By 
On Wednesday December 3 Bellevue hosted an open house for citizens to comment on plans for Phase #1 of the Waterfront Park. Among the attendees were the MBNA Board, Yacht Club officers, and many of you. The major features of Phase 1–the ravine with day-lighted stream, the new swim beach, the curved floating pier into the Bay, and the new beach house–were described by city staff and consultants. Attendee suggestions and comments about these features are being transcribed by the city and will be published on its website in a few weeks.
The MBNA Board believes there are signs of progress in achieving our goals. For example, MBNA has urged for years that the curved pier not extend beyond the existing city marina dock. The plans now show the length of the pier has been reduced from 350′ to 290′, the same distance as the existing marina docks. We hope the planners agree that the pier, as well as many other features of the park, should be more in keeping with the residential nature of Meydenbauer Bay.
Based on what we learned at the Wednesday Open House, the MBNA Board prepared a position statement and then met on Friday, December 5 with city planning staff and the design contractor, Anchor QEA. For 90 minutes we discussed the major features of the park, light pollution, hours of operation, permitted uses, construction materials, parking, safety, and security. For a complete list of the issues discussed, see our Park Design Position Paper Phase 1.
We believe the Friday meeting was a constructive continuation of the dialog we initiated last September 25. We expect to continue this dialog with the city in April 2015, as Phase 1 plans near completion.
