On June 23, 2026, Olympia Hearing Examiner Mark Scheipmeyer convened a public hearing to consider a conditional use permit application by the City of Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation Department for the proposed Kaiser Woods Park (now officially named Marge Young Park). The project is located at 2549 Black Lake Boulevard Southwest, spanning approximately 71 acres. The proposal includes 3.5 miles of new mountain bike trails, 1.9 miles of existing trails to be formalized, pump tracks, skill stations, a 25-stall parking lot, restroom, stormwater detention facilities, and frontage improvements along Black Lake Boulevard. The hearing examiner approved the permit with additional conditions.
Webinar. Nicole, does that sound good to you? Start. Beautiful. And is Ken our host tonight? It's me. I'm going to be the next clerk. Okay. Thank you, Nicole. So if uh you'll have us on record. Correct. We are recording. Oh, great. Good evening, Mark Scheipmeyer, the city hearing uh Sierra Hearing Examiner. I've been asked to convene a public hearing to consider an application by the Olympia Parks Arts and Recreation Department, seeking a conditional use permit to establish what is referred to as the Kaiser Woods Park, a proposed uh public mountain biking park located over 71 acres at 2549 Black Lake Boulevard Southwest. Uh the project proposing to include 3.5 miles of new mountain bike trails and some uh common use trails, 1.9 miles of existing trails, pump tracks and skill stations, a rust room parking lot uh with 25 stalls, stormwater detention facilities, uh, and frontage improvements along Black Lake Boulevard. In advance of today's hearing, I've received a staff report authored by uh Ms. Mock, who is uh present tonight and anticipated to give testimony. By the way, this bears the city's hearing number 23-3261. I've reviewed that report and all of the attachments that are associated with it in advance of tonight's hearing. I have received quite a few public comments, um, many of which arrived today. All those that did arrive, I have reviewed in advance of the hearing as they've come in today. So I am, I believe, familiar with all public comments that have been uh received uh at any time in the lengthy hearing of this report and including all that have been submitted today. So many of you have been participants in other public hearings of this type. Uh perhaps none or some of you have not. It's important to understand how this type of public hearing works differently than say a hearing before the city council or planning commission or something else of that nature. Um, most notably, this is not a political process. I'm not interested in how many are in favor of a project and how many are not. That's not how I uh render decisions on conditional use permits. Rather, I render them on the basis of the facts that are submitted and whether those facts demonstrate that the applicant has met all requirements. So while I'm certainly uh interested in those who are interested or in support or in opposition, I am not keeping count. Uh I am instead paying close attention to the testimony that's being provided and utilizing that testimony to render my factual determinations, which then support my legal conclusions, uh, which then render my uh ultimate decision. And so what I'm most interested in hearing tonight is your testimony and the in the factual reasons you either support or oppose uh this application, not again the total number of supporters or opponents, but the basis upon which that support or opposition is being uh made. So this hearing will have two or I'm sorry, three uh components. Uh we will first hear from the city staff, uh, the planning department as the one receiving the application and making recommendations to me in the form of their uh staff report. I anticipate that through Ms. Mock. It could be through other city planning staff as well. Once that presentation has been completed, we then turn to the applicant, which also happens to be the City of Olympia. So the city is wearing two hats in this hearing. One is the planning department and the other as the applicant through the uh parks uh department. I believe we'll hear from Ms. Utter uh on that, perhaps others who may add to or subtract from what the city planning department uh says. We'll wait and see. In each instance, I may have questions both for the planning staff as well as the parks department. I'll uh determine that as we go along. Once we have concluded uh those two presentations, uh we'll then turn to public comment. Um a few things about that. And those who wish to testify will do so under oath. Uh, because we have a relatively large crowd that has signed up in advance.