How rich Seattleites can lease public land through a program meant to protect it

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long Lake Washington Boulevard, in one of the poshest corners of Seattle, is a nearly invisible trail that leads to a tiny stretch of waterfront locals call “Hidden Beach.”

Decades ago, the trail to this secluded, public beach was wider, but today it has narrowed considerably. That’s because the homeowners on either side of this beach have paid the city to “encroach” on the land – or lease it.

Shoreline street ends are where the city’s streets meet the shore. About 140 street ends were made public spaces in 1996, when the Seattle City Council – spurred by residents who wanted the shores protected – approved a resolution to designate them for "public uses and enjoyment."

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But there’s an ironic twist to this seemingly noble civic action: The city program to manage these street ends is funded with the fees that industrial interests and wealthy Seattleites pay to encroach on them, effectively leasing them for private use. One homeowner pays $120,000 a year for their encroachment.

Libby Sinclair, a retired teacher who lives in Madrona, has been coming to Hidden Beach (at 39th Avenue East and East Harrison Street) since the 1970s. She has essentially adopted Hidden Beach, working with other local volunteers to keep it pristine and publicly accessible. She argues that public space is becoming limited simply because rich homeowners are able to pay “a substantial amount of money to keep it for their own private use.”

The Shoreline Street Ends Program, which oversees these spaces, is not taxpayer funded. Rather, it’s funded through the collection of fees for commercial use of the spaces as well as residential encroachments – things like a fence or gazebo or (in one case) a lamppost that crosses the property line into the street end space.

Swaths of public shoreline are also occupied by maritime industries, like the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, which also pay to use the land. Volunteer groups, like the Friends of Street Ends and Friends of Hidden Beach, help the city maintain the spaces through work parties and other activities.

“We can't let people use public land for private uses without collecting fees,” said Omar Akkari, the Shoreline Street Ends Program coordinator for the Seattle Department of Transportation. “We're trying to discourage uses of shorefront property, because there's so little of it in Seattle.”

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That means the fees can get quite high – it is waterfront property after all. Annual fees are determined based on the value of the street end property and the amount of square footage the encroachment occupies. (Determining the cost is more complicated, with discounts given to maritime industries that must operate off shoreline space, for example. A more detailed explanation can be found here.)

Akkari said the Shoreline Street Ends Program is always actively enforcing the street end rules, working to get “the most egregious folks permitted” if they aren’t already. He said some people buy homes that have unpermitted encroachments or make additions to their properties without realizing it crosses those boundaries. Those homeowners might get a notice from the city.

“We'll send them a warning letter and be like, ‘Hey, I don't know if you knew this, but here's your property, and here's the public area, and we'd like you to pay for a permit,’” Akkari said, describing these letters as an effort “nudging” property owners to follow the law.

And if an owner just doesn’t comply? They could receive a “notice of violation,” which carries a penalty of up to $500 per day, and may lead to a lien on the property or other legal action.

“Initially, the city sent letters to property owners with unpermitted encroachments, asking them to apply for permits,” SDOT said. “While we couldn’t get to every case right away, we did focus on the most serious ones. Nowadays, we handle 2-3 of the most significant unpermitted encroachments each year.”

That’s a problem for folks like Libby Sinclair.

Sinclair and the group aptly named Friends of Hidden Beach have proposed a plan to revamp the small but picturesque beach nestled between two grand homes.

And it’s nestled quite snugly.

The entrance to the park is marked by a “SHORE VIEW” sign from the city, along with several warnings about the responsible use of the beach. If you didn’t already know it was there, just through a break in the trees, you might feel a bit uncomfortable as you stepped between two driveways, one on each side of the narrow path.

To the right (south) is the home of Spencer Frazer and Mary Snapp, who pay for encroachments on the small space.

“We do appreciate the importance of street ends to the quality of life in the Seattle community,” Frazer said in an email. “As an adjacent homeowner, we are mindful of and we comply with all of the city’s/SDOT rules and regulations associated with the street end. We also strive to live in harmony with the beachgoers and neighbors that come to Hidden Beach."

To the left (north), Elizabeth and Jonathan Roberts have been renovating their home. A chain-link fence covered in a green privacy screen winds around the driveway area. Several laminated notices have been posted to the fence, indicating where the street end is, that it’s still open during construction, and that the project has been permitted by the city.

For the most part, visitors seem to have no trouble finding their way to the path leading to Hidden Beach.

They park along the road and walk down the shrub-lined sidewalk, toting paddleboards and beach chairs. One person on a sunny June day wasn’t satisfied with the parking situation; they carefully rolled their silver Acura SUV between the Roberts’ fence and their neighbors’ shrubbery to park in the small clearing just past the entrance to the street end.

Jonathan Roberts said he and his wife knew about the street-end beach when they purchased their home.

“We were excited about living next to the space, enthusiastic about playing some role ... help preserve some of the habitat, which is pretty beaten up,” he said. “We went at it with all the intention, and we still have the intention, of being a good neighbor.”

That means following the city’s permitting process for their remodel and paying associated fees.

“I wish it were faster and cheaper,” Roberts said. “I mean, doesn't everybody that does a remodel?”

But their remodel has caused concern among the Friends of Hidden Beach and Libby Sinclair, who worry that private encroachments are infringing on the intended purpose of the street ends for public use.

Roberts disagreed, rejecting any insinuation that he wants to impede public access.

“There is no inherent conflict with the use of street ends,” he argued. “The program goals, to help neighborhoods, help create great neighborhoods, to improve access, enhance shoreline habitat, and encourage community stewardship ... we agree with all of that. We're not adversarial to this.”

That may be true in the Roberts’ case. But other homeowners who encroach on these spaces are not following the rules.

Joel Miller, the program development supervisor for SDOT’s Public Space Management team, said the Shoreline Street Ends Program has to balance a variety of wants and needs for a limited space. And that can lead to conflict.

“The public realm is often contested space,” Miller said. “The surrounding street ends are just another great example. They're well-loved, and people have strong feelings [about how it’s used].”

Since 1996, when the street ends became protected, the city has issued 58 permits to occupy about 390,000 square feet of shoreline street end space, according to SDOT. A spokesperson for SDOT noted in an email that these permits “fund the ongoing maintenance and operations of the Shoreline Street End Program.”

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However, the spokesperson went on, “there are additional unpermitted encroachments, but we do not have a current estimate of the total area they occupy.”

In the meantime, Libby Sinclair and the Friends of Hidden Beach are still working on their plan to revitalize Hidden Beach, trying to get their own permits, which can cost thousands of dollars; the volunteer group has asked for help covering the cost.

(The city has designated several street ends for improvements, not including this particular space.)

“It just feels like you know, the deck is stacked [in favor of homeowners],” Sinclair said. “I really want to be proud of my city. But ... it’s a mess.”