Kiana Ballo

1/28/18

Senior Project

Literature Review

Literature Review: Pacific Ave Master Park Plan

My senior project is a product of my internship at the city of Westport this

summer. My advisor, the Public Works Director, Kevin Goodrich, proposed that I create

a park plan for one of the city’s vacant properties. Westport just finalized a new parks

plan during my internship at the municipality last year, and although this site is zoned as

a park, there are no plans for the city to develop it. The product of this project will be a

proposal for the transformation of Pacific Ave property from a closed, vacant parcel into

a public park that would be operated and maintained by the city. The proposal will be a

master plan that focuses site evaluation and restoration, rather than creating an explicit

park design. I will present to the final proposal to the Westport City Council for them to

vote on. If the council approves my proposal, they will pursue funding for the

implementation of the plan.

This literature review is a tool for outlining the research I have conducted thus

far, setting the academic foundation for my project. First I will define the important terms

used throughout the paper. Then I will outline the history of the Pacific Ave property,

providing context to the direction of my project. Next I will provide the guiding policies

from official City of Westport planning documents, followed by a discussion of what an

effective master park plan should be. Finally, I will review the implications and

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importance of ecological restoration and community engagement in regards to my

project.

Important terms:

 Master Park Plan – According to the third edition of “Anatomy of a Park” by

Bernie Dahl and Donald J. Molar, two professors of Horticulture and Landscape

Architecture at Purdue University, “The master plan shows the essential

organization of the part including commitments regarding circulation and major

relationships.” (1) In addition to this book, I have analyzed a case study from the

City of Mountlake Terrace Ballinger Park Master Plan. There are many similar

concepts within the Ballinger Park Master Plan that are applicable to the

development of my project. In the context of my project, my master park plan will

focus on the ecological restorations and capital improvements that are necessary

in order to transform the Pacific Ave property into a functioning public park.

 City of Westport Comprehensive Park and Recreation Plan (CPRP) – This

official planning document published by the city in 2017 contains fundamental

information about the vision for the future of public parks system in Westport with

descriptions, figures, and the plan for each park parcel.

 City of Westport Comprehensive Plan – This official planning document

revised by the city in 2013 provides the overarching, guiding principles and

standards for all city projects. Information from this document will be essential in

creating an appropriate plan for the site with the city’s vision in mind.

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 City of Westport Shoreline Master Plan – This official planning document

published in 2017 has many resources regarding the restoration and

management of the wetlands and waterline, which is a large portion of the focus

of restoration at the site.

 Priority Habitat and Species (PHS) – The Washington Department of Fish and

Wildlife (WDFW) created the PHS program as “the principal means by which

WDFW provides important fish, wildlife, and habitat information to local

governments, state and federal agencies, private landowners and consultants,

and tribal biologists for land use planning purposes. PHS is the agency's primary

means of transferring fish and wildlife information from our resource experts to

those who can protect habitat.” (8) This is relevant to the Pacific Ave Property

because WDFW has defined three types of priority habitat surrounding the site

on all sides. (See Appendix 3 for PHS map)

 Ecological Restoration - As defined by Society for Ecological Restoration

International Science & Policy (SER), “Ecological restoration is the process of

assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or

destroyed.” (4) Restoration of the natural landscape is a large focus within the

development of the Pacific Ave Property into a public park.

 Community Engagement – Communication and outreach to the public

regarding any city planning project is crucial in order to ensure that the needs of

the community are met. Specifically regarding my project, the idea of public

engagement through “community-based restoration” is defined in a paper written

by Peter Leigh, for the Office of Habitat Conservation at the National Oceanic

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 and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He states in his paper discussing the

importance of community-based restoration, “The practice brings communities

together, promotes a conservation ethic, and develops a sense of place. By this

action, humanity reconnects with the environment, often in meaningful ways, to

heal a segment of an impaired earth.” (5)

Context

The site itself is located at the end of Pacific Ave, a few blocks east of

Montesano Street, the main road that runs north through the city. The property reaches

to the shore of the Elk River facing west. The waterfront parcel is approximately one

acre in size with a beautiful, sweeping view of the mountains, the south bay,

surrounding wetlands and oyster beds. There is a trail running north along the east

edge of the park and a gravel road running east toward the water on the south edge.

The topography of the property is uneven, and it is generally sloped so that the lowest

point is around half way on the south edge of the park. Currently, the site has two large

burn piles, a few piles of large of logs, and a couple piles of large pipes used for storm

drainage. Due to erosion of the shoreline, there is a drop off about two feet down from

the rest of the property with chunks of concrete and debris littering the ground.

Throughout the site there is broken glass, miscellaneous garbage, unkempt grass and

brush.

