Located just southeast of Seattle and within short distance of high-tech jobs centers in Bellevue and manufacturing in nearby Renton, Black Diamond offers a rural quality of life near the big city. The Black Diamond Urban Growth Area Agreement (BDUGAA), a planning effort between the City and County, laid the foundation for annexation of development properties and the implementation of the ideals set forth by this agreement. Phase one is currently being built-out, known as the Ten Trails, and is already becoming a thriving community.
One of the primary guidelines in the City of Black Diamond’s Comprehensive Plan and the project master plan emphasizes the preservation and enhancement of existing natural systems. The context-sensitive master plan focuses on preserving large portions of the project site as natural open space, dictated by natural topographic landforms, wetlands and sensitive environmental areas. Opportunity areas remaining create forested neighborhood enclaves that capture and embrace natural defining features as landmarks that give back to the individual neighborhood identities, such as significant tree stands and exceptional views. An extensive parks and trails system provides interconnectivity between neighborhood enclaves and larger, regional outdoor recreation destinations such as Lake Sawyer and the Green River. The combination of paved and unpaved multiuse trails that are both street adjacent and off-road, reinforce the combination and spirit of rural living and outdoor recreation. Furthermore, the variety of trail surface materials like boardwalks and soft-surface trails are considered in support of wildlife observation and outdoor education.
A new town center with Main Street, a town green and civic park encourage community gathering activities and events like outdoor movies, performances and concerts in the amphitheater park, farmers markets, art fairs, and other community celebrations. A mixture of retail, outdoor dining and mixed-use buildings capture the small-town living essence of Black Diamond. Low impact development techniques such as permeable pavement, bioswales, rain gardens and rain barrels, and landscaping compost technologies contribute to enhancing the natural drainage system of the community’s multitasking landscapes.
