A park so popular, the city wants to sell it

Published 6:00 am Saturday, August 27, 2005

T’Chookwap Park isn’t much of a draw, but neighbors like it.

Selling a neglected, sometimes contentious little park overlooking Port Madison Bay could mean more money for a grander park somewhere else, city and park officials say.

Trouble is, some neighbors say T’Chookwap Park is a community asset and a buffer against encroaching development.

“I know it doesn’t get a lot of use, but we use it daily,” said Spargur Loop Road resident Ed Mahlum.

“The city doesn’t do any advertising or put up signs, so I think the city should be careful in how it measures ‘use’” when considering the sale of the park.

City officials have floated the idea of selling the half-acre park, valued at around $500,000, and transferring funds to the city’s Open Space Commission.

The commission could then use the money to buy additional property on the island’s north end, according to commission and park board member Dave Shorett.

“The park is considered unused and unpopular,” Shorett said. “The Open Space Commission would like to recoup a lot of money from selling this piece and buy something very useful to the community.”

Shorett believes the recently purchased “Spargur property” around the corner will serve as an improved park for the island’s north end.

He said the park district’s plan to install a public dock will make the six-acre, beachfront property much more popular than T’Chookwap could ever be.

The Spargur property “is so far superior,” Shorett said. “And we’ll never have enough money to have (water) access and a dock at T’Chookwap.”

The city purchased the property from Priscilla Lavry in 1992 for $257,000, using a contribution of $137,000 from the Seattle Yacht Club next door.

A citizens committee considered various uses, including a bench, a covered picnic area and stairs down a bulkhead and a possible over-water platform.

But lacking sufficient funds, the plan failed to go forward and the park received little more attention than an occasional mow for about seven years.

In 1999, a Boy Scout volunteered to build the picnic shelter, but neighbors complained about its 12-foot wide size.

City officials agreed that the shelter had overstepped its permit, and it was moved to the Hidden Cove sports field complex on Phelps Road.

After more complaints from neighbors, the park district even took down the T’Chookwap Park sign.

Additional hearings exposed ongoing conflict between advocates for public access and neighbors who oppose it in their back yards.

Some neighbors said that Port Madison already sees heavy use by Seattle Yacht Club boaters, and that construction of a proposed public dock would draw even more waterborne traffic.

While few islanders know about the park, a handful of nearby residents turned out at a public meeting Wednesday to voice opposition to the property’s sale.

“I understand the city’s dilemma, but I take my 3-year-old down there all the time,” Sparger Loop resident Marc Lassoff said.

Lasof said he is most concerned about the park being sold to the Seattle Yacht Club.

“They’re out of control,” he said. “The yacht club’s slated as an outstation, but they’re becoming a full-blown resort.

“The club has a definite lack of respect for the people in the neighborhood.”

Dick Haugan, a Spargur Loop resident and yacht club member, said that the club’s plans for the property would remain low-key.

“We intend to keep the view access in the area of the park,” he said. “There would be no high-rises.”

Priscilla Lavry, whose family owned the T’Chookwap property for generations, doesn’t want to see the land used for any other purpose than the park she intended.

“I was told it would not be sold when I sold it to the city,” she said. “On a clear day, you can see Mt. Baker like no other place on the island. You can look out at the bay and see all its different complexions – like when the wind blows. When the wind blows, you can see purple ripples on the water. It’s such a beautiful place.

“In America, most things are for sale if enough money (is offered),” she said. “But I’d like to see that not be the case here. I’d like it to be left just the way it is.”