Dec 18 2009
Kenmore City Council Unanimously Approves Bastyr University Master Plan
Kenmore City Council Unanimously Approves Bastyr University Master Plan
Bastyr University’s Master Plan was approved 7-0 by the Kenmore City Council on Monday, December 14, 2009 following months of City Planning Commission and City Council review.
Bastyr University, a nonprofit, private university, offers graduate and undergraduate degrees, with a multidisciplinary curriculum in natural health arts and sciences. The University moved to the 51-acre site adjacent to Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore in 1995. The Master Plan is a 10-year guide for campus development, addressing traffic management, environmental protection, facilities, and land use. Although the Plan was adopted on Monday evening, the effort to prepare a Master Plan began with a tri-party agreement in April 2001 between the University, the City, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, the former owner of the campus property.
“This accomplishment was the result of cooperation and commitment between the City and the University, and President Church’s leadership and vision at the University,” said Mayor David Baker.
The Plan projects the University’s campus population (students, faculty, staff) to increase from the 2008 level of 1,130 to between 1,453 and 1,753 in 2020. Bastyr University is Kenmore’s largest employer. The University also operates a clinic facility in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.
The partnership between the University and the City was also enhanced by the University’s offer to allow public use and community scheduling of the private playing fields. The City of Kenmore and Bastyr agreed on an 11-year lease for University recreational fields (two ball fields and one soccer field) available for scheduled use by sports organizations, with Kenmore-based groups having priority scheduling opportunities.
Bastyr is constructing on-campus dormitories to house approximately 132 students, with completion scheduled for Summer 2010.
“The opportunity to work closely with citizens, the Planning Commission, the City staff and Council members has been rewarding, in itself,” said Bastyr University President Daniel K. Church, PhD., “and the outcome—both the agreement and the relationship—augurs a wonderful future for the University and our community. I am very gratified with the results of these many months of good faith effort, and I look forward to our shared future.”
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