But that is exactly what the Seattle parks and recreation department is trying to do in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood, also becoming known as Uptown.
A new park for lower Queen Anne neighborhood was called for in the Queen Anne Neighborhood Plan several years ago. In 2000, the Pro Parks Levy earmarked close to $270,000 toward the new park to be constructed somewhere in the Uptown Urban Center.
Now the Department of Parks and Recreation has a list of eight potential sites, said Parks staffers Donald Harris and Bill Blair at a Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week.
Among the sites, Blair said, are the location of the now-closed Tower Books store and its parking lot on Mercer Street; a house and parking lot belonging to the Presbyterian Church around the corner on First Avenue North; the first block of West Roy Street, where several businesses are located; and a couple of locations occupied by businesses in the 300 and 400 blocks of West Republican Street.
Harris described the Uptown planning area of Queen Anne as a poster child for city neighborhoods that need more open space because of the increased residential density called for in those areas by the city's Comprehensive Plan.
"It's challenging because there's not a lot of vacant land sitting around," he noted.
Blair agreed that vacant land is scarce, and he said that much of what is left is already scheduled for development. However, there are also a number of properties that are underutilized, Blair said of developments built to less than the capacity current zoning will allow.
"So what we've been doing is working with the Uptown Alliance," Blair said. "We also want to talk to as many people as we can to locate and develop a park on lower Queen Anne."
The Pro Parks Levy money would be enough to buy two standard-sized lots that are about the size of a tennis court and the land surrounding it, according to Blair. The two lots combined would equal about a third of an acre.
A public survey conducted by the Uptown Alliance planning group also identified the kind of park people in the neighborhood would like to see. Blair described the top choice as "a classic, passive park."
Among other features, the park would possibly have playground equipment, and it would be fairly level to make the open space accessible to the handicapped. Public art could be included. The park also would have a "defensible design to discourage inappropriate use by street alcoholics and panhandlers."
Potential sites are all located on the north sides of streets so that future construction of mid-rise buildings wouldn't block the sunlight, Blair added.
Some owners of property identified as potential park sites are willing to at least talk about selling their land, Blair said. "We haven't really started negotiating with anyone yet," he added.
Another factor involved in choosing which property to purchase is whether there are existing residential or business tenants on the land. If there are, the city would have to pay for relocation costs, Blair said.
The next step would be to complete an analysis of whether the properties being considered are suitable for developing a park, he said, with the results to be presented to the community at a meeting in May or June.
Once the community and the parks department make a choice, the proposal will be forwarded to an oversight committee for the Pro Parks Levy, Blair said.
After the oversight committee OKs the choice, the Seattle City Council and the mayor's office also have to approve the property's purchase, Blair said. Assuming everything goes well, Blair estimates there could be a new park in the neighborhood sometime next year.
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