Park Board forwards proposal to proclaim Riverfront Park a ‘brownfield’

The Spokane Park Board endorsed a proposal that would designate Riverfront Park a “brownfield redevelopment opportunity zone,” and prioritize it for state funding that does not yet exist.

Emphasizing the park is safe for play, and the need to recover some of the costs of cleaning contaminated soils outside of a $64 million taxpayer-approved bond, a unanimous board approved the resolution that goes next to the Spokane City Council.

“What triggers cleanup in the park is the construction process,” Spokane Parks Director Leroy Eadie said before the vote. “It’s not like the park is unsafe.”

The 100-acre park was built after Expo ’74 following a cleanup process that did not adhere to modern standards of environmental review, city staff said. The city is also pursuing federal grants to assist in the cleanup, the full cost of which is not currently known.

The City Council will consider the resolution at a meeting later this month. The proposal would open Spokane to receiving money from a trust fund designated for brownfield cleanup that has not yet received any allocations from the Washington Legislature.