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AN ORDINANCE updating the inventory of high conservation value properties to add new properties, expand on existing properties, correct administrative errors and reflect changes in site names, parcel boundaries and numbers, as specified in K.C.C. 26.14.010 and Section 897 of the King County Charter.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County has acquired interests in open space properties in the form of fee simple ownership, conservation easements and development rights. The county has done so using funds from various funding sources, including conservation futures taxes, parks levy regional open space funds, Forward Thrust, real estate excise taxes, surface water management fees, the salmon recovery funding board, the recreation and conservation board (formerly the interagency committee for outdoor recreation), voter-approved open space bond funds and state and federal conservation-oriented grants.
2. The primary purposes of acquiring open space properties are to conserve, preserve, protect or enhance natural or scenic resources, timberland devoted primarily to the growth and harvest of timber for commercial purposes, streams, rivers, wetlands, soils, beaches, tidal marshes, fish or wildlife habitat, water quality, passive recreational opportunities, visual quality along highway, road and street corridors and scenic vistas for current and future generations of King County residents.
3. Preserving the character of open space properties also reduces urban sprawl, provides natural corridors in urban areas and serves to mitigate the effects of human activities that contribute to climate change.
4. In July 2009, Ordinance 16600 authorized submission to the qualified voters of King County a proposal to amend the King County Charter to add a higher level of protection to certain high conservation value open space properties in which the county has real property interest. That measure was approved by the voters in November 2009 and the King County Charter was amended to protect in perpetuity certain high conservation value open space properties.
5. An inventory of high conservation value properties subject to this enhanced protection was adopted by Ordinance 16601. In addition, Ordinance 16601, Section 4, codified as K.C.C. 26.14.010, specified the criteria for the removal and addition of properties from the inventory.
6. In November 2015, the inventory of high conservation value properties was amended by Ordinance 18177 to include qualified parcels acquired by King County following adoption of the original Ordinance 16600 in July 2009.
7. K.C.C. 26.14.010 prohibits removal or addition of properties from the inventory of high conservation value properties except by ordinance adopted in conformance with Section 897 of the King County Charter. The department of natural resources and parks maintains the inventory and proposes to modify the inventory to add properties and to correct administrative errors and changes in site names, parcel numbers and boundaries.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. King County has a real property interest in the properties listed below and determines that these properties have a high conservation value. The following properties shall be added to the inventory of properties identifying their elements of high conservation value:
1. Bass Lake Complex Natural Area: Addition to site with Bass Lake, Beaver, and Dandy/Sinkhole lakes, Cristy Creek, associated wetlands and riparian area, forest, trails and passive recreation;
2. Bear Creek Forest: New site with conservation easement protecting mixed coniferous-deciduous forest;
3. Big Spring/Newaukum Creek Natural Area: Addition to site protecting wetlands, creek and forested areas benefiting of Big Spring creek, a tributary of Newaukum creek;
4. Bingaman Pond Natural Area: New site with parcels protecting upland forest and wetland complex along a small tributary to the Green river, supporting open water, scrub-shrub and forest vegetation;
5. Black Diamond Open Space: Addition to forested site that includes a portion of the Middle Green river;
6. Byers Bend Natural Area: New site along Cedar river that protects fish and wildlife habitat and provides space for passive recreation and access to the river;
7. Canyon Creek Headwaters Natural Area: Addition to site with mixed coniferous-deciduous forest that supports chinook and coho salmon and steelhead and cutthroat trout and connects to over 2,000 acres of public land;
8. Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area: Addition to site along and protecting Cedar river shoreline;
9. Cedar Creek Park: Addition to forested site that protects Jenkins creek tributaries;
10. Cold Creek Natural Area: Addition to site that includes Cottage Lake shoreline and borders a portion of Cottage Lake creek, a significant open water pond important for salmonids, waterfowl and wildlife;
11. Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park: Addition to forested, contiguous open space with streams, trails, scenic views and passive recreation;
12. Cougar/Squak Corridor: Addition to site with coniferous forest, streams and hiking trails;
13. Dockton Forest: Addition to working forest site that includes pristine saltwater shoreline and an extensive backcountry trail system;
14. Dorre Don Reach Natural Area: Addition to forested site along and near the Lower Cedar river;
15. Evans Creek Natural Area: Additional conservation easement further protects wetlands and riparian corridors along Evans creek, which supports multiple fish species including coastal resident cutthroat, chinook, sockeye and coho salmon and steelhead trout;
16. Fisher Creek Forest: New upland forested site on Vashon Island;
17. Flaming Geyser Natural Area: New site protecting mature flood plain forests and steep bluffs along the Green river, adjacent to Flaming Geyser State Park;
18. Frog Holler Forest: New site on South Vashon Island that protects upland forest and includes trails for passive recreation;
19. Glendale Forest: New forested site in urban unincorporated North Highline area with a creek ravine, wetland habitat and passive recreation;