The Pacific Ave Property is historically significant to the city of Westport. It

served as the original location of the Westport fleet dock until WWII. According to the

Westport Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan, “The site is currently

undeveloped and is the site of the first passenger ferry to dock at Westport. The

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sternwheeler Enterprise was owned and operated by the Chehalis Steamboat

Navigation Company circa 1859.” (2) The pilings from original dock still stand in the river

in front of the site. Outside of the Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan, I have

gathered historical information about the site from John Shaw, the manager of the

Westport Maritime Museum. He confirmed its original use for sternwheelers and ferries,

and also provided information that the use of the dock at the Pacific Ave Property ended

around 1912-1914, when the Aberdeen railroad was built and the road from Aberdeen

to Westport was constructed. My hope is to reconnect Westport with part of its history

by providing access to and information about the old fleet dock.

After the site no longer served as the ferry dock landing, it was turned into a

dumpsite. I confirmed this with many long time residents of Westport, including my

grandpa Brady Engvall and the city’s Public Works Director Kevin Goodrich. There are

remnants from the dump embedded in the ground; the most visible are the areas with

concentrations of pieces of broken glass.

Access to the park is currently restricted to official city use. A gate blocks public

vehicle access, but pedestrians can enter the site from a trail or by simply walking

around the gate. The city does not advertise or encourage public use of the site at this

time. The parcel is currently zoned as parkland by the city, although they currently have

no plan to develop the site into a public park. Explicitly, the city’s intentions for the

Pacific Ave site is described as follows in the Park and Recreation Plan:

“The site has the potential for multiple waterfront opportunities. At the time of the

writing of this plan, the site was not open for public use. The City intends to

decide on the future use of the site. Whether it will be developed for passive or

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 active recreation use or have some other specific use needs to be determined. A

site evaluation study would help to determine the best use of the site.” (2)

Additionally, through my conversations with my advisor and city official, Kevin Goodrich,

the site’s current use is confirmed as “burn site.” This means the Public Works

department utilized the location to burn yard waste from other city projects. Part of my

proposal will need to include a plan to mitigate the city’s loss of a burn site if the Pacific

Ave Property is turned into a public park.

An essential consideration in the development of the Pacific Ave Property is that

it is surrounded by priority habitats for shorebirds, estuarine and marine wetland, and

oyster beds. My project will need to take special consideration into the implications of

PHS, as WDFW describes, “Priority species require protective measures for their

survival due to their population status, sensitivity to habitat alteration, and/or

recreational, commercial, or tribal importance.” (8) In order to guarantee appropriate

management and conservation environmental function of these priority habitats, WDFW

also provides recommendations for each specific type of PHS. The Management

Recommendations for PHS serves as a guiding tool for responsible treatment of critical

ecosystems.

Planning Documents

The City of Westport planning documents provide important context for the

development of this project. Specifically, in addition to the City of Westport

Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan, the Westport Comprehensive Plan and the

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City of Westport Shoreline Master Program provide important overarching policies,

objectives and recommendations that will be essential to include in my master plan.

Some of the reoccurring themes in all three planning documents are: protection

of natural assets and environmental function, encouraging opportunities for public

access in an equitable and responsible manner, improving of quality of life for residents,

respecting property rights, and promoting Westport’s distinct history and character.

Summarized in other words, the Comprehensive Plan provides this holistic vision

statement, “To maintain and enhance the character of Westport’s quality natural and

physical environment and limited land area in a manner that provides for adequate

protection without unnecessarily impacting the social, economic, and physical

development of Westport.” (6)

All three of the planning documents discuss the importance of protecting and

preserving the natural environment in Westport. This includes a range of environmental

assets; the City of Westport CPRP policy expresses a goal to “Encourage the

preservation of high value scenic vistas, wildlife habitat areas, significant shoreline

areas, and other natural areas.” (2) Beyond conserving the environment simply for its

intrinsic value, it is crucial that preservation maintains the services and relationships

within the delicate natural ecosystem. In other words, Shoreline Master Program policy

encourages to “Design new development located in shoreline jurisdiction to result in no

net loss of ecological function.” (7) In addition to protecting the ecosystem, development

of the natural environment should also take into consideration the impact on the people

who interact with it. This idea is reflected in the Comprehensive Plan, expressed in

other words, “To protect the environmental amenities of the area to the extent that the

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attractiveness of Westport to tourists and the quality of life for residents is maintained

and/or enhanced.” (6)

Public access is another significant topic considered in the City’s plans. From the

overarching view of the CPRP, access needs to be inclusive and needs to “To provide

high quality, low maintenance, convenient and accessible park and recreational facilities

for all segments of the population and visitors to the city.” (2) Specifically, the

Comprehensive Plan requires ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility in

order to ensure access is equitable for people with all different capabilities.

Furthermore, public access needs to consider the rights and safety of people in and

around the development. Policy from the Shoreline Master Program aims to “Increase

the amount and diversity of public access opportunities to shorelines where consistent

with the natural shoreline character, property rights, and public safety.” (7)

One last subject of discussion from the planning documents is the value of

contributing to the small coastal town disposition that the City of Westport has

maintained throughout the years. Policy from the Comprehensive Plan strives “To

preserve and reinforce the unique seaside character of Westport.” (6) This concept is

applied in the CPRP in more detail, which proposes to “Encourage the acquisition or

development of property which is historically, culturally or recreationally significant to the

community.” (2)

In order to write a functional master plan for the Pacific Ave Property, I need to

incorporate the guiding objectives from the City of Westport planning documents with

the fundamental master plan elements outlined in the Ballinger Park Plan and Anatomy

of a Park. There are many important considerations that go into creating a holistic

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master plan like appropriate plant materials, utilizing existing resources and the delicate

balance of needs and budget.

