A group of concerned citizens is drafting an initiative for consideration by voters to protect the city’s parks and open space, which they perceive as threatened.

First, there was a proposal to build a commuter parking lot on a hill found to have been included in Luther Burbank Park’s Master Plan. Then was the sale of Clarke Beach land to an encroaching neighbor who didn’t know that his garden crossed over the park border. Recently, it’s the consideration of a lease with the Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) to occupy a corner of Mercerdale Park.

Though well-intentioned, these decisions by the City Council set a worrying precedent, the group argues.

Calling itself Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Parks, the group met Aug. 13 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center (MICEC) to discuss how to draft the ordinance and get it before the public. Seven other cities have similar park protection ordinances, inluding Spokane, Bremerton, Kelso and Olympia.

“I would love to figure out what I can do to assure you that this isn’t an attack on the park,” said MICA President John Gordon Hill, who attended the meeting.

Hill said that MICA would be a popular addition to a well-used park that already contains a playground, skate park and exercise equipment.

“You could put a Starbucks in every park if we’re talking about popularity,” said group member Ira Appelman, who will draft the initiative.

Appelman has undertaken efforts like this before. He and group members Gary Robinson, Lori Robinson and Meg Lippert were part of the team that stalled the King County Library System planned remodel of the Island’s library, making sure that Islander input would be incorporated into the design. He wrote Mercer Island’s first-ever referendum in 2001 regarding how and when trees can be cut and trimmed. He also ran for City Council in 2009, voicing his support to hold advisory votes on contentious issues.

The Island has had two advisory votes in its history: one regarding building a golf course in Pioneer Park and the other, City Hall in Mercerdale Park.

“The campaign informs the public,” Appelman said.

Hill said that Mercerdale is the best place for MICA and that it will save Youth Theater Northwest (YTN) from going off-Island.

Appelman said that MICA is a “good opportunity” for YTN, but should be located elsewhere, like on the back of the MICEC.

Hill said that the “wonderful experiences” offered by YTN are hanging in the balance.

“I would prefer that this [MICA] is not a divisive issue,” Gary Robinson said, noting that the group is pro-parks, not anti-MICA. “Put it to a vote, and let the citizens say what they want. It’s a matter of how widely felt our concerns are.”

To be on the ballot, potentially in February, the initiative must receive support from 15 percent of the Island’s registered voters. Once on the ballot and after a campaign, it would live or die by simple majority.

Both efforts take time and resources. The group must register with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) before it can start fundraising.

“Elections are worth the cost, no matter what,” Appelman said.