Snoqualmie Valley School District and the city of Snoqualmie have signed a deal to share school parking spaces on Snoqualmie Ridge with a planned YMCA.

The agreement, approved Monday, April 26, by the city council and passed three days later by the Snoqualmie Valley School District Board of Directors, allows city use of school parking facilities outside of school hours.

In return, the school can use city parking spaces for overflow parking during school hours. Both parties can make arrangements for special events, and may close their lot at any time.

There are 114 parking stalls at Ridge Community Park now. Between 50 and 60 would be built in the community center’s first phase.

The school lot is meant as a back-up to the YMCA’s own parking facilities, Snoqualmie Parks and Recreation Director Gwen Voelpel said.

“We don’t see a big use, because we’re going to have five spaces per thousand square feet. That’s above what we require for retail,” Voelpel said. “The center of the arrangement is to have adequate parking on site, provided by the (YMCA).”

“In those ‘perfect storm’ situations, where there is a soccer game or something going on at the school, that is where we see that going into play.”

Efforts are being made to set up informal lines of communication on parking between the city, school district and YMCA, Voelpel said, in order to minimize conflicts.

The city may also need to take a new look at park-and-ride facilities, she added.

The parking agreement states that both parties must provide insurance coverage for accidents and property damage.