Since Gas Works Park opened to the public in 1973, environmental challenges have been a constant for city officials and special-interest groups as park-goers roam the grounds of the former Seattle Gas and Light Co.'s gas plant. While the site has since undergone extensive environmental cleanup, some citizens wonder whether heavy use of the park during special events poses undue risk to citizens because of Gas Works' sensitive nature. Currently, Seattle Parks and Recreation bans any disturbance of the ground at Gas Works to ensure the soil cap - a combination of fabric and 10 to 18 inches of soil covered in grass that protects citizens from benzene-contaminated soil underneath - remains intact. The restrictions include digging holes, staking tents and driving on the grass.Environmental activist Ben Schroeter contends that heavy equipment used to set up for large public and private events and concrete blocks intended to hold party tents in place (in lieu of stakes) can potentially damage the soil cap. "When you place multi-ton structures on the grass, even with plywood, it is still going to cause some pressure to be put on the cap," Schroeter said. "Is that going to cause a break that will allow for things to well up? We do not know, and nobody has done any testing."ENVIRONMENTAL CONTENTIONSchroeter believes the city is in violation of the State Environmental Protection Act, which mandates state and local agencies consider the environmental impact of proposals before they can be either approved or denied. He contends that private events such as the wedding party thrown by University Village owner Stuart Sloan in August 2007 and public events like the annual Fourth of July celebration should go through the SEPA process to determine likely environmental impact. However, according to Part Nine of the SEPA rules, some proposals are categorically exempt from SEPA because it is unlikely they will have adverse environmental consequences.In 2006 the City of Seattle claimed the One Reel Summer Nights Concert Series was categorically exempt from SEPA. A lawsuit brought by Friends of Gas Works Park claimed otherwise, and a judge ultimately agreed, effectively blocking the concerts from Gas Works until a SEPA review could determine the environmental impact. Schroeter believes this case set a precedent for all large events at Gas Works - both public and private. He is suing the City of Seattle for violation of the Public Records Act after his request for "every last document or piece of evidence concerning [the Sloan party] and any other events that involve the privatization of vast sections of public parks" went unanswered."I intend on having a judge tell the city that large events in Gas Works Park require SEPA and that they are not categorically exempt," Schroeter said.LITTLE RISKHowever, Friends of Gas Works Park member Mark Johnson disagrees. He maintains that while his group cited myriad concerns they believed warranted SEPA, the judge ultimately made his decision because a power line required for the concert series had the potential to disrupt the soil cap."I think that [the decision] was not as sweeping as to say that all events [at Gas Works] from now on will have to go though the SEPA review process," Johnson said.Seattle Parks and Recreation agrees with Johnson and insists the pressure put on the cap by concrete blocks and grandstands pose little risk to citizens."The nature of the contaminants is that they generally do not migrate up: They move with the groundwater sub-surface. It is an issue because it does move out into the sediments [in Lake Union]," said senior parks planner David Graves.Graves does admit the grass is a vital part of the soil cap because it provides a natural grip on the soil underneath, ensuring clean soil stays in place.While Schroeter's battle for documents is ongoing, he has obtained inspection reports from Seattle Parks and Recreation showing areas of grass on the soil cap that appear dead or damaged as a result of the Sloan party."I have no records of them paying for the damaged grass," Schroeter said. "When huge private events happen, the taxpayers end up paying for it."PAYING UPSchroeter's public-records request also sought to gather documents verifying payment for the re-grading and re-graveling of the road in Gas Works, as well as an electrical upgrade to the park - both done prior to the Sloan party. However, the city has been unable to provide Schroeter with any documents confirming payment to the city from Sloan or his event planners, The Workshop."I presume they haven't collected the money because they have not included the documents. The amount of fees that Sloan or The Workshop paid is not even close to the amount of money the city spent to help stage the [wedding] party," Schroeter said.The Workshop maintains it complied with all fees and regulations requested by Seattle Parks and Recreation. "I don't recall the payments exactly; however, I know we paid everything requested by the city," Workshop president David Doxtater said.The Workshop also donated lumber, sod and rock to re-cover a pathway in Gas Works after the party. "We donated this just to make improvements to the park as the city requested and to be good neighbors as well," Doxtater said.PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT?Schroeter did obtain copies of city permits that seem to indicate preferential treatment to big business. Both Beyond Pix Communications (a productions company working for Landor & Associates, an agency working for Microsoft) and Wieden & Kennedy (an advertising agency based in Portland that works for Starbucks Coffee) requested permits to shoot still photography in Gas Works and were not charged for their use of the park. However, when the Seattle Public Schools' All City Band requested permits to shoot in Gas Works for a picture night in 2007 the band was charged $110. "They are waiving special-event fees for big business. [The city] will enforce certain kinds of rules on some permits and not on others," Schroeter said. Malia Langworthy, communications special advisor for Seattle Parks and Recreation, said Schroeter is mistaken. She explained that all permits for commercial filming first go to the Mayor's Office of Film + Music, where companies are charged $25 for the right to film in the City of Seattle. The parks department only issued filming permits to Beyond Pix Communication and Landor & Associates and charged neither, because all fees were already paid to the city's film department. Seattle Parks and Recreation does this as an internal function to ensure the park is not double-booked, Langworthy explained.The Seattle Public Schools' All City Band was charged $110 for their use of the park because it was treated as a special event and not as a commercial film shoot, Langworthy said.[[In-content Ad]]
