King County Executive: 60 Acres fact sheet

Oct. 28, 2005

60 Acres Fact Sheet

King County today announced an agreement that ends the more than decade-long dispute over the fate of property known as Muller Farm near Redmond and King County parks property known as 60 Acres South.

"This ends the long-time friction between the need for recreational fields and the preservation of agricultural lands," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "This is a excellent and elegant agreement that gets us out of the courts and allows use of the land in dispute.

"One of the most exciting parts of the agreement is the prospect of Lake Washington Technical College expanding its horticulture and organic farming programs," said Sims. "Organic farming is an emerging field of endeavor and this will help nurture it. It’s a three-way win."

A three-way Memorandum of Understanding has been signed that returns a majority of Mueller Farm to active agricultural uses, provides for immediate development of 35 acres for new athletic fields and expands Lake Washington Technical College’s horticulture-ag-based curriculum.

The three parties have agreed that:

King County will surplus property known as 60 Acres South to the Lake Washington Soccer Association
The Soccer Association will sell two of three parcels currently known as the Muller Farm to King County and the Lake Washington Technical College
Lake Washington Technical College will pay approximately $500,000 toward the transaction based on preliminary appraisals of the two properties.

This partnership will achieve goals of all three groups:

Return the Muller Farm to agricultural uses consistent with King County Farmland Preservation Program, the Parks Division’s Business Plan and state law;
Provide for expanded horticulture and organic farming programs for Lake Washington Technical College, and
Increase the number of soccer fields in the underserved Eastside area by 6 to 9 fields at no cost to King County

This MOU ends 12 years of debate and court cases that went all the way to the State Supreme Court over the fate of Muller Farm, which was purchased by the Lake Washington Soccer Association in 1993.

It is expected the new 60 Acres South fields will be used by a quarter-million people a year.

This will open new fields for the 6,800 members of Lake Washington Soccer Association as well as thousands of other adult and youth sports field users such as adult soccer, lacrosse, frisbee and others. Informal neighborhood use would continue a majority of the year during non-scheduled use.

King County is committed to ensuring that other types of recreation are not without an appropriate location for their activities. Parks staff are currently working with groups such as the Seattle Area Soaring Society to ensure that their activities can continue.

Next steps include:

Finish negotiations
Legislation prepared on the final agreement
Outreach to stakeholder and interest groups, including the King County Agriculture Commission, Hollywood Hills Association, Valley View Homeowners Association and existing user groups
King County Council will hold public hearing as part of their review process