Hi folks,
Up until today, Boeing ponds on maps.google.com had a notice saying
Permanently Closed in very, big red lettering. Some of you may have noticed
this recently?
https://goo.gl/maps/jEPZ8fDG3u5prByo9
Therefore, I posted on Washington Birders FB group to ask if anyone knew
about this apparent closure.
I have also done a fair bit of googling about it, and nothing has come up
at all, so I presumed this notice was erroneous.
Several of our birder friends physically visited Boeing Ponds and
thoroughly checked it out. There were no signs, and RF said it looked like
nothing had changed much, but someone did note that there was some
construction that looked like it was about to start, but this wasn't noted
by other birders and I have no idea what conclusions to draw. The
***reports are transcribed below this message.
There were no barricades up, and no visible signs of closure anywhere on
the site. Note; the water level is lower in some parts though which may
interest some birders looking for certain birds.
Most Notably: there were no signs of Land Use Action but these only go up
after permits are approved, so if there is anything about to happen best to
find out ASAP.
Back home on Maps.Google.com, I submitted a change back to 'Open' and
submitted to remove the 'Permanently Closed' sign for now, which in
hindsight was perhaps what I should have waited on (so all tweeters could
have seen the notice. However I didn't expect the submission to work but
instead it was immediate, and a snap to do. I found it kind of odd that
anyone can make that change on Google maps.
Boeing Ponds is owned by the City of Kent. If anyone feels compelled to
call the city for an official statement regarding the plot, please let us
all know what you were able to discover. See the links below for some
numbers and info. I already checked into the Light Rail plans and they
don't come anywhere near the site but they could also be why the property
value rose too.
I also looked at the property records and noted that the property's total
appraised value jumped between 2013 and 2017 from $106, 500 to $665,700.
As it is considered Vacant Land, I assume the plot is considered valuable
industrial land of the kind that Kent has been selling vociferously in the
past 10 years.
https://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/Dashboard.aspx?ParcelNbr=6600210340
https://www5.kingcounty.gov/kcgisreports/dd_report.aspx?PIN=6600210340
At this point I presume that the 'permanently closed' sign in big red
letters on the google maps page for Boeing Ponds AKA "Pacific Gateway
Business Park" is old info that has been left up from previous
construction, or something else, but I'd really like it if we could double
check... perhaps someone with more knowledge and experience and time could
take this further? Perhaps post here with any discoveries. All help is
gratefully appreciated.
Nadine D
Here are the reports from the birders who visited, one thorough visit from
yesterday, and another a month ago
***"I went there today, again; nothing new - it is as they describe:
overgrown, lots of trash, not a ton of birds, and it's drying up right now
to a level I haven't seen (I am able to walk out now onto
previously-submerged areas). I did not see any signage or anything that
would indicate that it's 'closed', though.
Today's highlights were a Green Heron and 3 Wilson's Snipes that I watched
put down into the ponds as I was there (joining two others I saw in the
ponds). I've seen shorebirds drop down into Boeing Ponds from the sky
before, but once they're in the ponds, it is *very* tough to get eyes on
them due to how overgrown it is…[image: 😕]. Not too stellar for birding,
currently, but great if you like blackberries!
"Was there about 1 month ago One end was barricaded off. Much evidence of
human detritus. Even less evidence of birds.
<
https://www.facebook.com/groups/276757979501164/user/1781685743/?__cft__[0]=AZXNbu9mYaRB0ezuE2MaBBCNS8BsDS3vBImOKqDFf8p-JxqqLxT1IrkBs8Tlq2zwsyEA7j0IZRn-PpDs0x3N7Uw4HP5XEYJzBZ36ffMvthCsmLepDp0Y9YpU1x8iRUA-zibRcgzQANvAIQvoNsrQVEFBLgMzCOdjB_eBN6-qc5FPsktFqNhp51zhyvbPe-Xmjxs&__tn__=R]-R>
*"*It has been used as a truck stop for the past few years on one side, and
a dump on the other. It is very sad, but also looks like some construction
is about to happen. 2 years ago, I think, there was a Long-tailed Duck
there, and every winter I have seen Ruddy Ducks. Will miss this spot, but
maybe it will re-open eventually if the mis-use is corrected.
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"But the plans were on display…""On display? I eventually had to go down to
the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a flashlight."
"Ah, well, the lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked
filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying
'Beware of the Leopard."― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy <
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3078186>
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