Sehmel Homestead Park is home to a wide variety of recreational, educational, and cultural activities. Through an extensive public involvement process with an extremely involved community, AHBL was able to design the park to meet the needs of the area. Amenities include all-weather soccer/football fields, softball fields, baseball fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, a playground, community gardens, picnic areas, outdoor amphitheater, a multipurpose pavilion, and a picnic meadow.

Because of the site's location in a rural overlay district, we were required to utilize the Low Impact Development Chapter of the Pierce County Stormwater Management and Site Development Manual. This was the first major project designed under this newly adopted chapter. AHBL's civil engineers employed a variety of techniques to sustainably manage stormwater. Flow control methods used on site to manage peak stormwater flows include full dispersion, bioretention facilities with control structures, as well as rain gardens. In order to maintain the natural site hydrology and manage stormwater as close to the origin as possible, drainage patterns were maintained. The project also features a network of pervious pathways and pervious asphalt parking areas.

The environmental permitting work involved preparing documentation for SEPA environmental review. The expanded SEPA Environmental Checklist submitted included wetland and geotechnical reports, as well as special studies covering use-specific impacts such as traffic, parking, and noise. We also prepared application submittal materials to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for a Forest Practices Permit, to the Washington State Department of Ecology for a 401 Water Quality Certification, and to the US Army Corps of Engineers for a Section 404 permit. In addition, local wetland buffer enhancement plans were applied for and approved by Pierce County.