Veteranes give public the gift of a new beach

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, November 30, 2005

The 525 feet of Crystal Springs shoreline come to the park district free of charge.

If living on an island means the crunch of shell fragments underfoot and breathing in brisk salty air, that experience will soon stretch by more than 500 feet.

Longtime islanders David and Joyce Veterane have donated to the park district the “Gazzam Beach” section of their property, which lies kitty-corner from the southwest corner of Gazzam Lake Park. The park board is expected to accept the property donation Thursday night at its meeting.

“This is a very generous contribution by the Veteranes,” said Dave Shorett of the Bainbridge Island park board and city Open Space Commission, talking about the donated 7.74-acre Baker Hill parcel with more than 500 feet of shoreline on Port Orchard Bay.

“I hope it inspires people who love Bainbridge, and who have lived on Bainbridge Island long enough to appreciate what it’s losing to development, to make similar contributions.”

The donation adds about 525 feet of public beach and a rather steep upland forest on Baker Hill, the parcel dropping from 160 feet to sea level.

The forested upland includes about 2½ acres of wetland by David Veterane’s estimate, a seasonal pond and streams.

Trail access from Gazzam Lake Park may also be possible, to bring hikers to the water and add to miles of connected trails.

The 7.74 acres are estimated to be worth between $750,000 and $1 million by the Open Space Commission, which helped facilitate the transaction and recommended direct transfer to the park district.

John Daly of the nonprofit Trust for Public Lands had originally contacted the Veteranes in 2002 about selling some of their land to the city as the Open Space Commission started looking for properties to acquire. The commission was interested, but eventually passed on it for other parcels.

Still, the commission said it would welcome the land as a donation if the Veteranes decided to do so. In the interim, TPL and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust continued to talk with the Veteranes about ways to conserve the land.

This year, the Veteranes contacted TPL about outright donating the parcel.

The couple said their focus was to be able to see the mountains – which they are able to from their home atop Baker Hill – and keep the rest of the land undeveloped.

David says they were never interested in developing the waterfront area and felt it was right for the beach to belong to the public as it is in some other states.

The donation is well appreciated.

“Any time we can have some waterfront access in public domain, I think it’s a wonderful contribution to the community as a whole,” park board chair Kirk Robinson said. “You’re always surprised when you get property of that value. It’s certainly a very wonderful and generous offer.”

Gazzam Beach adds to about 5 miles of public shoreline on the island out of a total of 53 miles, according to TPL’s survey of Puget Sound’s public shores.

“For me, this property has more use recreationally. It fits with our idea of preserving some land for recreation rather than development,” David said. “You can’t control what happens (to the land) you give away, but we were fairly confident it would have recreational value and we wanted to give back to the community.”

The couple have lived on Bainbridge Island for 32 years. They raised three children and have been active on local boards.

“Both of us have been here long enough to have a sense of place,” Joyce said.

David, a retired investment advisor and a founding partner of Rainier Investment Management, was one of the original board members for the county’s Juvenile Diversion board composed of community members and which offers first-time minor youth offenders the chance to make good and avoid a criminal record. He also puts his financial experience to good use on the Harrison Hospital board.

Joyce, a retired medical social worker, has served on the boards of the Bainbridge Island Child Care Centers, Bainbridge Performing Arts, Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers and Helpline House.

When they arrived, the island population was about 8,000. Joyce said they just naturally ended up knowing a good portion of the inhabitants back then.

And even now, when the population has almost tripled, “we still feel very connected,” she said.

“We value that it’s a good, caring community,” David said. “Once you’re part of a community, I think it’s not unreasonable to improve the community. (Giving land) is a way to improve it for future communities.”

“It’s just a great gift to the people of Bainbridge and the environment of Bainbridge,” Shorett said. “It’s pleasing to see a longtime island family donate a big piece of land.

“This is the kind of donation that could inspire others. We hope this starts a trend.”