Lyn Ary Park Master Plan

63 Pages·2010·6.99 MB·English

Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
Approved by TCC - December 17th, 2009
Approved by Parks and Recreati on Commission
- January 14th, 2010
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TURNAGAIN COMMUNITY COUNCIL (cid:904)TCC(cid:905)
TURNAGAIN COMMUNITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (cid:904)CAC(cid:905)
CORVUS DESIGN, INC.
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................1 APPENDIX A - DESIGN GUIDELINES .....................30
INTRODUCTION ........................................2 APPENDIX B - TCC RESOLUTION .........................33
HISTORY OF LYN ARY PARK ........................5 APPENDIX C - LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE....36
TITLE AND DEDICATION .............................8 APPENDIX D - SURVEY #1 RESULTS (ADULTS) ......37
TITLE AND DEDICATION GRAPHIC...............9 APPENDIX D - SURVEY #1 RESULTS (YOUTH) .......40
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC PROCESS ...............10 APPENDIX E - SURVEY #2 RESULTS .....................42
COMMUNITY GUIDANCE .........................11 APPENDIX F - CRIME AND PERMIT STATISTICS .....48
EXISTING PARK ELEMENTS ......................12 APPENDIX G - REGULATORY SIGNAGE TEXT .........49
PLAYGROUND ......................................12 APPENDIX H - HISTORIC DOCUMENTS ................50
TENNIS COURTS ...................................13
APPENDIX I - STATUS OF TITLE ............................57
SITE FURNITURE ..................................13
APPENDIX J - TCC MASTER PLAN RESOLUTION ....59
PORTABLE TOILETS ...............................14
SIGNAGE .............................................14
PLANTING AREAS .................................16
NATURAL AREAS ..................................17
TRAILS .................................................18
PARK PERMITTING ...............................19
BASEBALL FIELDS ..................................20
PARKING AND TRAFFIC .........................20
MAINTENANCE ....................................22
SUMMARY ...........................................22
FUTURE DESIRED USES ...........................23
INTERPRETATION ..................................23
PARK GATEWAYS ..................................23
UNDESIRABLE FUTURE USES ...................24
SHELTER ..............................................24
STORAGE BUILDING ..............................24
LIGHTING ............................................24
FENCING .............................................24
CONCESSIONS ......................................24
MASTER PLAN GRAPHIC .......................25
LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE ...........27
2 December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
Executi ve Summary
The master planning process for Lyn Ary not increasing them. Litt le interest was
Park has been undertaken with the guidance voiced for development that meant larger
of the Turnagain Community Council (TCC) changes to the Park, or to the user base to
and the Lyn Ary Park Community Advisory which it appeals.
Committ ee (CAC). Over the years, Lyn Ary
The overall recommendati ons of this Master
Park has experienced development and
Plan are that certain items be acted upon
growth that has been guided by the TCC and
to maintain Lyn Ary Park’s current character
the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA). The
and compositi on, and that a plan be adopted
community has expressed a strong desire to
that guides desired park improvements. The
formalize recent discussions delineated in
acti on items relate to such issues as access
neighborhood resoluti ons in the form of a
to the Coastal Trail, use of the baseball
Master Plan that would provide for the future
fi elds, maintenance of existi ng conditi ons,
development and management of the Park.
and an overall concern that park use does
The TCC passed a resoluti on on December
not degrade the Park. Generally, while
6th, 2007 and amended it on January
maintenance of the current state of the Park
3rd, 2008 that called for “a Master Plan
is desired, there are also improvements that
for Lyn Ary Park that includes landscaped
have been identi fi ed and presented within
entrances, recogniti on of the Park’s historical
this document.
signifi cance, and upgrade of playground
equipment.” Through a term contract with This Master Plan is intended to help shape
the Anchorage Park Foundati on, the services a future for Lyn Ary Park where the Park
of Corvus Design landscape architecture were conti nues its important role as a loved
secured to provide professional experti se resource to the surrounding neighborhood
in development of this plan. Within a and community.
framework of community consensus, this
HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
document presents an overall vision that will
provide for the logical growth and aestheti c This document describes existi ng conditi ons
integrity of Lyn Ary Park. of the Park as it existed in 2009, and provides
a vision of how the Park should look in 2029.
