Proposed Sports Field Upgrade at Big Finn Hill Park Raising Concerns

A proposal to replace the grass on a sports field at with artificial turf and add lights, fencing and bleachers is generating concern among residents and will be the subject of a public meeting on Monday.

Kirkland Lacrosse is proposing the $1.6 million upgrade to the field at the popular 220-acre park as part of King County Parks’ Community Partnerships program. Group officials say the growing sport of lacrosse lacks locations to play because of a serious shortage of sports fields on the Eastside.

The group met with some residents earlier this spring, but many residents say they were not notified and have many questions.

Kirkland Lacrosse has established a Facebook site about the proposal, and judging by comments there and conversations locally, views range from total support to total opposition, with a wide range between. Supporters say impacts would be minimal, that the field is already a designated sports venue that could still be used by other groups, and that the need is extreme. Opponents fear impacts on neighbors' privacy, peace and quiet, increased traffic and activity, and longer hours of play. Some say the upgraded facility would be an intrusion on the park's forested, natural setting.

“The Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance has not taken a position, and we’re waiting to get more information,” said Scott Morris, president of Finn Hill’s most active community group. “I've heard from a few residents who live around the park about concerns with increased lighting, increased traffic, activity at night and noise at night.

“I’ve also heard more generally that having an upgraded field and more activity might not be a bad thing for the park.”

Steve Lytle, president of Kirkland Lacrosse, said the group is prepared to address all those issues at the meeting Monday, June 20, at , 7-8 p.m.

“There are a fair amount of people who have concerns, and they have perspectives that are valid,” he said. “Our concern right now is to get the whole story out to the broader community and see how it will be accepted.

“This might not be a perfect facility, but if its not here, there’s nowhere else. There aren’t any other fields (available) in Kirkland.”

Lytle said the park would use state-of-the-art lighting that focuses the beams downward, and that the surrounding forest would prevent any shine from reaching nearby homes. Also, the group has agreed to use the same whistles as used for soccer. Lacrosse, of Native American origin and now the fastest-growing group sport in America, traditionally uses air horns.

He said the field would be used for lacrosse primarily over three months of the year beginning in February, and the rest of the year it would be used for soccer or other activities.

The upgraded facility would result in more use of the park, Lytle said, but added that with its location being surrounded by forest, it is suitable for increased use.

“It’s beautiful, serene, absolutely lovely to walk there,” he acknowledged. “But my position is, it is an athletic field already,” and that it is appropriate to “concentrate usage in an existing area.”

He said the field is too wet most of the year to use as a sports field, and that the artificial surface would increase it playability, eliminate the need for fertilizers and channel runoff into a filtration area.

“The side benefit is that this will bring a field designed 30 years ago up to modern standards,” he said. “This is really a good thing for the community.”

Some residents are upset that the county is pursuing the proposal, noting the anger and concern expressed earlier this year to a proposal to build a new Kirkland fire station on 1.5 acres of the park just across Juanita Drive from the sports field.

Kevin Brown, King County parks director, said the county is very much interested in the proposal, noting that Big Finn is designated as a regional park to provide recreation for all the region's residents.

"We can't meet the demands of our field users out there," he said. "With this year's crazy weather, we've had many, many rain-outs that affected many user groups. The advantage of synthetic surfaces is, that is not a problem. As we've been upgrading other fields, we've been adding synthetic surfaces. But we don't have a large capital budget for those upgrades."

Lytle said Kirkland Lacrosse would pay for the upgrade over time using donations, as well as revenue from rental fees paid by other groups to use the field. But Brown said he understood that about $150,000 in state funding would also be available.