I hatched the idea for this park from neighborhood concerns around flooding, drainage and development. I did a policy analysis of expenditures planned for funds earmarked in the area and found substantial reason to revisit the decisions. Of course, government doesn't usually alter course just because of a few good reasons. Government does respond. It just takes time. Eight years elapsed between the initial proposal and the completion of land acquisition. Needless to say, a certain measure of sustained community organization was required to see it through. Today the 23 acre Connelly Creek Nature Area is a significant hub in a citywide system of trails. It functions as a laboratory for local schools and is recognized as an example of integrated habitat preservation, storm water management and park planning.

The following is the introduction and a few selected graphics from the original twenty five page analysis and proposal.

(Note: This document was originally written on a typewriter! The drawings were labeled with pressure transfer letters. Image quality reflects the Scan/OCR conversion to digital files. Images are a little slow loading, but couldn't be reduced further without serious compromise. The print fared better)

INTRODUCTION:

Drainage was established as a top priority for the neighborhood during the 1981 Community Development Block Grant Planning Program. Its need is undeniable. Virtually every yard in Happy Valley experiences some ponding during rainy periods. Water stands for days in ditches and depressions. The general inconvenience and the land use limitations imposed by poor drainage are clearly unacceptable.

However, our individual drainage problems cannot be met until the capacity of Padden Creek is increased. The present flood hazard caused by downstream constrictions in Padden Creek would be increased by attending first to lot-specific drainage problems. Essentially, expanding the flow capacity of Padden Creek is the first logical step in improving drainage in Happy Valley.

Therefore, the Happy Valley Neighborhood has budgeted $250,000 of its 1981 Community Block Grant funds toward solving this greater drainage problem. This money will be used to build an open drainage channel for Padden Creek to bypass an insufficiently sized culvert currently in use under Valley Parkway. Through other funds, the city has additionally targeted approximately $200,000 in 1981 to build a massive earthen dam on Connelly Creek. The dam is intended to retain peak storm drainage flows and will reduce the demand on the downstream channel. Padden Creek, between 24th and 30th streets, is also undergoing improvements to increase its channel capacity. This is part of a development contract between the city and Ring Sievers & Skeers Construction. The net result of these and other proposed improvements will be a functional and reliable drainage system which will safely carry our present and anticipated storm drainage volumes. This will eliminate the risk of flooding.

Unfortunately, this will also put the neighborhood at a disadvantage with respect to fulfilling our recreational needs and goals. Much of Happy Valley's open space has remained undeveloped largely because of the inadequacy of the drainage system in the valley. Ironically, the drainage problems have been the neighborhood's only real grip on the valley's remaining openspace. A predictable drainage system - engineered for the anticipated runoff volumes of the valley's zoned densities - will also eliminate the neighborhood's last legitimate complaint against development.

Land values will increase as developers begin to take hold of the opportunity to build on parcels of land which have never been platted into single family lots. Meanwhile, to meet our local drainage needs, we will have to invest additional funds to improve our ditches and culverts. This most logically will be accomplished at the same time as street improvements are made. These, too, will require additional funds. With drainage established as the top neighborhood priority, we may find ourselves locked into a funding sequence of street and drainage improvements while recreational opportunities diminish and land values rise. Improving drainage and streets will drive up land prices in the valley. Additional development will occur. These two conditions reduce the neighborhood's ability to fulfill its recreational needs. Land will become too expensive or otherwise unavailable.

Thus, if land acquisitions for recreational facilities are not made now - while community development funds are available and before drainage improvements are completed - we may never be able to afford to meet the high priority of community recreation areas. Two factors help to clarify the situation. On the one hand, if drainage improvements are delayed their cost will increase only relative to inflation. On the other hand, openspace costs will soar if delayed until after drainage improvements are completed. The tremendous increase in cost will be a direct result of our expenditures.

It is by virtue of its remaining openspace that Happy Valley has such an unusual potential for growth. At the current time, more than half of the neighborhood remains undeveloped. Local zoning policies encourage multiple and cluster developments through a program of density bonuses. The population of the valley could more than double before development is complete. The low-to-moderate income people targetted by this kind of housing will also generate a tremendous recreational need. Presently, apart from the already overtaxed schoolyards, there are no recreational facilities in Happy Valley. Since the neighborhood will most likely experience a significant leap in population, the question becomes: How will these people be able to meet their recreational needs, and how will we meet our neighborhood goals. By acquiring land for recreational uses now, facilities can be developed later as funds allow and needs indicate. By failing to acquire land now, the increase in cost for future land purchases will cause facility development to lag even further behind the growing neighborhood need.

More important than the economics involved in this situation is the extraordinary occasion we have to make a significant and lasting improvement in the Happy Valley area. By foreseeing our potential for growth and the possible pitfalls of our currently planned sequence of neighborhood improvements, we can take advantage of a unique opportunity to meet our growing recreational need as well as a whole variety of neighborhood and city-wide goals . By reassessing our neighborhood needs and reestablishing recreation and openspace as our top priority, we can provide for the development of a neighborhood network of pedestrian trails and bicycle paths. We can fit this network neatly into a city-wide system of openspace, recreation, and pedestrian facilities. We can also preserve the outstanding wildlife habitat and environmental features of Happy Valley as valuable educational resources for our neighborhood schools. Above all, by laying the groundwork for these improvements now, we can insure that our developmental policies will lead us toward the kind of functional and aesthetic community we all desire.