By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Privacy is a communal value here

Maybe it is the wealth, but privacy is a communal value in Beaux Arts. Outsiders, including reporters, are viewed with some concern. "Don't put my name in the paper" is a common utterance.

Other than that, Beaux Arts is pretty laid back. Villagers joke that newcomers are residents who have lived in Beaux Arts for less than 20 years.

It was almost 90 years ago that residents formed the Western Academy of the Beaux Arts. Today, the private corporation controls a members-only swimming beach, tennis court, dock and moorage. The lovely stretch of treed shoreline on Lake Washington can be reached only by two private roads.

Each homeowner paid an assessment of $360 last year to maintain the park. If you are not a resident, villagers really don't want you using their beach. It is not uncommon for residents to approach strangers and politely ask if they know the beach is private.

Renters, what few there are in Beaux Arts, can use the park, but they can't vote on the affairs of the corporation.

Sue Ann Spens and her family rented a home in Beaux Arts for six years. But the owner wanted to move back when he retired, and did.

Finding another rental proved impossible, Spens says, and home prices in Beaux Arts, like elsewhere, are climbing beyond the reach of many prospective buyers.

Beaux Arts is a little different than some communities, Spens says, in that it has a variety of homes, some of which are more modest and affordable.

Spens, who is one of two people on the town payroll, says she would like to move back. "It's very kid friendly, and it's not just the beach that makes it that way. The whole climate of the town makes it a desirable place to raise your children," Spens says.

There's the annual summer potluck at the beach, and the catered winter dinner. Each Christmas, the community has a cookie exchange.

"It has a lot of the more positive aspects of living in a small town, while being close to metropolitan amenities," she says.

Continued:

• 'The Village' is a throwback to an earlier time
• Little town by lake is a laid-back, 'do-it-yourself' community