“Neighborhood scale” business zoning, like small corner cafes in limited appropriate areas, has the potential to create cozy and walkable neighborhood pockets in different places in the city, while simultaneously increasing commercial tax revenue and taking tax pressure off homeowners.

Population growth and new state laws require more housing across the region including Lake Forest Park, which continues to be one of the most desirable cities in the area. We must ensure that we continue to respond to these pressures thoughtfully, with community input, and in a way that preserves the character of our neighborhoods.

Keeping our forested city green and healthy is fundamental to our city’s character. We’ve made recent improvements, but there is more work to do to ensure the health of our tree canopy, streams, and parks.

As green as Lake Forest Park is, we do have fewer public parks than comparable cities. We should continue to invest in our park system, slowly and in a fiscally responsible way when budgets allow.

The ST3 plan for 522 in Lake Forest Park has been contentious for years and the source of many arguments. But ST3 has continued to move forward, and we’re nearing the end of the process (see the official LFP ST3 page). Many parts of the project have seen great improvement during City negotiations with Sound Transit, but a few decisions still provoke vocal opinions.

At this point the city needs to focus on monitoring the project and permits as it progresses, and to make sure that Sound Transit keeps the promises it made during our lengthy negotiations and builds the project correctly.