A flood-prone athletic field at Mill Creek Middle School in Kent is in line for a major overhaul after city officials cleared a key environmental hurdle. The roughly $10 million project would lift the track and field above its current elevation, add a five-lane track and install an all-weather playing surface. Crews could be on site as soon as next spring.
Kent Hearing Examiner Brian McGinn approved a critical areas variance for the project on Oct. 20, the Kent Reporter reports, attaching conditions to the green light. The school sits at 620 Central Ave. N., and its track and field lie within the buffer of Mill Creek. The variance was needed because of that location.
According to the same account, McGinn found no feasible locations that avoid the creek's 50-foot buffer for the reconfigured track and the compensatory flood storage cells the project requires. The report also describes Mill Creek as a Type 2 stream with documented coho salmon and trout populations. On top of the buffer, the creek carries an additional 15-foot building setback.
Raising the Field, Adding Flood Storage
The design calls for adding fill to the floodplain to elevate the track and field area. It also includes two flood storage cells connected to Mill Creek, which are meant to store and manage rainwater runoff and will be planted with native vegetation. The project is expected to cause a minor increase in impervious surface areas.
Flooding is a long-running headache at the school. A 2024 Kent Reporter story on a federal funding request noted that about three to six times a year, depending on the rainstorms, flooding impacts school routes and use of fields. The district then described a roughly estimated $20 million flood-reduction concept.
Earlier district planning also acknowledged the playing surface problem. Documents cited in a 2024 report on the district's proposed levy said the grass fields at Mill Creek and Kentridge become unusable after heavy rains. That levy proposal set aside $18 million for new synthetic turf fields at Mill Creek Middle School and Kentridge High School.
Creek Buffer Grows Under the Plan
The project will permanently impact 218 square feet of functional buffer, per the Kent Reporter's account of the examiner's decision. To offset that, the conceptual mitigation plan includes 5,409 square feet of buffer enhancement, 43,021 square feet of buffer creation and 22,376 square feet of buffer restoration for temporary impacts. Overall, the buffer area is expected to grow from approximately 45,000 square feet to approximately 65,000 square feet.
The hearing examiner concluded the project will provide a net benefit for the public and surrounding properties, including residences to the east, the report says. The proposal is also expected to deliver a net gain in onsite ecological functions. Conditions of approval include an inadvertent discovery plan by groundbreaking and a protective covenant or easement to Kent covering the newly established buffer areas, which would provide perpetual environmental protections.
Site development permits will require critical area mitigation under an approved final mitigation plan, and development must be consistent with the plans provided. A Washington Department of Ecology SEPA record for the Kent School District describes the proposal as renovation of the existing track and field plus reconfiguration and expansion of the southern parking lot.
Funding and Timeline
The project will be funded by the 2016 Capital Improvement & School Construction Bond and the $97.8 million three-year Capital Projects and Technology Replacement Levy that voters approved in 2024, according to the Kent Reporter. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 and wrap up by fall or early winter that year. The final contract amount, contractor and a detailed construction schedule have not been verified.
