Chapter § 12.4 Lands Managed by the Parks and Recreation Commission

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§12.4 LANDS MANAGED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

The legislature created the first Washington State Board of Park Commissioners in 1913. In 1915, the board acquired the state's first parks when it accepted two property donations. Today, the State of Washington owns and operates over 120 state parks. Information about the Parks and Recreation Commission is available online at http://www.parks.wa.gov/.

(1) The authority of state parks to manage state-owned land

The legislature vests the powers of administering state parks in the Parks and Recreation Commission (State Parks Commission), which has seven members appointed by the governor. The State Parks Commission's powers are codified under Title 79A RCW. Each member serves for six years. Although the State Parks Commission has the power to administer the agency, the State Parks Commission has delegated most operational decisions to the director hired by the State Parks Commission. The State Parks Commission continues to adopt policies guiding the agency. The State Parks Commission meets six times a year at a variety of locations around the state. The meetings are open to the public. At the meetings, the State Parks Commission adopts policies or approves real estate transactions that statutorily require approval by the State Parks Commission.

The State Parks Commission's powers include, among other things, the ability to purchase, lease, condemn, or otherwise acquire land for park and parkway purposes, grant leases, grant concession contracts, employ volunteers to help manage parks, and enter into joint management agreements with other government entities to develop and manage parks. RCW 79A.05.030. The State Parks Commission also regulates recreational vessels within the state. RCW 79A.05.310; Ch. 79A.60 RCW.

The State Parks Commission's authority extends to control of the ocean beaches and the Seashore Conservation Area, which includes state-owned or controlled lands within the area between the line of ordinary high tide and the line of extreme low tide and, where applicable, between the Seashore Conservation Line and the line of extreme low tide. RCW 79A.05.605-610. Land within the Seashore Conservation Area may also be subject to local recreation management plans approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission pursuant to RCW 79A.05.645.

(2) State parks land transactions

Generally, the State Parks Commission may dispose of land under its control if it cannot use the land...