The City of Seattle attached this image of the Duck Island skate park to its lawsuit against the skate shop that coordinated its illegal construction this summer.
Courtesy Seattle City Attorney
The Seattle city government filed a lawsuit against a Capitol Hill skate shop Wednesday that facilitated the construction of an illicit skate park on Green Lake's Duck Island this spring.
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35th North participated in a Nike and TransWorld skateboarding magazine "Do It Yourself" contest that gave 14 skate shops in the United States -- including 35th North -- $500 and some "necessities" to construct or add to a skate park, according to the lawsuit.
The Capitol Hill shop answered the call and built one on the island only accessible by boat or swimming, but officially off limits to the public. The city says no one had permission to build on the island, operated by Seattle Parks and Recreation, and that they damaged wildlife and animal habitat in doing so.
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The contest was announced May 15, according to the complaint. The 14 skate shops were given less than a month to build the skate park project and then film and edit a video of their work.
35th North was one of three winners who were awarded $1,000 to build another spot or add to their existing project, according to the complaint.
News of the skate park's construction emerged in August. The video of the project has been taken down from the TransWorld contest page.
The city says that the skate shop and 20 "Jane and John Does" cut down one or more trees and destroyed vegetation on the island. They also did not acquire permission for any kind of construction at the site.
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The island is part of the city's Shoreline District, which allows the city to levy specific penalties for violations on that land. Among them named in the lawsuit is a $500-a-day civil penalty for each violation from the time the violation occurred until "compliance is achieved."
The defendants could also be subject to an additional penalty of $5,000 for removing trees more than 6 inches in diameter.
The city "incurred significant costs" to remove the skate park, and will spend more to restore the island's wildlife habitat, according to the lawsuit.
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City Attorney spokeswoman Kimberly Mills says those costs are still being calculated.
The city accuses the skate shop and other defendants of damage to land, trespassing, negligence, unauthorized use of park property, timber trespass and violation of environmental codes.
Lynsi Burton can be reached at lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI.
