Bothell City Council is moving ahead with an attempt to try and preserve at least part of the so-called “Boy Scout Project,” a swathe of undeveloped green space at the north end of the city in the area of Canyon Park Junior High.

What is commonly thought of as the “Boy Scout Project” actually consists of several pieces of property, at least one of which may be for sale.

Mayor Mark Lamb said council moved to make contact with the landowner to judge the possibility of the city obtaining the property, as well as gauging the asking price.

As he has in the past, Lamb indicated his support for preserving the property.

“I’m excited,” he said, but added, as did others, that financial questions need to be answered.

“Anytime we can preserve green space, that is a great thing,” said Councilman Del Spivey. But, like Lamb, Spivey also quickly added the cost of that preservation has to be something the city can fit into its budget.

Recently, residents pushing for preservation of the land claimed the city had received a $200,000 Conservation Futures Grant from King County with the proceeds presumably aimed at gaining control of some of the “Boy Scout Project.” Spivey said the city was told its application “looks good,” but no grant has been awarded and probably won’t be until later this year. He added there is no reason the city shouldn’t continue to apply for conservation monies from both King and Snohomish counties, but Spivey pointed out that applying for grants isn’t the same as winning them.

Bothell resident Sandra Clement is one of the biggest backers of preserving the property. She said the land includes nine wetlands and seven streams, as well as first- and second-generation old-growth trees. Another conservation proponent living near the property talked about extensive bird and animal species, which call the area home.

“We think it would be a terrible loss,” Clement said, referring to commercial development of the property. “We can’t afford to keep paving over everything.”

In other matters:

• Council voted 5-1 to put in place incentives designed to promote the use of green building techniques in the city. Lamb said the incentives will apply if developers meet certain environmental requirements or certifications.

According to Spivey, the incentives include such items as permit fee rebates and lot size reductions. But both he and Lamb noted in the case of the latter, those potential reductions are not meant to increase building density. Spivey said what the new rules can do is allow developers to place buildings closer to one another, creating more green space in the process.

“I think it’s a good first step,” Spivey said of the overall legislation. But he contended the city’s incentives will come nowhere near covering the cost of building “green.”

“It’s expensive to build green,” he said. “That’s all there is to it.”

For one example, Spivey said a traditional water heater might cost a residential developer about $700 to purchase and install. Tankless heaters are more efficient and considered much better for the environment overall. But with installation, the price tag for those heaters jumps to about $2,000, Spivey said. He seemed to feel allowing developers to move buildings closer together might be key, since that potentially could result in some real savings on utilities and similar work.

Councilman Patrick Ewing did not vote on the green building issue. Lamb said Ewing left council chambers in the middle of the discussion on the measure and did not return until after the vote was taken. His vote was counted as “present but silent.”

According to Lamb, Ewing reported feeling ill during the meeting, but Lamb also said Ewing had walked out of a council meeting the week prior.

Ewing did not respond to a request for comment.

In a separate move, council also voted to give developers a different kind of break.

Lamb said considering the currently languishing economy, legislators acted to extend building permits for up to a year under certain circumstances. Lamb and others said the idea, obviously, is to allow developers more time to get their projects up and running without having to start the permitting process over from square one.