Waterway 1: resolved in 2012
Encroachments on public land tend to resolve themselves over time. In the case of Waterway 1 in Laurelhurst, the land was returned to full public access when a private hedge that covered about 25% of the land was removed by the owner in 2012. Read the May 4, 2012 Seattle Times article by Lynda Mapes.
Today when you show up at Waterway 1 you see a meaningful slice of public land where people can take in a view, launch a kayak, or play basketball. The plan for Hidden Beach does not have a basketball court. But it does include more trees and more native plants. The push for improvements (hopefully sooner than later) will be in the rearview mirror so the public can continue to enjoy the street end as has been for 100 years. The neighbors should also benefit from sanctioned private driveway encroachments, more green, and better relations.
From the 2012 Seattle Times article:
Armintrout, the property owner who took out the hedge in Laurelhurst, said Friday she still needs to work through an unresolved issue with the city of Seattle as to several thousand dollars in back payments of the annual fee charged for the hedge, which was on the property when she and Doug Armintrout bought it in 1994 from her brother, Bill Gates.
“I am going to address that, and then it will be all resolved,” Libby Armintrout said, adding that it was a relief to end the conflict with neighbors over the hedge.
A walk at Waterway 1 in Laurelhurst today, September 23, 2025.
Waterway 1 basketball court in Laurelhurst, September 23, 2025
