Submitted by the City of Olympia
On March 1, 2017 the City of Olympia purchased the second and final piece of the “LBA Woods” property. This 72-acre parcel owned by Dawley Trust (also known as Bentridge) is located in the 3900 block of Boulevard Road SE and immediately adjacent to LBA Park. Earlier this year, the City purchased the 74-acre D.R. Horton property (also known as Trillium/Ashton Woods) which is the other half of the “LBA Woods” and also adjacent to LBA Park. By adding the two wooded parcels to LBA Park, the total park acreage is now 155, which includes over 90 acres of open space. This makes LBA Park Olympia’s third largest park behind Priest Point Park (313 acres) and Grass Lakes Nature Park (195 acres).
“This is a great accomplishment,” said Paul Simmons, Director of Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation. “It would not have happened without the time, passion, and energy that many Olympians put into this effort.”
The Bentridge property provides a unique ability to meet several goals outlined in the Parks, Arts and Recreation Plan, the Regional Transportation Plan, and the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The majority of the property (approximately 59 acres) is dedicated to expanding the City’s inventory of park land. A much smaller portion of the property (approximately 2.8 acres) will be used for the future extension of the Log Cabin Road from Boulevard Road to Wiggins Road, as outlined in the Regional Transportation Plan. The remaining portion of the property (approximately 10 acres located adjacent to Boulevard Road) will be set aside for development of multi-family housing, and potentially some neighborhood-oriented commercial uses. The total cost to the City for this acquisition is $6.9 million.
In 2015 the Parks, Arts and Recreation Department facilitated an extensive public process in an effort to update the Parks, Arts, and Recreation Plan. This process included a series of eight neighborhood meetings with a total of 160 participants, an Olyspeaks online survey, a random sample survey that included 759 responses, and approximately 121 e-mail comments. The most dominant themes of this process were:
- Buy the LBA Woods property (the DR Horton and the Bentridge sites);
- Acquire land in general while it is available; and
- Buy open space/natural areas – provide nearby access to nature
“This park acquisition is consistent with what we heard from the community through two ballot initiatives, an extensive public process, and the ongoing support we’ve received from a large community stakeholder group,” Simmons said.
A goal of the 2004 voter approved 2% utility tax was to increase the park system by 500 acres. With this acquisition, the City has now acquired 324 acres since 2004.
The City has no immediate plans for park development at LBA Woods. The 2016 Parks, Arts and Recreation Plan identifies $100,000 for interim improvements to the park in 2018.
