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KENMORE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES BASTYR UNIVERSITY MASTER PLAN Plan bolstered by Bastyr's offer to lease on-campus athletic fields for public use and community scheduling
Dec. 17, 2009 (Kenmore, Wash.) — The Kenmore City Council approved Bastyr University’s Master Plan 7-0 on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009, following months of review by the city's Planning Commission and City Council.
A nonprofit, private university, Bastyr offers graduate and undergraduate degrees with a multidisciplinary curriculum in the natural health arts and sciences. The Master Plan is a 10-year guide for campus development. It addresses traffic management, environmental protection, facilities and land use. The University moved to its current 51-acre site adjacent to Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore in 1995. Although the plan was adopted Monday, the effort to prepare a Master Plan began with a tri-party agreement in April 2001 between the University, the city and the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, the former owner of the campus property.
"This accomplishment was the result of cooperation and commitment between the city and the University, and President Church’s leadership and vision at the university," Mayor David Baker said.
The plan projects the University's campus population (students, faculty, staff) will increase from the 2008 level of 1,130 to between 1,453 and 1,753 in 2020. Bastyr University is Kenmore’s largest employer. The University also operates a clinic facility in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood.
The partnership between Bastyr and the city was enhanced by the University's offer to allow public use and community scheduling of the private athletic fields on campus. The City of Kenmore and Bastyr agreed on an 11-year lease for the recreational fields (two ball fields and one soccer field), with the fields available for scheduled use by sports organizations. Kenmore-based groups will have priority scheduling opportunities.
Bastyr is currently constructing on-campus dormitories that will house approximately 132 students, with completion scheduled for summer 2010.
"The opportunity to work closely with citizens, the Planning Commission, the city staff and Council members has been rewarding, in itself," said Bastyr University President Daniel K. Church, PhD. "The outcome — both the agreement and the relationship — augurs a wonderful future for the University and our community. I am very gratified with the results of these many months of good faith effort, and I look forward to our shared future."
ABOUT BASTYR UNIVERSITY
Bastyr University, located north of Seattle, Washington, is an accredited institution, internationally recognized as a pioneer in natural medicine. Bastyr is the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the U.S., combining a multidisciplinary curriculum with leading-edge research and clinical training to educate future leaders in fields such as naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and whole food nutrition. Founded in 1978 as the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine, Bastyr University now offers more than 15 accredited degree and certificate programs. Bastyr was the nation's first natural health arts and sciences university to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Bastyr University Research Institute plays a key role in the growth of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research. The University's teaching clinic, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, offers quality natural health care to the greater Seattle community while providing essential clinical training for students. For additional information about Bastyr University and its teaching clinic, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, visit
www.bastyr.edu or www.bastyrcenter.org.