The Ballinger Park Master Plan provides a well-founded example of waterfront,

wetland restoration project and provides the City’s approach to public engagement. In

these two aspects, I can utilize the Ballinger Park Master Plan as a model for ecological

restoration and as inspiration on how to involve and get feedback from the community.

Although Ballinger Park is much larger and more urban the Pacific Ave Property, they

have many similar physical characteristics. They are both located in sensitive wetlands

with shoreline access, they both have similar vegetation and both provide important

habitats for birds and wildlife.

The Ballinger Park Master Plan does many things well. It maintains an engaging,

exciting, and concise rhetoric regarding the park and its relationship to the natural

environment and the community. It provides a detailed and easy to understand outline

of restoration processes with timeline, cost estimate, and funding sources. And the

Ballinger Park Master Plan incorporates the community’s needs and desires, which

were established in three public meetings.

Restoration and Engagement

The purpose of restoration is to return something to a previous state. In the case

of ecological restoration, it is “an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the

recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability.” (4)

Ecological restoration specifically refers to interventions in an environment that

encourage it to return to a natural state, to a similar condition to before human

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influence. The process of ecological restoration is not simple or easy, rather it is

specified by SER as “an indefinitely long-term commitment of land and resources, and a

proposal to restore an ecosystem requires thoughtful deliberation.” (4)

Ultimately, the people who will be impacted by my project are the people who live

in the community. Additionally, the people who know the most about the community’s

needs and wants are the people who live and work there. It is essential for my project to

include the community’s feedback in the development of the Pacific Ave property. The

City of Westport Comprehensive Plan explicitly states that all planning should

“Encourage maximum citizen participation in all phases of the local government

decision making and comprehensive planning process, especially by those groups who

have traditionally lacked access to the decision-making process.” (6) Involving the

community in the planning process is essential in creating a space that fits the needs of

the people it serves.

In SER’s discussion of restoration and engagement, it is specified, “Ecological

restoration encourages and may indeed be dependent upon long-term participation of

local people.” (4) It is crucial to remember that the location of restoration does not exist

in a vacuum; it has major influences on its surrounding environment and the people who

live and interact with or near the site. “Restoration, community-inspired, offers

reciprocity and redemption to give back to nature for what nature has given to us and for

what we have taken from it.” (5) Specifically from a restoration standpoint, working with

community members is not only beneficial for the project itself, but it gives people an

opportunity to be invested in their community, to identify and interact with their

surrounding environment and to have a sense of self accomplishment.

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Conclusion

As mentioned in Anatomy of a Park, “Good planning has to be flexible planning,

with constant effort being given to turning problems into opportunities.” (1) Throughout

the process of carrying out a planning project, I will be faced with complications and

challenges. I need to be adaptable as I become aware of issues and obstacles,

responding to these matters as a chance for improvement and keeping in mind the

many stakeholders that are impacted by the implications of my project. In order to

develop a Pacific Ave Park Master Plan that promotes the benefit and satisfies the

needs of both the community and the environment, I will need to incorporate the

information from my research in balance with the ideals of the city and the input from

the community.

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Bibliography (Appendix 1)

1. Dahl, Bernie, and Donald J Molnar. Anatomy of a Park: Essentials of Recreation

Area Planning and Design. 3rd ed., Waveland Press Inc, 2003. 188 pp.
2. City of Westport Comprehensive Park and Recreation Plan 2018-2023. City of
Westport in association with the Grays Harbor Council of Governments, 2017. 36
pp.
3. City of Montlake Terrace, and Partnership Berger. “Ballinger Park Master Plan.”
Ballinger Park Master Plan, 28 Aug. 2015. 105 pp.
4. Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group.
April 2002. The SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration. www.ser.org
& Tucson: Society for Ecological Restoration International. 9 pp.
5. Leigh, Peter. “The ecological crisis, the human condition, and community-based
restoration as an instrument for its cure.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Office of Habitat Conservation, April 2005. 13 pp.
6. City of Westport Comprehensive Plan 2013 Revision. City of Westport and
Planning Commission, 2013. 68 pp.
7. Shoreline Master Program: Environmental Designations, Policies & Regulations.
City of Westport in association with Herrera and AHBL, 2017. 173 pp.
8. Priority Habitats and Species List. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
June 2016. Olympia, Washington. 296 pp.
9. Management Recommendations for Priority Habitats and Species List.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. May 1991. Olympia, Washington.
207 pp.

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Pacific Ave Property (Appendix 2)

(screenshot from Google maps)

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Priority Species and Habitat Map (Appendix 3)

(Screen shot from https://wdfw.wa.gov/mapping/phs/)

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