3. Shoreline Parks, Recreation, and Open Space

Public Parks

Note: The Comprehensive Park, Open Space and Recreation Plan provides policies and planning for parks, open space and recreating within the City of Kirkland, including waterfront parks.

Goal SA-18: Provide substantial recreational opportunities for the public in the shoreline area.

With miles of shoreline, the City has preserved significant portions of its waterfront in public ownership as parks. Kirkland’s waterfront parks are the heart and soul of the City’s park system. They bring identity and character to the park system and contribute significantly to Kirkland’s charm and quality of life. The 14 waterfront parks stretch from the Yarrow Bay wetlands to the south to Juanita Bay, Juanita Beach and O. O. Denny Parks to the north, providing Kirkland residents year-round waterfront access. Kirkland’s waterfront parks are unique because they provide citizens a diversity of waterfront experiences for different tastes and preferences. Park activities and facilities include public docks and fishing access, boat moorage, boat launches, swimming, interpretative trails, and picnicking. Citizens can enjoy the passive and natural surroundings of Juanita Bay and Kiwanis Parks and the more active swimming and sunbathing areas of Houghton and Waverly Beach Parks.

Houghton Beach Park

Policy SA-18.1: Acquire, develop, and renovate shoreline parks, recreational facilities, and open spaces that are attractive, safe, functional, and respect or enhance the integrity and character of the shoreline.

While Kirkland is blessed with many extraordinary waterfront parks, we should never lose sight of capturing opportunities when additional waterfront property on Lake Washington becomes available. If privately held lakefront parcels adjacent to existing beach parks or at other appropriate locations become available, effort should be made to acquire these pieces. As new shoreline parks are acquired and developed, the ecological functions of the shoreline should be protected and enhanced.

Policy SA-18.2: Encourage water-oriented activities and programs within shoreline parks.

Kirkland’s recreational programs provide opportunities for small craft programs such as canoeing/kayaking, sailing, rowing, and sail-boating. Programs oriented around non-motorized boating activities provide excellent opportunities to teach recreation skills emphasizing water and boating safety and should be expanded, where appropriate.

In addition, the City awards contracts to parties interested in occupying dock space in the Kirkland Marina and Second Avenue South Dock for commercial use. The City may also expand concession facilities within its parks. These types of commercial recreational uses, which expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the shoreline, should be encouraged within the City’s shoreline parks.

Policy SA-18.3: Continue use of opened waterfront street ends for public access.

Street ends are also wonderful opportunities to expand the public’s access to the waterfront. The City has developed four street ends for the public’s use and enjoyment. They are located along Lake Washington Boulevard at Street End Park, Settler’s Landing, Fifth Avenue South and Second Street West. The City also has plans in place for development of the Lake Avenue West Street End Park.

Policy SA-18.4: Explore opportunities for use and enjoyment of unopened street ends.

Presently, two waterfront street ends, 4th Street West and 5th Street West, remain unopened for public use. The ability to use these street ends for public use is presently impacted by a lack of public access from the land to the street end. If the City decides to open the street end for public use, it should work with the community and neighboring residents to prepare and adopt a development and use plan.

Policy SA-18.5: Ensure that development of recreational uses does not adversely impact shoreline ecological functions.

The development of recreational facilities has the potential to adversely impact shoreline ecological functions, for instance by increasing the amount of physical access and activity as well as overwater coverage and motorized watercraft access. As a result, recreational uses shall be appropriately sited and planned to minimize any resultant impacts.

Goal SA-19: Protect and restore publicly owned natural resource areas located within the shoreline area.

Policy SA-19.1: Manage natural areas within the shoreline parks to protect and restore ecological functions, values and features.

Kirkland is fortunate to have two of Lake Washington’s largest and most important wetland and wildlife resources in its public park system: Juanita Bay Park and the Yarrow Bay wetlands, both of which have been mapped as priority wetlands by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Both the Yarrow Bay wetlands and Juanita Bay Park extending up Forbes Creek corridor provide excellent habitat for birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles. The outlets for four of the most prominent streams within the City, Juanita Creek, Forbes Creek, Yarrow Creek and Denny Creek, are also located within the City’s shoreline parks. These streams are known to support salmonids. In addition, the Forbes Creek corridor has been designated by WDFW as a priority “riparian zone” due to its high fish and wildlife density, species diversity, important fish and wildlife breeding habitat, important wildlife seasonal ranges, high vulnerability to habitat alteration, and presence of unique or dependent species.

Preserving wildlife habitat, water quality, and forested areas is an important aspect of good park resource management. The existence of these natural areas also offers a variety of opportunities for aesthetic enjoyment, and passive and low-impact recreational and educational activities.

In order to protect wildlife habitat within Juanita and Yarrow Bay, it may be necessary to manage watercraft access, such as establishing restricted areas or limiting vessel speeds or other operations.

