City updates public on 600-acre waterfront district planning, contamination work
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Summary
Public works and consultants updated council on the Waterfront District: Ecology-funded assessments show groundwater sampling below regulatory limits, limited soil petroleum hotspots remain and the city will run economic analysis and public workshops under a $300,000 planning grant.
City staff and consultants briefed the Oak Harbor City Council on ongoing waterfront-district planning and environmental assessment work for the approximately 600-acre waterfront area that includes city-owned parcels on Pioneer Way.
Public Works Director Steve Schuler said the city is using a Washington State Department of Ecology integrated planning grant (about $200,000) plus partner funds (Center for Creative Land Recycling $100,000; city match $10,000) to fund an economic analysis, environmental investigation and three public workshops. Schuler described prior planning efforts dating back to the late 1990s and said the current effort aims to align contamination response with long-term redevelopment, infrastructure replacement and code updates.
Schuler reported results from recent environmental sampling: groundwater monitoring wells installed in 2024 showed no exceedances of state MTCA (Model Toxics Control Act) standards in the most recent sampling round; the city has additional rounds of testing scheduled. Soil testing identified two localized areas of petroleum contamination at about 10 feet depth tied to the site's historic use as a gas station; staff said contamination removal will likely occur during redevelopment and foundation work.
Norman Wright of the Center for Creative Land Recycling reviewed next steps: public workshops (visioning, scenario modeling and implementation), an economic market analysis (to be performed by Cascadia Partners) and scenario modeling to show how different policy choices and design options affect outcomes. Staff emphasized potential code changes such as parking requirements, building height and public access to the waterfront as critical to enabling redevelopment and financing large infrastructure projects.
Schuler said the city must balance near-term contamination management with long-term infrastructure investment and indicated staff will bring follow-up materials, renderings and a workshop schedule to council. The council did not take formal action on the update; public workshops were planned for the coming months.
