The master plan for the North Kitsap Heritage Park jumped through another hoop towards completion Sept. 20 with unanimous approval from the Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Board. The plan now moves to county commissioners for final review and adoption.

The Heritage Park Master Plan, created in the last year by landscape architects from The Berger Partnership, sets the course for development of 830 acres, including 426 acres the county purchased from Olympic Property Group in May 2004, nearly 20 acres purchased from Betty Foskett off Miller Bay Road for the main entrance, and 380 acres the county is in negotiations to purchase from OPG.

The status of the additional land acquisition is on hold for now, said Bev Reeves, interim director of the county’s Facilities, Parks and Recreation Department. The county missed the window for the current grant cycle, she said, due to work being done to update the 10-year Comprehensive and Open Space plans as well as putting on the county fair.

The master plan will come before county commissioners this fall though a specific date has not been set nor opportunities for additional public comment. At the parks board meeting in September, the Kingston Parks Trails and Open Space Committee asked that approval of the plan be postponed for a month to allow for additional public review. Though its request was denied, KPTOS submitted detailed comments and questions pertaining to regional trail connections between the Heritage Park, White Horse and Arborwood, and other features they’d like included such as a volleyball court, BMX track and larger off-leash dog areas.

The master plan already reflects many changes suggested by the public at two previous informational meetings. Reeves said a North Kitsap Heritage Park Stewardship Committee could be created made up of members from recreational user groups such as mountain bikers, Little League, soccer clubs, disc golf enthusiasts and others who want to help detailed programming, planning and funding options.

But now, she said, “we need to buy into (the master plan) or not and then move into these other steps – what is the balance between money versus phasing. We’re on the cusp of getting right into that. I don’t have concern that the level of specificity won’t be looked at. This plan is subject to change by the public. There will be lots more public input but it’s contingent on accepting the master plan.”

The master plan includes detailed maps, photos, site analysis of soils, wetlands, wildlife and topography, and proposes structures such as a lookout tower, outdoor amphitheatre, and tentative route for a cross-connector parkway between South Kingston and Miller Bay roads.

The completed master plan is available for viewing on the county’s Web site by linking to the parks department at www.kitsapgov.com/parks/.

Berger Partnership broke development of the park into five phases that could take up to 20 years to complete, depending on funding. The updated cost estimate for a total build out is over $40 million.

“We’ve created appropriate phases for different levels of amenities to meet goals of what the project wants to do,” said Jonathan Morley, principal architect with The Berger Partnership. He noted of the 830 acres, only about 12 percent of the site is disrupted for development, or about 90 acres.

Phase 1, a portion many residents have said they want to get underway as soon as possible so they can at least access the park, includes creating the entrance off Miller Bay Road with signage, an information kiosk and lighted parking area with room for horse trailers, and forging biking, equestrian and pedestrian trails into the park. The estimated cost to complete phase 1 is $280,726.

Since the park entrance is situated near a curving and sloped area of Miller Bay Road, turn lanes will need to be constructed to make coming and going safe. Parks department staff is working with the Public Works Department so timing of the two projects can coincide, Reeves said. Miller Bay Road is slated for widening to make room for the Mosquito Fleet Trail in the future, similar to work already completed on Indianola and West Kingston roads.

For more information, go to www.kitsapgov.com/parks/.