The Price of Public Space
North Yakima officials consider abandoning a gift of 20 acres to the city, sparking a clash between land donors and the council.
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Several years ago, Capt. J. H. Thomas entered into a contract to deed to the city twenty acres of land along the riverbank for park purposes, provided the city appropriated $600 a year for five consecutive years for improvements. Two years have passed, but the current council now suggests the 'game is not worth the candle,' citing river erosion, rocky terrain, and mosquitoes. Captain Thomas is reportedly opposed to this and threatens to invoke the law, while the council considers a new proposal from the Ontario Land company for four blocks on the bench beyond V. R. Read's residence. The council will meet Monday to weigh the abandonment of the current property against the merits of the new location.
“The present council realizes that a park is a feature of a city greatly to be desired, and action has been postponed on the present one that propositions may be submitted.”
Conflicts over the maintenance and location of public parks in Yakima have roots in this early struggle, where the city prioritized perceived land value and development potential over existing agreements. Today’s debates over urban growth and the allocation of public land continue to echo these 1892 arguments about what constitutes a worthwhile civic investment.
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