A ballot measure in the upcoming Aug. 5 primary election asks King County voters to approve Proposition No. 1, the replacement parks levy.
The King County Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy is a not a new tax, but a replacement for the expiring parks levy. Voters first approved the levy in 2008, and have renewed it every eight years.
If voters again approve the levy by a simple majority, the new tax rate would be 23 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value for six years. For the average King County homeowner with $844,000 in assessed property value, the annual bill comes out to $194, or about $16 a month.
The proposed tax rate is higher than the levy voters approved in 2019, which was a little more than 18 cents per $1,000 assessed property value. Supporters note that the cost difference is about $3.50 a month.
King County expects to collect more than $1.45 billion over the six years of the levy to support more than 250 parks, 185 miles of regional trails, 215 miles of backcountry trails, and 32,000 acres of open space. Levy revenue makes up about 85% of the department’s budget.
“This is our opportunity to increase King County Parks’ capacity for maintenance and safety, enhance sports fields, playgrounds, and aquatic centers, protect more open space for a growing population, and accelerate the expansion of regional trails,” King County Executive Shannon Braddock said in an April endorsement of the levy.
No statement was submitted to the voters pamphlet in opposition to the levy.
Funding local projects
If this levy is approved, roughly $119 million of levy funds will be funneled directly to cities, towns, and park districts, and another $144 million into various other grants and community partnerships.
Some park levy funding goes toward some of King County’s most popular attractions like the King County Fair, Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, Memorial Stadium, Seattle’s Waterfront Park, the Pacific Science Center and Marymoor Park. The proposal would also fund amenities such as new off-leash dog areas, parking, restrooms and wayfinding.
The proposal calls for expanding regional trails including the Lake to Sound Trail, Green River Trail, Soos Creek Trail, Snoqualmie Valley Trail, Eastrail and Interurban Trail. According to the county, the levy would also help fund a connection from Eastrail to Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park in Renton.
Other South King County projects include $5 million to be allocated to the City of Kent for Kent regional trails and trail connections and $1 million to be used for the Maple Valley SR-169 Pedestrian Bridge, to support the City of Maple Valley’s work on a new pedestrian bridge over SR-169 Maple Valley Black Diamond Road at SE 258th Street.
The Department of Natural Resources and Parks also highlights a “premier sports complex” outside Federal Way, upgrades at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, and completing design and construction of a 20-acre nature park at Lakeland North Urban Park between Auburn and Federal Way.
Here’s a link to some proposed projects in King County.
King County notes that this is the first levy to reserve revenue for a “climate response fund” to support projects like upgrading facilities to be more energy efficient and installing water features in parks in response to climate change and warmer weather.
The levy revenue will also double the size of King County Parks’ Youth Conservation Corps, a paid summer internship for teens interested getting into an environmental field or enjoy working outside at parks.
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