Volunteers say Mayor David Faber’s plan to build high density housing on Golf Park acres, which will require reconfiguring the golf course and eliminating the driving range, will hurt the Golf Park’s ability to pay for itself and could have an impact on the natural prairie remnant preservationists have been nurturing for decades.

Given that these are not wild, unsubstantiated observations, it is hard to understand why the mayor and council aren’t listening to these pleas. A close look at the facts and city policies will tell you the Golf Park land is not needed for development and if developed at the least will result in the loss of public recreational land future generations will need.

The city’s current comprehensive plan says Port Townsend has nearly double the amount of residentially zoned land it needs to accommodate the projected population of 12,165 residents expected in 2036. And the city parks plan points out: “The city has capacity for added residential growth and an increase in population would mean an increase in use and demand for parks and recreation facilities and programs.”

We also have several large projects now being planned that will significantly add to Port Townsend’s housing mix. The city’s Evans Vista housing project at the second roundabout in the Upper Sims Way neighborhood when built will provide 321 units, according to city plans. The Madrona Ridge Project now under construction on Rainier Street adds another 167 single family homes. A proposed 12-acre project on San Juan Avenue is designed to provide 244 dwelling units. More land is set aside for residential use in the Upper Sims Way neighborhood and numerous single-family lots on utility lines scattered throughout the city can accommodate hundreds of housing units.

The city does not need to set aside more land for residential development.

In addition, we are rightly predisposed to hold on to land designated for public use, because once it is lost, it is difficult to replace.

In Faber’s Sept. 18 commentary in The Leader, he admits part of the land to be zoned includes the protected prairie but insists that doesn’t mean buildings will be located there. I wonder how he knows where future developers will construct their buildings?

He added he thought it incongruous that people would be concerned about the impacts of high-density development when the “existing clubhouse, driveway, and parking lot directly abutting the prairie all seem much more likely to cause harm than the housing, which will be notably further away from the prairie.” Nice try, counselor, but the jury isn’t buying that. The driveway-clubhouse impacts, if there are any, occurred so long ago they are now the status quo. The same can’t be said for a future high density housing development.

Finally, I don’t know what to make of the admission that he altered the Golf Park lease at the last minute “specifically to stop it from being weaponized by opponents of any housing on the Golf Park.” Seriously? What dark forces does he see moving against him? Golf Park volunteers? National Plant Society members?

The city should be ecstatic volunteer groups dedicated to preservation and recreation are stepping up to preserve options for future generations. It is time their efforts are recognized and embraced and past time for the city to put its planning acumen to work on a vision everyone can live with.

Fred Obee, a longtime Port Townsend resident, is the former executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and former general manager of The Leader.