The 2009 Lyn Ary Park Master Plan is
Desired physical improvements to the Park
a conti nuati on of years of community
are described to various levels of detail. The
involvement. While the Park is designated
expected level of maintenance that the Park
a Community Use Area in the Anchorage
requires is also described, with guidelines to
Park Plan, residents within the Turnagain
show when this maintenance is required.
neighborhood feel very strongly about
the Park and its context within their This document is a Turnagain Community
neighborhood. The community’s concerns Council approved vision and guiding
can perhaps be summarized as a desire to document for Lyn Ary Park. This means that
maintain the neighborhood feeling of the acti ons approved by this master plan may go
Park, with the recogniti on that it draws the forward with minimal additi onal TCC process.
larger community of Anchorage users.
Any items not covered by this document shall
Much of the community’s discussion involved be addressed by the TCC before acti on is
protecti ng natural features, providing usable taken.
open space, conserving views and buff ers,
and maintaining existi ng park acti viti es but
December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on 1
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
Figure 1: Lyn Ary Park Context in NW Anchorage
Westchester
Lagoon
Margaret Eagan
Sullivan Park
Fish Creek Chester Creek
Estuary
Lyn Ary Greenbelt
Park West High
School
Earthquake
Park Northern Lights Blvd.
Turnagain Elementary
School
Lloyd Steele and
Balto Seppala Parks
*
g
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a
1 Mile Radius ph
ic
is
b
e
s
t
v
Lake Hood ie
w
e
Ted Stevens 2 Mile Radius d
in
Internati onal Airport c
o
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Introducti on
Lyn Ary Park is located in northwest The 1985 Anchorage Parks, Greenbelt and
Anchorage (Figure 1), approximately 3.6 Recreati on Facility Plan document as well
miles from the central business district. It as the 2006 Anchorage Bowl Park, Natural
is a 14+ acre park that can be divided into Resource and Recreati on Facility Plan, both of
three main areas, the ti delands/coastal which are based on Nati onal Recreati on and
trail/memorial garden porti on, an area Park Associati on guidelines and standards,
of sports fi elds, and the uplands porti on refer to Lyn Ary Park as a Community Use
of the Park with more passive acti viti es Park.
and non-programmed space. The Park is
In order to facilitate inventory and analysis
located in the Turnagain neighborhood, and
for the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA), the
is bounded by Illiamna Avenue, Turnagain
2006 Anchorage Bowl Park, Natural Resource
Parkway, Foraker Drive, and the Cook Inlet
and Recreati on Facility Plan has designated
(Figure 2, page 4). The Turnagain area is one
parks as either Neighborhood Parks,
of the older established neighborhoods in
Community Use Areas, Service Areas, Natural
Anchorage, and is composed mainly of single-
Resources, or Trails and Connectors.
family housing.
2 December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
INTRODUCTION (CONT’D)
This 2006 Plan states that, “community A summary of conditi ons on the site is
parks are larger in size and serve a broader presented in Figure 4 (page 25). Existi ng
purpose than neighborhood parks. The faciliti es consist of a parking lot, four ball fi elds
focus is on meeti ng the recreati on needs of (three litt le league size and one coach-pitch/
several neighborhoods or a large secti on of tee ball fi eld), a network of paved and unpaved
the community as well as preserving unique trails, a memorial garden, various children’s
landscapes or natural use areas.” Community playground areas and equipment, benches,
parks are also designated as serving a larger picnic tables, litt er bins, signage, tennis courts,
cross-secti on of the Anchorage populati on open space, the Coastal Trail, and natural
than smaller neighborhood parks. According areas.
to the 2006 Plan, residents of Anchorage
Lyn Ary Park is well connected to adjacent
should have a Community Use Area within
neighborhoods, and the larger matrix of
one to two miles of their residence (Figure 1,
Anchorage parks and trails. Local park
page 2). Five main community councils exist
connecti ons include formal paths and
within this outer two-mile radius of Lyn Ary
entrances, and the important connecti on with
Park: Turnagain, Spenard, Northstar, South
the Coastal Trail. The main vehicular access
Additi on and Midtown. Six community parks
to Lyn Ary Park is from Turnagain Parkway,
serve this area as shown on Figure 1, page 2.
which is a neighborhood collector street as
Many neighbors feel a strong connecti on designated by the Anchorage Streets and
to Lyn Ary Park and recognize its Highways Plan. The other adjacent vehicular
neighborhood importance. Lyn Ary Park access routes are from Illiamna Avenue and
is their neighborhood park as well as their Foraker Drive. Because the Park is in the
community park. This designati on as a middle of the neighborhood, access and
Community Use Area (or Community Park) parking are limited. Parking is provided in
in the 2006 Plan is a result of the existi ng the parking lot and along the sides of certain
faciliti es in the Park that have a unique or streets in the neighborhood (Figure 2, page 4).
