Drafter
Clerk 01/20/20111
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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the King County executive to enter into an amendment to the project agreement and the deed of right granted to the state of Washington and recorded as No. 20000614001958 to remove certain use restrictions from limited areas of Soaring Eagle regional park and to permanently protect an additional two hundred forty-eight acres of the property for conservation purposes.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. King County acquired Soaring Eagle regional park, which is formerly known as Section 36, with the assistance of grant funds from the urban wildlife habitat category of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program administered by the Washington state Recreation and Conservation Office ("RCO"). In exchange for the grant, the county entered into a project agreement with the RCO ("project agreement") and granted the state a deed of right for conservation purposes ("deed of right"), affecting a "floating" three-hundred-thirty-acre conservation easement.
B. The conservation easement granted to the state of Washington under the project agreement and deed of right is located within the area designated as conservation zones on the Section 36 Regional Park Master Plan-Opportunities and Constraints Map, which is Attachment A to this ordinance.
C. When the county acquired the property, it had been used extensively by mountain bikers. Mountain biking continues to be a major recreational use on the site, and the mountain biking community has been active in trail maintenance, relocation and restoration, mapping and signage. However, the RCO has indicated that mountain bike use is inconsistent with urban wildlife habitat grant funding.
D. After King County acquired the park, it granted utility easements to the Sammamish Plateau water and sewer district, covering approximately four acres within the park.
E. On March 10, 2008, the King County council passed Ordinance ...
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