corten panels, printed/embedded photo options with 10–20 year warranties) and said interpretive text will be deliberately concise on-site with QR-code links or a web portal for expanded, updateable content. Amber noted the design approach aims to provoke curiosity with concise on-site cues and extended digital resources for deeper context.

Robbie, director at the Shoreline Historical Museum, offered to provide archival photos and local historical resources and urged that museum credits and attributions be included in exhibit URLs and signs. Amber said the project has engaged the Burke Museum and local tribal contacts (Snoqualmie and Muckleshoot) to check scientific and indigenous names for flora and fauna used in interpretation.

Next steps: Amber said the board should expect the hearing examiner's written decision within about a week; any conditions would be incorporated into the design. The team expects to finish 100% construction drawings and the next iteration of interpretive elements later in the summer, contingent on permit outcomes and the need for design changes.

The presentation closed with a request for the Parks and Rec Board to help prioritize which historical photos and interpretive themes should be featured, and to form a small working group to triage candidate images and names as the team moves toward final design.