The city of North Bend is working with King County and a local family to create a new community park in the newly annexed Tanner neighborhood.
King County originally purchased land from the Dahlgren family to construct Tanner Landing Park, a white water access park on the Snoqualmie River. Now, the city and county hope to expand the area with an additional 2.5 acres south of the park, which the family plans to donate to the city, creating Dahlgren Family Park.
The property located on the south side of North Bend Way ,between Mount Si Road and where Snoqualmie Valley Trail crosses North Bend Way. The 21 acre parcel, which includes the 2.5 acres to be donated, is zoned as an Employment Park Zone, or EP1, an industrial zoning district.
Since zoning is inconsistent with creating a park, the city hopes to alter it around the park area. This will benefit the Dahlgrens by giving them flexibility for development, North Bend City Administrator Duncan Wilson said.
The North Bend City Council discussed the change at its Tuesday, May 18, meeting. Council members sought to ensure that the park acreage will not count with on Dahlgren’s assessment for the Sewer ULID.
“This is a fantastic idea, but let’s make sure we do it correctly,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Dee Williamson.
Each property owner that receives benefits in the ULID is responsible to pay for sewer improvements.
Dahlgren Family Park
When North Bend had annexed the Tanner area, there were no existing parks. In order to meet North Bend’s Park Comprehension Plan, the city will need to update it with future park locations.
Tanner Landing Park and Dahlgren Family Park will be the first parks at Tanner.
“A year ago, we were thinking office buildings and light industrial buildings would not be the nicest thing next to the Tanner Landing Park,” said North Bend Senior Planner Mike McCarty. “You have trail and recreational users on the property, so it would be nice to see something more compatible.”
The zoning change and exchange was proposed by the city.
The Dahlgrens have owned the property since the 1950s, running a family farm. They raise cattle on the remaining 21 acres.
Uses allowed in the city’s Master Plan Overlay District include residential and commercial structures and a small amount of retail uses related to the park, such as restaurants, kayak or bike rental shops, as well as recreational retail use.
“This is a reserved area intended to be closer to the park, so we don’t sprawl retail all along North Bend Way,” McCarty said.
Following Tuesday’s first reading at the council meeting, council members will discuss the property’s assessment, with approval coming as early a Tuesday, June 1, meeting.