higher value than those of a neighborhood
The 2009 Lyn Ary Park Master Plan serves as
park. These faciliti es include the ball fi elds,
a summary of previous and current public
the use of the trails by Nordic skiers, and the
process and Parks and Recreati on Department
tennis courts. This designati on has an eff ect
policy. This Master Plan seeks to guide future
upon what is deemed appropriate for the
development and management and takes the
development of the Park, however, it does
form of a summary of the community’s needs
not suggest that additi onal faciliti es, changes,
and desires regarding how the Park should
or upgrades will be planned for Lyn Ary
be maintained and how it should develop.
because of this designati on.
Weighing the community needs and desires,
The Park is a highly-valued local amenity a set of acti ons were developed. Some of
that is used by the wider community. User these acti ons are required for maintenance
numbers seem to be increasing and putti ng of the basic functi onal health of the Park as
pressure on the existi ng faciliti es. What is it currently exists, others provide opti ons for
clear is the neighbors of Turnagain would how the Park can or will develop, and others
like Lyn Ary Park to maintain its strong provide a framework for future decisions when
neighborhood character and remain a focal unanti cipated needs or desires arise.
point of their neighborhood.
December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on 3
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
INTRODUCTION (CONT’D)
Figure 2: Existi ng Conditi ons
Coastal Trail
Coastal Trail
Overlook
4’ ht. chain link fence
Susitna View Ct.
West Field - Ball fi elds -
Litt le League Realignment
East Field -
completed 2009
Litt le League
Forest
South Field -
Tee ball/Coach-
Pitch
e
SE Field - nc
PorPtaarbklien gTo Liolett Litt le League4’ ht. chain link fe Forest gain Pkwy.
a
n
r
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v
ri
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r
e *
Forak Forest Playgrounds Forest graph
ic
is
b
e
Tennis Courts s
t
v
Open Fields ie
w
e
d
in
c
Illiamna Avenue olo
r
Parti al Park Boundary Michelle Byrum Memorial Garden
Asphalt Trails
Footpaths
Pedestrian entrances into the Park
Vehicle entrance into the Park * This graphic shows the Foraker Drive Improvements linework above aerial photograph,
as constructi on of these improvements were ongoing during creati on of this document
4 December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
History of Lyn Ary Park
During World War I Lyrin Ary (also known During World War II, due to fears of
as Lyn Ary) had been a supply sergeant in Japanese att ack, his family and other military
the Russian Army. At the end of the War dependents were temporarily evacuated to
he was issued 10,000 pairs of shoes. The California. Muktuk organized a territorial guard
shoes had no soles. In the Russian Army a during the war, and it was not unti l 1946 that
supply sergeant was responsible for all the Marston returned to the Lyn Ary homestead.
supplies issued to him. Knowing that he was For the fi rst year that Marston was back on
responsible for the shoes, Lyn Ary thought the homestead he lived in a tent. He caught
that his best bet was to get out of Russia. He and smoked fi sh that year, selling the fi sh in
made his way to Germany, then to the mid- downtown Anchorage.
west of the United States, and fi nally to the
On July 18, 1947, J.C. Morris, M.R. Marston
Territory of Alaska. He homesteaded much
& L. Ary fi led Plat P-67 enti tled “Topography
of the land west of Turnagain Parkway and
of Turnagain Heights.” Additi onal early plats
Wisconsin Avenue, a porti on of which is now
contemplated the current Lyn Ary Park as the
Lyn Ary Park.
“future site for the State Capitol of Alaska.”
In 1941, when Brooke Marston was 11 years Other plats depicted a private park enti tled
old he wandered from Anchorage across the “Lyn Ary Community Park.”
Alaska Railroad tracks and Fish Creek into the
By 1952, Marston started to develop
wilderness of what is now Turnagain. There
Turnagain-By -the-Sea, one of Anchorage’s fi rst
he met the homesteader and only resident of
subdivisions. Followed by a bulldozer, Marston
the area, Lyn Ary.
The boy persuaded his father, Major Marvin
R. Marston, later known as Muktuk Marston,
to meet his new friend, Lyn Ary. When
Brooke Marston introduced them, Lyn Ary
tried to sell Muktuk some of his homestead.
Lyn Ary explained that he had previously
att empted to sell his homestead but without
success. It was too far from Anchorage. The
populati on of Anchorage was then only about
3,500.
