The SeaTac City Council passed a resolution at Tuesday night’s (April 28) council meeting to enact a pilot program that grants Exclusive Park Use permits at Angle Lake Park to groups or organizations who apply.

The pilot program would allow up to three Exclusive Park Use permits to be issued per year to groups who wish to use the park exclusively and would allow them to close it to the public for the duration of their event(s).

The exclusive park use permit application is open to all, with priority given to SeaTac residents and will be evaluated on the point system pictured below.

Applicants must apply for an exclusive use permit 90 days in advance of their event and comply with city safety regulations including a security plan, liability insurance, and a maximum occupancy of 3,400.

Once selected, the applicant will be required to go through a five-step process to secure their exclusive use permit, including presenting their event plan in a permit review meeting, making any necessary adjustments, and signing an exclusive park use agreement.

The hope of the council is to have the infrastructure in place for the Exclusive Use Permit pilot program by the Fourth of July, citing 2025’s safety hazards in Angle Lake Park due to a massive turnout of 50,000 people who came there to celebrate the holiday.

“I think we should have moved a lot faster on this,” Councilmember Peter Kwon said in his comments, “This whole thing got started last year due to the whole Fourth of July thing, over capacity at [Angle Lake] park. The city wasn’t able to provide a safe environment. […] The city did not have a process, so this is the process.”

The resolution passed 5-1, with Deputy Mayor Senayet Negusse dissenting.