Policy SA-19.2: Promote habitat and natural resource conservation through acquisition, preservation, and rehabilitation of important natural areas, and continuing development of interpretive education programs.

The City parks also present an opportunity to implement restoration activities to improve degraded wetlands and habitat, control the spread of noxious plants, and improve the water quality of streams. As noted in the Final Kirkland Shoreline Analysis Report (December 2006), the City has initiated several studies to address restoration opportunities within Juanita Beach Park and Juanita Bay Park. In addition, the City has adopted a 20-Year Forest Restoration Plan to restore Kirkland’s urban forests by removal of invasive plants and planting native species for the sustainability of the forest and its habitat. The City has acquired properties within the shoreline area near the Yarrow Bay wetlands impacted by critical areas and will continue to explore similar acquisition opportunities. The Parks Department has also established an interpretative program in Juanita Bay Park and will evaluate appropriate opportunities to expand this type of educational resource within natural areas.

Goal SA-20: Use a system of best management practices and best available technologies in the construction, maintenance and renovation of recreational facilities located in the shoreline environment.

The high visibility and use of Kirkland’s waterfront parks require high levels of maintenance, periodic renovation, and security. Swimming beaches, piers, recreational moorage facilities, boat ramps, and shoreline walkways must be kept safe and in good condition for the public’s enjoyment and use. Maintenance of these recreational facilities should be done in a way that minimizes any adverse effects to aquatic organisms and their habitats. Renovation of these areas also provides an opportunity to restore areas impacted by historical shoreline modifications such as alteration of shoreline vegetation, construction of bulkheads, and piers and docks.

Policy SA-20.1: Incorporate salmon-friendly pier design for new or renovated piers and environmentally friendly methods of maintaining docks in its shoreline parks.

Marina Park pier with grated decking

Overwater coverage and in-water structures can adversely impact ecological functions and ecosystem-wide processes. As the City renovates or constructs new overwater structures, it should incorporate impact minimization measures, such as minimizing widths of piers and floats, increasing light transmission through any overwater structures, enhancing the shoreline with native vegetation, improving shallow-water habitat, and reducing the overall number and size of pier piles, in order to minimize the impacts of these structures. Opportunities exist to reduce overwater coverage and in-water structures in a number of shoreline parks, including Juanita Beach Park, Waverly Beach Park, the Lake Avenue West Street End Park, Marina Park, David E. Brink Park, Marsh Park, and Houghton Beach Park.

Kirkland contains a number of piers within its shoreline parks, including at Houghton Beach Park, Marsh Park, David E. Brink Park, Marina Park, Waverly Beach Park, Juanita Beach Park, Juanita Bay Park, Settler’s Landing, and the Second Avenue Right-of-Way in the Downtown. To maintain these piers, replacement of the decking is needed on a routine basis. The City has obtained a Hydraulic Project Approval from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to cover this maintenance activity and, as part of this permit, grating will be installed in lieu of existing solid boards when the boards are replaced, allowing for greater light transmission through these overwater structures.

Policy SA-20.2: Minimize impacts to the natural environment and neighboring uses from boat launch facilities to the greatest extent feasible.

Kirkland’s public boat launch at Marina Park contains a one-lane facility for trailerable boats. This facility provides important access to Lake Washington, but has experienced several problems including poor traffic circulation and congestion. The City employs use regulations for this facility in order to minimize impact; these regulations are monitored under the Dock Masters program. A trailer parking area is provided at nearby Waverly Park. Continued management of boat trailer parking should be maintained in order to minimize these impacts to the greatest extent feasible.

If, in the future, the boat launch at Marina Park were to relocate, the City should cooperate with other jurisdictions to assure that this regional need is addressed with regional participation and resources.

Policy SA-20.3: Incorporate salmon-friendly landscape design practices in shoreline parks.

Nearshore native vegetation at Juanita Beach Park

The City’s parks and natural areas are a reflection of the values of the Kirkland community. The Parks Department strives to ensure that the public landscape remains attractive, while meeting the expectations of our users and preserving our parks and natural spaces for generations to come.

Opportunities exist to improve nearshore native vegetation in a number of shoreline parks, including Juanita Beach Park, O.O. Denny Park, Waverly Beach Park, the Lake Avenue West street end park, Marina Park, David E. Brink Park, Settler’s Landing, Marsh Park, and Houghton Beach Park. Restoration activities could include such practices as native plant buffers at the shoreline edge, control of noxious and invasive species, implementation of sound horticultural practices, use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, organic fertilizers, and natural lawn care practices.

Since 1998, the Kirkland Parks Department has been following an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. IPM is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical methods in a way that provides effective and efficient maintenance of the City’s park system.

The objectives of the IPM policy are:

•    Protect the health, safety and welfare of the environment and community.

•    Provide efficient, cost effective maintenance of the City’s park system using non-chemical controls whenever possible.

•    Design new and renovate existing landscape areas that suit site conditions with sustainable maintenance practices.