20. Green River Natural Area: Addition to forested natural area that surrounds Green river, an important spawning and rearing habitat for salmon. The forested natural area also contains six miles of trail for passive recreation use;
21. Griffin Creek Natural Area: Addition to site that protects Griffin creek and forested habitat;
22. Hamm Creek Natural Area: New site in urban unincorporated North Highline area that protects forest and stream ravine;
23. Hatchery Natural Area: Addition to forested site that includes portions of Big Soos creek and Soos creek;
24. Island Center Forest: Addition to site on Vashon Island with Judd creek tributary and forests with trails and passive recreation;
25. Judd Creek Natural Area: New site with conservation easements on Vashon Island with salmon bearing stream and trail;
26. Little Lake Forest: New forested site with lake and wetland habitat offering trails and passive recreation; the site is contiguous with hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in the Forest Production District;
27. Little Si Natural Area: New shoreline site adjacent to Middle Fork Snoqualmie river offering passive recreation;
28. Lost Lake Natural Area: New site on Vashon Island with natural shoreline on the Puget Sound;
29. Lower Cedar River Natural Area: Conservation easement protects a new site with sensitive stream habitat along the Lower Cedar river;
30. Lower Newaukum Creek Natural Area: Addition to site including Newaukum creek and surrounding wetlands and forest; includes trails and passive recreation;
31. Lower Peterson Creek Corridor Natural Area: Addition to forested site that protects sensitive stream habitat along the lower Cedar river;
32. Maury Island Marine Park: Addition to site on Maury Island that protects upland forest;
33. Middle Bear Creek Natural Area: Addition to site including creek, wetlands and upland forest habitat, including trails and passive recreation;
34. Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Area: Addition adjacent to Washington state Department of Natural Resources conservation areas; protects gateway to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river valley;
35. Middle Issaquah Creek Natural Area: Addition to site with creek, meadow and forested areas with passive recreation;
36. Mitchell Hill Connector Forest: Addition to forested and park sites with trails, passive recreation, working forestry components and connections to state forest lands;
37. Molasses Creek Natural Area: New site protected by conservation easement donated through development permit; protects stream and sensitive areas;
38. Mouth of Taylor Reach Natural Area: Addition to Cedar river and Taylor creek complex of sites with wetlands, forest, trails and passive recreation;
39. Neill Point Natural Area: Addition to site on Vashon Island with natural shoreline on the Puget Sound;
40. Paradise Lake Natural Area: Addition to site along Bear creek with emergent and forested wetland communities;
41. Paradise Valley Natural Area: Conservation easement protecting addition to Vashon Island site that includes salmon bearing stream and trail;
42. Patterson Creek Natural Area: Addition to site conserving wetlands and tributary to Patterson creek, which supports several salmonid and steelhead species;
43. Piner Point Natural Area: Addition to site protecting natural Puget Sound shoreline and bluffs;
44. Pinnacle Peak Park: Addition to site containing forests, trails, passive recreation and scenic views of Mount Rainier;
45. Point Heyer Natural Area: Addition to site protecting Puget Sound shoreline that includes forest and passive recreation;
46. Preston Ridge Forest: New site conserving forestlands that were formerly owned by the state in the I-90 corridor;
47. Raging River Natural Area: Addition to forested site adjacent to Raging river;
48. Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area: New site including multiple parcels connecting public lands to local communities and protecting scenic views;
49. Shadow Lake Natural Area: Addition to site that protects forested bogs and wetlands in the Shadow Lake area, as well as the outflow tributary which drains towards Jenkins creek;
50. Soaring Eagle Regional Park: New site conserving mature forest, wetlands and wildlife habitat; includes trails and passive recreation; connects to large state forestland and Patterson Creek Natural Area;
51. Soos Creek Park and Trail: Addition to linear park comprised of forested and scrub-shrub wetlands that provides habitat to many birds and mammals; Soos creek is also important habitat for salmon;
52. Spring Beach Natural Area: New site on Vashon Island that protects natural shoreline on the Puget Sound;
53. Spring Lake/Lake Desire Park: Addition to site including a bog, backcountry trails and rocky viewpoints;
54. Sugarloaf Mountain Forest: Addition to working forest comprised of young, mostly alder stands;
55. Taylor Creek Natural Area: New site that protects Taylor creek headwater tributary and associated forested wetland, and conserves sensitive fish and wildlife habitat;
56. Tennant Trailhead Park: New conservation easement acquired in partnership project with the city of North Bend for parking and access to adjacent public lands;
57. Tollgate Farm: Addition to Tollgate Farm that protects wetland and stream system;
58. Tolt River Natural Area: Addition to natural area featuring Tolt river, side channel and riparian forest to support salmon habitat;
59. Upper Bear Creek Natural Area: Addition to natural area that protects forested area adjacent to Bear creek; and
60. Wetland 14 Natural Area: Addition to open space complex containing McGarvey Park Open Space, Spring Lake/Lake Desire Park, containing forested and wetland habitat.
B. The inventory of high conservation value properties contains some administrative errors. In addition, since the original inventory was prepared, some of the site names, parcel boundaries and parcel numbers of the properties have been changed. The updated inventory set forth in Attachment A to this ordinance accurately reflects the current site names, parcel numbers and parcel boundaries of the properties in the inventory in accordance with K.C.C. 26.14.010.
SECTION 2. In accordance with K.C.C. 26.14.010 and Section 897 of the King
County Charter, the council hereby adopts the high conservation value property inventory, which is Attachment A to this ordinance.