Magnuson Park proposal being viewed in new light

By Stuart Eskenazi
Seattle Times staff reporter

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New Seattle City Council members are raising scores of questions about a proposal to build 11 lighted athletic fields at Sand Point Magnuson Park, giving renewed hope to those lobbying for a smaller-scale project.

In 1999 and 2001, the council approved preliminary designs to transform the western edge of the pastoral park into the city's largest recreational-sports complex. But progress was slowed by opponents who challenged the mandatory environmental reviews.

Those have been completed and parks officials are ready to build as soon as the council gives the go-ahead, which conceivably could happen in a couple of months.

But with a new council in place, a different light is shining on the fields. Rookie council members David Della and Jean Godden recently submitted to parks officials a list of 10 queries on plan details that supporters thought already had been vetted. In addition, plan opponent Tom Rasmussen has replaced proponent Margaret Pageler on the council.

Suddenly, a project that seemed inevitable appears far less certain.

"This plan seems to have exploded from a multipurpose park to where we have turned it over to a single interest (users of sports fields)," said Godden, who lives near the park.

The Parks Department and Mayor Greg Nickels want to build 11 lighted synthetic-turf fields within the 330-acre park — five for soccer, five for baseball or softball, and one for rugby. Neighbors, including those across Lake Washington, dread the resulting glow, noise and traffic, while amateur-sports enthusiasts say the new fields are necessary to help meet a large demand.

Della, chairman of the parks committee, is not yet taking a position. But he has invited stakeholders on both sides of the issue to a meeting this weekend to help him get up to speed on Sand Point Magnuson Park.

"I want to gather as much information as I can from all key proponents on both sides and see if we can figure out a way to get some agreement on this and move the council process along," he said.

Pete Lukevich, president of Friends of Athletic Fields, said he welcomes the opportunity to brief Della on the merits of the current plan. But he also said the plan already reflects compromises from the initial design, including the reconfiguration of fields to lessen effects on the neighborhood.
 
Rob Horwitz of Eastside Friends of Lake Washington, an opponent group, said the design alterations have done nothing to infringe upon the use of the fields and therefore reflect no concrete concessions from supporters.

The fate of the park is one of the most polarized issues facing the new City Council. Members have received so many e-mails about it in the past month that the barrage could be dubbed "Magnuson spam."

A council staffer said her boss received about 1,400 e-mails last month.

"People are passionate about their parks," Della said.

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com

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