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closeBonney Lake gets good news about proposed YMCA
By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald
The Bonney Lake City Council approved an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, which proposed making portions of the current 149-acre Washington State University experimental forest into commercial areas and residential housing. Some portions would remain forested, the plan dictates.
The approval is positive news for YMCA proponents: A part of the current forest, which was given to WSU by Weyerhaeuser in 1941 and is currently jointly owned by the two organizations, is reserved for that purpose alone.
“About five acres ... is intended to be a community center of some sort, a YMCA,” Bonney Lake Planning Manager Heather Stinson said.
“That was the number one area identified in the Bonney Lake area, based on the market research that was done about two years ago (for a YMCA),” Ecklund said. “That is ideal property. It’s perfect to be part of the park-like setting.”
Additionally, the western third of the forest will be a commercial area, about 42 acres in the middle will remain public facilities zoning and be owned by the city, which will house the YMCA there, and the eastern portion will be zoned high-density residential and will hold up to 600 homes.
The application for the rezone came from Quadrant Corp., which is acting on behalf of WSU and Weyerhaeuser, said Pete Lymberis, Quadrant’s senior development manager.
“The ... forest was used by WSU for many years as a demonstration forest and for research,” Lymberis explained. “Over the years, the city ... became much more urbanized ... and the forest itself started seeing a lot of issues with crime.”
The increased criminal activity, coupled with the danger of root rot on the trees, forced WSU to close the forest in 2006.
“WSU no longer has any need for the forest,” Lymberis said. “With that, they decided it was time for a change.”
WSU will, however, keep its ownership of all but the city-owned portion of the forest for the time being.
“Over time, as the city grows, WSU will try to sell those parcels to help fund their educational mission,” Lymberis said.
So far, the city has received one application, for a medical office building to be constructed in the designated commercial area and as for the portion owned by the city, the YMCA is the only definite plan, Bonney Lake Planing Manager Heather Stinson said. Most of property could look similar to how it looks now for the near future.
“Nobody’s really sure what the city will do with the rest of it,” she explained. “It could end up being any number of things.”
In the short run, she said, it will likely remain a forest.
“(That area) has been officially closed to the public for a few years,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to open that back up.”
With this rezone approved, Ecklund said YMCA officials are excited to build a site in Bonney Lake by 2018. The Bonney Lake YMCA would be “complementary” to the proposed Sumner site, which is on track to be finished by 2013.
“One of the things that accelerated Sumner’s opening was the city of Sumner pledged $2.5 million to the YMCA,” Ecklund said. “We’re promising to open the Bonney Lake YMCA by 2018, but it could be similarly accelerated. The demand is there, it’s incredible.”