Drafter
Clerk 04/17/2026
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AN ORDINANCE renaming parcel 7812801985 of Skyway Park as Black Panther Park to honor the legacy of the local Black Panther Party chapter.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The King County department of parks and recreation purchased parcel 7812801985 on October 31, 1988. The property was acquired to increase access to green space in the Skyway area.
2. A community garden on this parcel was proposed by the community to the King County department of natural resources and parks, parks and recreation division, in 2015. The effort to develop this parcel into a community garden and gathering space has been supported and led by various community organizations since 2015, including Skyway Solutions, West Hill Community Association, Skyway Coalition, the Silent Task Force, and Nurturing Roots.
3. In 2018, Skyway Solutions worked with the King Conservation District and Stone Soup Gardens to develop a design for the parcel, with funding from the King County department of natural resources and parks community partnerships and grants program.
4. Skyway Solutions intended to begin construction in 2019, but the organization officially dissolved in 2020 and construction was postponed until a new community partner was identified.
5. In 2022, Nurturing Roots, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that values community, self-sufficiency, food empowerment, social justice, and education, became involved in the project on behalf of the Skyway Community through the King County department of natural resources and parks community partnerships and grants program.
6. Through community-led engagement supported by Skyway Coalition, the Silent Task Force, and The Urban Food Systems Pact, the park's design, and its proposed name, Black Panther Park, were selected.
7. The design was finalized by Nurturing Roots and Stone Soup Gardens in 2024. The park design includes various artistic elements, such as a painted raised fist on the central patio, that are direct...
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