Gig Harbor council adopts Crescent Creek Park master plan despite calls for more environmental study

The Gig Harbor City Council voted to adopt the Crescent Creek Park master plan on Jan. 26, advancing a phased design to improve access, parking and recreation while leaving the future of a historic lodge to a later historic-review process. Council member Ekberg moved to approve the plan; the motion passed with six votes in favor and one abstention by Council member Aman.

The plan, presented by Parks Manager Jennifer Harrow, is the product of a multi-year public process that included a community advisory committee, three public open houses, multiple Parks Commission and council study sessions and a consultant contract with HBB Landscape Architecture. Harrow told council the plan emphasizes preserving the park’s natural character, improving ADA access and organizing phased construction so components can be funded and built in stages.

“Until recently, the park had disconnected parcels, limited parking and no ADA access,” Harrow said in her staff report, outlining a preferred layout that keeps the existing Captain’s Gig playground and baseball field, adds volleyball and improved playground areas, and proposes a new restroom and formalized parking. The plan includes two options for the vacant lodge: a remodel/addition proposal from a museum group or demolish-and-replace with a shelter; council directed that a separate historic-survey process will inform that decision.

Speakers during a lengthy public comment period acknowledged the outreach and work invested in the plan while urging caution. Several residents representing environmental and neighborhood interests asked the council to pause adoption until more technical studies are completed. “I respectfully and strongly urge you to put hold on this plan until a more comprehensive holistic environmental review can be completed,” said Pete Waymiller, speaking for Gig Harbor Climate Resiliency, who flagged concerns about critical-area buffers and salmon habitat.

Other residents and user groups supported components of the plan, notably beach-volleyball players who described decades of volunteer work to maintain and advocate for additional courts. Will Foley, representing local volleyball players, noted past fundraising and volunteer hours and urged the council to keep the added courts in phase 1a.

Council members and staff acknowledged outstanding technical work. Harrow and public works director Jeff Langham said wetland delineation, stormwater design and other critical-area studies will be completed prior to final design. Langham noted that phasing intentionally allows the city to seek grant funding for discrete elements and that the plan “stays out of the creek buffer” where possible.

The council’s motion adopts the master plan as the city’s preferred framework for future work while reserving site-specific technical requirements for later design phases and permitting. Council member Ekberg, who moved approval, said the plan reflects broad community engagement. The council recorded the final vote as 6-0-1, with Council member Aman abstaining.

Next steps include the historic-survey process for the lodge, completion of wetland and stormwater studies during design phases, and scoping funding and grant opportunities for the feasibility and construction of phase 1 elements.