Residents have until Jan. 31 to provide feedback for the Battle Ground’s parks master plan, which will serve as the foundational blueprint for upcoming park developments.
Once completed, the plan will be presented to the City Council, which will approve the project after suggesting any revisions. Community Development Director Sam Crummett is working on the plan, in collaboration with MIG, a consulting firm based in Portland. The four park properties under review are the Remy, Gardner Oaks and Durkee properties and Fairgrounds Park.
At a Dec. 6 open house, lined potential concepts for the properties.
Residents have one more week to attend the virtual open house, cityofbg.org/1002/Sub-Ar ea-Planning, to provide feedback. Crummett said that the feedback is important as it gives the team a better understanding of the community’s current desires as the city plans the future of Battle Ground’s parks.
“These will ultimately be facilities that our citizens will use,” Crummett said. “We don’t want to invest in recreation infrastructure that does not correlate with the needs of our city.”
Crummett noted that, while the open house showcases alternate concepts for park development, none will likely reflect what the final project looks like. Community feedback will be instrumental in what is presented to the City Council.
“We’re not necessarily trying to decide between the two different concepts or alternatives,” Crummett said. “What [they] do is they help us just get some ideas on paper. And then most [likely] is that we may take a combination of each of the alternatives and come up with a final alternative that captures both of the best of the alternatives. Or it could be that the citizens raise some comments about what they’d like to see that is not on any of the alternatives, that may end up in a final preferred alternative.”
Gardner Oaks
Gardner Oaks, which spans 12.98 acres, is currently undeveloped park land owned by the city. The land was secured by Battle Ground in 2000 for future park development. The online open house notes two potential concepts for the property.
“We’d aim to preserve as many Oregon white oaks on the site,” Crummett said. “Further south on Gardner Oaks, there’s quite an extensive amount of wetlands on the property. So, much of that property’s going to be mostly natural habitat.”
Crummett noted that the concepts focus on providing amenities to the public without damaging the surrounding area.
Concept 1 | Nature Grove
The first concept would feature a nature play area, an off-leash dog park, a disc golf field and newly built paths and nature trails. This concept is focused using the property’s surrounding nature.
Concept 2 | Artful Oaks
The other concept would include an outdoor classroom, a space for outdoor events, as well as spaces for outdoor art installations. This concept would include an off-leash dog park.
Durkee property
The property was originally gifted to Clark County as long as the land could be changed into a park in the future. Being surrounded by a stream and wetlands, future developments to trails and planting may be limited in some areas, according to the city’s website. The document lists two concepts for future developments.
Concept 1 | Hilltop Adventure
The first concept would feature an obstacle course, a ropes course, a nature play area and a field for disc golf. Crummett said that adding a ropes course would include future considerations.
“Something like that would need to be staffed and managed, and if (that’s) the city, then the city would need to provide some staffing and budget to accommodate that,” Crummett said. “Or as an alternative, something like that could be contracted out to a private vendor that would manage a ropes course, so they would serve as a contractor of sorts.”
Concept 2 | Sports Center
The second concept for the property features two spaces for sports fields, outdoor fitness stations, basketball courts and tennis and pickleball courts. Trails would connect an outdoor parking lot to the aforementioned fields, courts and stations according to the website.
Concept 3 | Nature Connection
The third and final concept would turn the space into a park mainly made of trails, connecting to multiple viewpoints. This concept also includes a nature play area and a forest labyrinth. The viewpoints listed on the concept’s map utilize the nearby stream as a viewpoint.
“It’s a stream that needs to be protected,” Crummett said. “There would likely be a 50-foot buffer that would come off that stream. We wouldn’t anticipate doing anything in or near [it].”
Fairgrounds Park
This original site of the Clark County Fair currently features the city’s 25,000-square-foot skate and bike park, as well as the baseball field that hosts the Battle Ground Little League. This park is also where the Battle Ground Community Center resides.
Concept 1 | Central Park
The first proposed concept includes a plaza with table seating and a tree canopy. It would feature a splash pad and a flexible lawn area for picnics. The map also lists an improvement for the existing parking lot on Northeast Fairgrounds Avenue.
Concept 2 | Play Through the Ages
The second concept is focused on sports and fitness amenities. Possible features listed include basketball courts, tennis and pickleball courts, a bike pump track and an inclusive playground for children. The map for this concept includes two accessible pavilion and picnic areas in the center and southern areas of the park. The current baseball field is replaced with trails and arboretum in the concept’s map. Crummett mentioned that if the baseball field were removed, the city would ensure that the Battle Ground Little League would still have somewhere to play.
Remy Property
The 80.2 acre property in the center of Battle Ground is home to a wetland habitat bank. A preliminary site analysis would be necessary to determine the extent of wetlands in the area, according to the website for sub-area planning. Crummett said that understanding the number of wetlands in the property was important in determining the extent of what can be built.
Concept 1 | Nature Exploration
The first concept is focused on making use of the surrounding scenery. The concept features a nature play area, an off-leash dog park, accessible picnic areas, all connected by nature trails.
Concept 2 | Wellness Adventure
The alternative is focused on sports and fitness. The concept map includes spaces for a sports field, pickleball and basketball courts and a bike pump track. Also included in the map are areas for children to play, including a splash pad and children’s parkour course.
Crummett and the team of consultants look forward to reviewing the community’s feedback.
“The city hasn’t had the opportunity to do many significant improvements to its parks over the past several years,” Crummett said. “It’s often been tied to budget issues, but as of the past few years, we’re in a healthy budget position, and it’s good to be in a place where we can spend some money on parks.”
