The Shoreline School Board and Shoreline Water District Commission are in the process of selling their jointly owned, 15.59-acre wooded property near Fircrest School and Shorecrest High School.
Located at NE. 150th Street and 25th Avenue NE., the property has remained wooded since its purchase and its trails are utilized by residents.
Known as the “South Woods property,” the site was purchased a decade ago from the state Department of Natural Resources. The original intent by both districts was to utilize the property for expansion purposes, which has since changed, said officials from both districts.
“The board has indicated a willingness to divest the property,” Shoreline Schools Superintendent Jim Welsh said.
Shoreline Water District manager Stu Turner said the school district approached him about selling the land, which is owned in undivided interest. If one party were to sell, a division of the property would have to be completed.
“Our board thought about it,” Turner said. “They thought it was a good time to put it up for sale.”
In mid-January, letters were distributed to public agencies asking for interested parties to contact the school and water districts, Welsh said. To date, the property has not been solicited to public parties. Only government agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources or groups such as Cascade Land Conservancy, a non-profit land conservation organization, have received letters.
Michelle Connors, vice president of conservancy with Cascade Land Conservancy, said Metro King County Council member Carolyn Edmonds approached the organization regarding the South Woods property, asking them to consider becoming involved in discussions regarding the future of the property.
Connors, who attended a March 21 school board meeting, explained the non-profit’s involvement in other projects and spoke about how the organization could assist with the South Woods property. Connor is interested in finding “the best possible outcome with the resources available.” The group does not purchase land, but provides services to meet all groups’ interests, including community members’.
Cascade Land Conservancy “provides technical assistance and strategic thinking to help communities conserve land that’s important to them” while finding a way to meet the owners’ financial obligations, she said.
Local governments have not yet shown much interest in purchasing the property, Turner said, but there is still time until it is offered to a public party. There is no critical date for the property to be sold, he said, and if it is solicited to the public, a special process must be utilized.
“We are constrained, it is a very structured legal process to dispose of the property,” Turner said. “The process is outlined in statute, in state law, and we have to follow it.”
School district officials first became interested in the site at a time when school enrollment was projected to increase. They determined it would be beneficial to enter into the agreement with the water district with the intention of eventually building an additional elementary school on the South Woods property. The funding for this possible project was approved with the passage of a school bond in 1994.
Due to the decline in enrollment figures in the last few years, however, the district has enough room to support 12,000 students, while currently less than 10,000 students attend Shoreline schools, according to district figures.
“Those needs (for an additional school) are no longer,” Welsh said.
The school board has considered other factors pertaining to the property’s ownership, including liability, the valuation of the property and proper use of public funds.
Turner said the property was similarly acquired by the water district when they were looking to expand their facilities. At the time, they were in the last decade of a 30-year contract with Seattle Public Utilities, from whom they purchased all their water. The 30-year contract was due to expire Jan. 1, 2012, and utility officials indicated they would not renew contracts in the present form. The district considered treating water from Lake Washington, which would necessitate building a treatment facility, as well as storage, maintenance and administrative offices on the South Woods property.
A contract with Seattle Public Utilities has since been negotiated and the water district has a long-term 60-year contract for 100 percent of its water supply.
“This negated the need for the property, doing it this way is much cheaper,” Turner said. “Since that time, the school district has decided they no longer need the property and our need has changed as well.”
The last appraisal showed the land to be worth about $5 million, Turner said, but the actual value is between $6 million to $8 million.
Turner is aware of some sensitivities regarding the property, saying it is the largest undeveloped piece of property in the local area. Its former use was as military housing during WWII, he said, which is how it became part of the Department of Natural Resources.
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