PORT TOWNSEND — The first of three public open houses for the future of the Port Townsend Golf Course is set for Wednesday and the city is looking for as much feedback as possible.
The city began looking at alternative uses for its century-old golf course following public feedback in 2020, and in September kicked off a public process to elicit feedback from the community about what those might be, if any.
Much of the public feedback so far has been split on the idea of alternative uses for the golf course, said Carrie Hite, Port Townsend’s director of parks and recreation strategy, with about half saying they wanted to see the golf course remain versus half advocating for a variety of other uses.
“We want to query people’s interest in the golf course,” Hite said Friday. “With the general public comment cards, it’s about 50-50.”
Wednesday’s open house will be conducted in person from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Fort Worden Commons, 210 Battery Way, Port Townsend. A virtual version will be from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday. For directions on joining that meeting, go to https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/virtual-open-house-envision-port-townsend-golf-course-and-mountain-view-commons-0.
The 58-acre plot of land sits adjacent to Kah Tai Prairie, a recognized unique botanical area, and the Mountain View Commons building — which houses a food bank, public pool and police station.
City officials also are considering renovating Mountain View and have asked for public feedback on potentially combining the two projects.
The golf course was first established in 1904 and its advocates have said that, with better marketing, the course could generate a profit.
A stakeholder committee has had several public meetings already, but Wednesday’s meeting — as well as a virtual meeting Thursday — will give the public an opportunity to put questions directly to planners and stakeholders.
Public comment has been accepted online since September, Hite said, but the open house will feature a survey and concept ideas on which the public can give direct feedback.
No specific alternative plans have been drawn up for Port Townsend’s golf course, Hite said, but display boards with other projects completed by the city’s contractor — Seattle-based Groundswell Landscape Architecture — will be set up for public feedback.
During the last part of the open house, Hite said attendees will be given yellow stickers they can affix to display boards with concepts they like.
Representatives from the stakeholder committee and the design team from Groundswell will be at both meetings to answer questions. Both the in-person and online meetings will feature a public survey where feedback on specific projects can be submitted, Hite said.
The next open house is currently scheduled for April, at which point landscape architects will have drafted potential concepts for Port Townsend based on public feedback, Hite said.
“We encourage everybody to come out to Fort Worden or hop online,” Hite said. “We just want to hear from everybody in the community.”
Additional information on the golf course renovation, including past meeting materials, is available at the City of Port Townsend website, cityofpt.us/envision.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
