ARLINGTON — An overgrown lot where homeless people sometimes camp in Smokey Point may soon become the city’s newest park.
The City Council is discussing cleaning up a vacant lot off Smokey Point Drive and turning it into a park.
The Smokey Point Association owns the 1.2-acre parcel and is considering donating it to the city. In exchange, the city would have to clean the land and maintain it.
During storms, water often forms big puddles on roads and in parking lots near the land. The city could use it to help alleviate flooding.
“We think it’s a good even trade for us to take on,” said assistant city administrator Kristin Banfield.
If the deal goes through, city workers would clear the brush, install park benches and picnic tables, and possibly create trails, Banfield said. City workers have cleaned the lot a few times and found items from homeless people who camp there, Banfield said.
“It was so overgrown, you literally couldn’t get through there,” she said.
The city and the Smokey Point Association have discussed the transfer in the past, but it has always fallen through. In order for the deal to be finalized, the city needs to receive a signed letter from the association. Then the City Council would vote on the measure during a meeting.
Herald Writer Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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