Marston bought a few acres bordering
Knik Arm. He tramped around the area
and became interested, envisioning a large
residenti al area. He went back and asked
if Ary wanted to sell more of the land. Ary
was agreeable and asked if Marston also
wanted to buy the adjoining homestead
owned by pioneer denti st, Dr. McCollie. Bit
by bit, Marston soon acquired most of both
homesteads. McCollie Drive, which “T”s into Muktuk Marston outside of his log home (on what is now Lyn Ary Park).
the east side of Lyn Ary Park, is named aft er
Dr. McCollie.
December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on 5
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
HISTORY OF LYN ARY PARK (CONT’D)
used toilet paper to mark out the roads. at the new edge of Knik Arm. The Russian
dovetail joints of the old log house held.
In 1956, when Marston’s son, Brooke and his
Unlike frame constructi on, the log joints
wife Wilda fell in love with Lyn Ary’s original
twisted rather than broke.
old log house, Marston sold it to them. Lyn
Ary’s original log house was in the middle of Although Brooke and Wilda Marston had
what was by then a private community park. hopes of retrieving the log house and
The log house sat atop a bluff , much like restoring it to its original foundati on, doing
the one at Point Woronzoff and at the same so proved impossible. It was moved to 32nd
height as the upper porti on of today’s Lyn Avenue. The “Culligan” man who provided
Ary Park. water soft ening for Turnagain, also in love
with Lyn Ary’s old Russian homestead house,
On Friday, March 27, 1964, the Good Friday
bought it to see if he could restore it. It now
Earthquake fundamentally changed South-
sits at 3007 West 32nd Avenue, a block off of
Central Alaska. The earthquake began at
Wisconsin Avenue.
5:36 P.M. AST. Across South-Central Alaska
it shook for nearly fi ve minutes. Ground For over 25 years, Anchorage struggled over
fi ssures, collapsing buildings, and tsunamis what to do with the area destroyed by the
resulted in 131 deaths. The Good Friday Good Friday Earthquake. Unlike Earthquake
Earthquake was the most powerful recorded Park where, despite erosion, the slide area
earthquake in U.S. and North American sti ll remains, the Turnagain slide area was
history, and the second most powerful leveled. Muktuk Marston leased his porti ons
ever measured by seismograph. It had a of Lyn Ary Park for $1.00 per year to the City
magnitude of 9.2. of Anchorage to be used as a park.
The Good Friday Earthquake induced The fi rst development in the Park was
liquefacti on causing mud below the ground the constructi on of a Babe Ruth baseball
to liquefy and become unstable. The fi eld. Over ti me, Muktuk donated money
land slid and in Anchorage heavy damage and worked with the Boys and Girls Club
occurred in downtown, Government Hill, of Anchorage to establish within Lyn Ary
and Turnagain where the largest and most Park, the baseball fi elds now known as the
devastati ng landslides occurred. An area of Marston Fields. In the late 1960s, Turnagain
about 130 acres, surrounding and including neighbors raised funds and worked to help
Lyn Ary Park, broke apart and slid. The construct the tennis courts. On February
resulti ng displacement broke the ground into 2, 1971, the City of Anchorage dedicated
many deranged blocks that collapsed, ti lted, porti ons Lyn Ary Park for “Parks and
and slid toward Knik Arm. Recreati on Purposes”.
The Turnagain slide destroyed about 75 Although Lyn Ary had sold most parts of
private houses. Water mains and gas, his homestead to Muktuk Marston, Lyn
sewer, telephone, and electrical systems Ary retained a few acres despite moving to
were disrupted. Ground fi ssures and failures Fairbanks where he eventually died in 1982.
caused major structural damage. Part of his estate included the several acres
of land remaining in his original homestead.
Sitti ng in the middle of the Turnagain slide,
Although Lyn Ary left his estate to the
the log house from the Lyn Ary homestead
City of Fairbanks, eventually, in 1984, the
was one of the only houses not to break
Municipality of Anchorage was deeded Lyn
apart. When the earth stopped trembling,
Ary’s acreage to ensure conti nuity of the
the log house ti lted at a 30 degree angle,
current Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. In 1985,
askew, on top of a displaced block of land
6 December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
HISTORY OF LYN ARY PARK (CONT’D)
the Tony Knowles Trail was dedicated inside Working with the Municipality of Anchorage
the northern border of the Park. Parks and Recreati on Department, TREErifi c
Anchorage approached Turnagain Community
By 1994, private land owners on the East side
Council in 2006 with the idea of planti ng
of the Lyn Ary Park, rebuilt the earthquake
deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs at
destroyed north end of Turnagain Parkway,
the Michelle Byrum Memorial Garden. The
Marston Drive, and Susitna Court. Two
organizati on had received a grant from the
years later, going door to door, the Turnagain
Anchorage Park Foundati on to plant trees
community raised funds to help purchase
in various parks around town and chose Lyn
and install play equipment. Additi onal park
Ary Park as the locati on of one of its projects.
improvements were made in 1998.