•    Restore, create and protect environmentally valuable areas such as wetlands, riparian areas, forests, meadows, and wildlife habitat.

The IPM decision making process brings into play multiple strategies that are utilized as tools to help implement the program, including (but not limited to):

•    The use of sound horticultural practices to optimize plant health and suppress insects, disease and weed growth.

•    Site appropriate design with the use of disease and drought tolerant native plants.

•    The use of natural control agents that act as predators or parasites of pest species.

•    The use of beneficial organisms that improve plant health by enhancing the soil quality.

•    The use of a variety of tools, equipment and, most importantly, people to assist with pest control.

The long-range goal of this program is for the parks and open spaces to be pesticide-free.

The Kirkland Parks Department is undertaking efforts to control invasive vegetation, including eradication and replanting with native vegetation, within Juanita Bay Park, under the recommendations contained within the Juanita Bay Park Vegetation Management Plan prepared in 2004 by Sheldon and Associates, Inc. It divides the park into 10 management areas by habitat type that are distributed among three landscape zones based on location and historic use. Goals and objectives were established for each landscape zone, and then treatments were suggested for each management area within the landscape zones. The primary objective for the less developed landscape zones is removal of invasive species and replacement with native species, as well as supplementation of existing native vegetation to increase species and habitat diversity.

The Kirkland Parks Department has also initiated a program to install water intakes in Lake Washington for use as irrigation of Kirkland Parks. The water withdrawn from Lake Washington by Parks would be used to irrigate eight parks, which are currently provided with irrigation water from the City’s potable water system. In conjunction with this project, the Parks Department plans to install vegetation along the shoreline edge.

Policy SA-20.4: Minimize impacts from publicly initiated aquatic vegetation management efforts.

The Kirkland Parks Department undertakes mechanical aquatic vegetation management efforts at both Houghton and Waverly Beach Parks to control milfoil. After attempts to use biological and mechanical means to control aquatic invasive species at Juanita Bay Park, the Kirkland Parks Department has initiated an herbicide application. Aquatic vegetation management efforts can have potential negative impacts relevant to the Lake Washington environment and therefore control efforts should be designed to use a mix of various methods with emphasis on the most environmentally sensitive methods.

Policy SA-20.5: Control non-native species which impact Kirkland’s shoreline.

The City Parks Department periodically undertakes programs to control non-native species along the shoreline. For instance, the Parks Department has planned improvements within Juanita Beach Park to reduce waterfowl impacts at this park. Programs aimed at controlling impacts associated with non-native species use of the waterfront should continue. Any programs initiated should be designed to minimize any potential impacts to native species.

Policy SA-20.6: Implement low-impact development techniques, where feasible, in development of or renovations to recreational facilities along City shorelines.

Low-impact development strives to mimic nature by minimizing impervious surface, infiltrating surface water through biofiltration and bio-retention facilities, retaining contiguous forested areas, and maintaining the character of the natural hydrologic cycle. Utilizing these practices can have many benefits, including improvement of water quality and reduction of stream and fish habitat impacts. The Parks Department has successfully incorporated low-impact development techniques with park development efforts, such as Waverly Park and Watershed Park. These techniques should also be considered for any improvements within shoreline parks.

Opportunities exist to reduce impervious surface coverage in a number of shoreline parks, including Waverly Beach Park, Street End Park, and Marsh Park and LID should be explored as a means to reduce this coverage.

Policy SA-20.7: Reduce or modify existing shoreline armoring within Kirkland’s shoreline parks to improve and restore the aquatic environment.

Bulkheads or other types of shoreline armoring can adversely impact ecological functions and ecosystem-wide processes. Kirkland contains a number of structural shoreline stabilization measures, such as concrete or rip-rap bulkheads, within its shoreline parks. Opportunities exist to reduce shoreline armoring in a number of shoreline parks, including O.O. Denny Park, Waverly Beach Park, Marina Park, David E. Brink Park, Settler’s Landing, Marsh Park, and Houghton Beach Park. If repair or replacement is needed to these existing structures, the Parks Department should explore the use of nonstructural measures. Further, new development within the City’s parks should be located and designed to eliminate the need for new shoreline modification or stabilization.

Goal SA-21: Undertake restoration opportunities to improve shoreline ecological functions and ecosystem-wide processes where feasible.

The City’s shoreline parks present opportunities for restoration that would improve ecological functions, including reduction of shoreline armoring, reduction of overwater cover and in-water structures, improvement of nearshore native vegetation cover, reduction of impervious surface coverage, control of invasive vegetation, and improvement of fish passage where possible.

In addition, many projects planned under the Surface Water Management Utility would provide wetland enhancement, fish passage improvement, bioengineered streambank erosion, restoration of armored streambanks, flood abatement, and water quality improvement. While many of these projects are planned “upstream” of shoreline jurisdiction, they can still have positive effects on the shoreline environment.