Bear Lake Regional Park Phase 1 Master Plan + Shoreline Repair  

Since it was purchased in 1974, Bear Lake Regional Park has been a well-used and well-loved outdoor recreation asset serving Spokane County residents.  Recently, it has become apparent that the rock-filled wire gabion baskets and some of the stairways at the shoreline have reached their "end of life," needing to be replaced in the near future. As such, County Parks has installed temporary fencing along the west shore to ensure continued safe use of this area until improvements to restore public access can be designed, funded, permitted, and built.   

County Parks retained AHBL Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering to create designs, and T-O Engineers to prepare environmental assessments and shoreline permit applications.   This project will focus on designing long-term improvements to replace the gabion baskets and enhance universal lake access for visitors. The primary goal of Phase 1 has been to develop the Shoreline Repair / Restoration design project to a 60% design level.  This enabled County Parks staff to apply for grant funding in 2022 that, if awarded, will help fund construction of these shoreline enhancements.  

Anticipated Project Timeline: 

September 2021 - March 2022:  Development of the Phase 1 Shoreline Master Plan and 60% Construction Documents.  April 2022: County Parks staff submitted a grant application to the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office (RCO), with the goal of obtaining funding to complete the construction documents and build the shoreline restoration designs.   September 2022:  County Parks received notification that the project ranked 8th of 26 projects and has preliminary approval for funding in 2024.  October 2022:  Shoreline permit applications were submitted to local, state and federal agencies.  April 2023: Shoreline permit reviews complete.  Fall 2024: Potential construction start date.

Funding to Date (master planning, 60% design & permitting):

$153,000 from Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) and general funds.

Project Budget (pending award of RCO funding):

$2,968,323 total includes the RCO grant request of $1,383,323 to be matched by $1,580,000 (REET) and a $5,000 cash donation by Inland Northwest Adaptive.

Public Participation Opportunities:

Nothing is scheduled at this time, please continue to check this page for updates.

Past Events:  
Pre-Design.  Thank you to everyone who attended the "pop-up" event on September 3 and / or filled out the online survey.  Your input is important for helping our design team understand how the shoreline is used, opportunities for enhancements, and what you value most about the park.  Please click here for the Online Survey Results (Sept. 24, 2021).  Please click here for the "Pop-up" Event Comment Summary (Sept. 3, 2021).  

Shoreline Repair Focus Areas - Concept Alternative Review & Comment Period.  The input many of you provided on the shoreline design concept alternatives is greatly appreciated and will help our design team develop one preferred design solution for each of the two focus areas.  Please click here to see the concepts East A, East B, West C, or West D and here for the Concept Alternative Survey Results (Nov. 8, 2021).  

Final Comment Period - Bear Lake Regional Park Shoreline Repair + Phase 1 Master Plan.  Sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to provide the many thoughtful and constructive comments that were received.  Please click here for a Summary Report (Jan. 25, 2022). Note that only the first 1000 characters of each comment is included here, but we have reviewed them all. Again, thank you!  

Documents:

Shoreline Repair Focus Areas
Shoreline Focus Areas 60% Design
Phase 1 Master Plan - Shoreline Focus 
Phase 1 Master Plan - Shoreline Focus - Appendices

For more information please contact Julie Neff, Parks Planner / Landscape Architect, jneff@spokanecounty.org