Resolution A (shall be submitted, as Montlake Community Club's official position, to all appropriate decision makers during the upcoming EIS process and City Council vote(s) concerning the Washington Park Arboretum Master Plan):

Washington Park Arboretum stands as a refuge for the natural environment and open space in an era of unprecedented development. In this context, MCC aims to preserve the Arboretumâs unique ecological, recreational, and educational values by preserving that natural and open space. This stance affirms the public position taken over twenty years ago, and recognized by the City, that existing University facilities can best serve specialized educational and administrative interests. Additionally, innovative use of buses and bicycles offers the strongest solution for balancing any increased visitation against loss of natural environment.

To this end, the Club proposes:

1. That the City approve the proposed bicycle path and the concept of improved pedestrian circulation into and within the WPA, such that all new bridges, paths, and shelters conform to existing historical style (such as the Wilcox footbridge);
2. That all natural and open space within the City-designated Conservation Preservation Easement and Shoreline Management Act shore lands at "Reclamation Point" be preserved, and no parking lot, access road, or viewpoint be built;
3. That Lake Washington Boulevard maintain its present course as designed by the Olmsteads rather than cutting through open space as a new road;
4. That existing neighborhood businesses continue to serve as sole suppliers of food and drink for visitors, and that no food or drink be sold in the Arboretum.
5. That the natural environment, collections, and existing Graham Visitors Center remain the only classrooms;
6. That existing facilities--such as the Center for Urban Horticulture and Graham Visitors Center, or existing maintenance-and-operations area at 29th Ave. E.-- absorb all new programs for specialized education, administration and tourism, so as to avoid destruction of natural and open space, duplication of function, and scattering of resources;
7. That innovative bus, van, bicycle, and car-pooling programs designed to use only existing parking lots act as the sole means of accommodating any increased visitation;
8. That Foster Island remain completely in its current natural condition;
9. That the Arboretumâs open space retain its unbroken, accessible character, rather than being fenced off, that no fees be charged, and that existing public activities be expressly recognized in the Master Plan;
10. That alternative interpretive methods such as taped and human guides be used in favor of obtrusive signs or placards.