Turnagain Community Council, the Hillside
The baseball fi elds, however, had lost Rotary Club and the Anchorage West Litt le
their players, and Bob Durst worked with League partnered with TREErifi c and provided
Municipality of Anchorage, private soccer in-kind support of volunteers for the planti ng
leagues, litt le league and neighbors to return project as a match to the fi nancial grant. In
baseball practi ces and games to Lyn Ary Park. the summer of 2007, the trees and shrubs
were planted and Turnagain Community
In October of 1998, the local chapter of the
Council donated an arbor for the garden
Nati onal Associati on of Catering Executi ves
entrance in honor of Bob Durst, a Turnagain
applied to the Municipality to create a
Community Council board member, who
memorial garden on the northwest edge
passed away in January 2007 and who was a
of the Lyn Ary Park to be dedicated to
long-ti me supporter and caretaker of Lyn Ary
Michelle Byrum, a young woman killed in
Park.
an automobile accident. The memorial
garden was created in the Park to remember In 2009, along the western border of the
Michelle’s spirit and zest for life. The garden Park, the Municipality of Anchorage rebuilt
was created as a spot to rest, contemplate, the earthquake-destroyed North end of
meet friends, chat with a neighbor, read a Foraker Drive and West Marston Drive. Doing
book or perhaps have a small picnic. so put the last piece of the landscape back
together to create the Lyn Ary Park that exists
today.
December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on 7
Lyn Ary Park Master Plan
Title and Dedicati on
OVERVIEW RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Five platt ed parcels and one unplatt ed parcel Regarding Ownership, Dedicati on and Zoning,
make up the property known as Lyn Ary Park the Lyn Ary Park Master Plan recommends:
(See Figure 3, page 9). The much-loved and
• Acquire land within Lyn Ary Park that is
popular parklands are both important to the
currently owned by the Marston Foundati on
Turnagain neighborhood and the Coastal-
and dedicate that land as Municipal Parkland
Trail-using public.
as part of Lyn Ary Park. (Purple on Figure 3,
Most of Lyn Ary Park property (11.7 of page 9);
13.5+ Acres composed of two platt ed
• For the parcel whose ti tle has been
parcels – in red and blue on the Ownership
challenged, that land should be dedicated
and Dedicati on Map) is owned by the
as Municipal Parkland as part of Lyn Ary
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) and is
Park, assuming the case is resolved in the
dedicated parkland. Two separate platt ed
Municipality’s favor. (Turquoise on Figure 3,
parcels and one unplatt ed parcel (in Yellow,
page 9);
Turquoise and Pink) are owned by the
Municipality of Anchorage and have not • The parcel owned by the Municipality
been dedicated as parkland by the Municipal that includes the Municipal Tidelands and
Assembly. There is one in-holding containing adjacent uplands should be platt ed as a
1.08 acres (in Purple) that is owned by the parcel for later designati on as Municipal
Marston Foundati on whose benefi ciaries are Parkland as a part of Lyn Ary Park. The
Alaska Nati ves, including Eskimos, Indians, parcel currently has no platt ed boundaries.
and Aleuts, residing west of the 156th (Yellow on Figure 3, page 9);
Meridian.
• The other parcel that the MOA already has
All of the property within Lyn Ary Park is clear ti tle to and that has not been dedicated
zoned R-1A Single-Family Residenti al. This should be dedicated as Municipal Parkland
zoning district is for urban and suburban as part of Lyn Ary Park. (Pink on Figure 3,
single-family residenti al areas with low page 9);
populati on densiti es. This district is governed
• All parcels within the Lyn Ary Park
by secti on 21.40.030 of the municipal code.
Boundaries should be re-zoned to PR once
the new designati on exists under the new
Title 21. (Green on Figure 3, page 9).
See Appendix I (page 57) for a History of
Platti ng and Ownership of Lyn Ary Park parcels.
8 December 17th, 2009 - TCC Approved Editi on