For thousands of years, local tribes nurtured and maintained prairies in the area of Port Townsend. These prairies have now been reduced to a remnant of about 1.5 acres at the golf course, a few small locations in Port Townsend (e.g. along San Juan Avenue) and, surprisingly, several locations within the golf course.

The Washington Native Plant Society has a written agreement with the city of Port Townsend to steward and protect the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve. Our few remaining prairies in Washington are designated as critical habitat by the State’s Natural Heritage program, deserving of our highest level of protection. For these reasons the prairie at the golf course should be treated as an inviolate sacred place.  

Everybody supports the development of affordable housing for all PT residents. This is not in contention. Also, after an expensive, year-long planning process many citizens clearly expressed a very high priority on retaining the open space provided by the golf course with particular emphasis on maintenance and expansion of natural features such as the prairie remnant and the wetlands.

Using affordable housing as their mantra, Mayor David Faber and City Manager John Mauro have plans, in the next five years, to repurpose over five acres of the golf course; and in so doing, impact both the existing prairie remnant at the course and limit any opportunity to restore prairie habitat at other locations within the golf course. 

Subsequent to the planning process, during the deliberations of the City Council, the Mayor was a vocal advocate for repurposing the golf course as well as an advocate for conversion of at least a portion of the golf course (now zoned as public open space) to housing. Eventually the City Council agreed to retain the course  under management by a non-profit entity, Friends of Port Townsend Golf  Park ( Friends). It was recognized at the time that the golf course, under Friends management, would require 5-10 years to be rehabilitated, to increase public access, to protect and expand the prairie and improve habitat for prairie species in several areas, and to increase the natural areas around the wetland and other areas of the course. 

Following a lengthy negotiation between the Friends and the City an agreement was reached on a 22-year lease. Importantly, the lease language stated that consideration of installing affordable housing on golf course property would not begin any sooner than 2030. 

After the agreement was reached, and before the lease was signed, Mayor Faber requested significant changes to the lease. He insisted that the City must be able to give a two-year notification for vacating a portion of the golf course “at any time.” This effectively abrogated the agreement to postpone consideration of housing until at least 2030. He also insisted that the language “affordable housing” be changed to “housing,” thus allowing for “market-rate” housing. These changes were last-minute and capricious. They were made without any public notification or input.

The mayor is now suggesting that over 5 acres of the golf course be rezoned from open space to residential housing (see Port Townsend Leader June 10 under the headline: “Mayor: Rezoning the golf course would help address housing”). As soon as the rezone is accomplished it is to be expected that the City will ask that the fairway of the 5th hole be vacated. We believe this to be the case because the City has prepared a 5-year plan which schedules residential construction work be initiated in the fifth year on parcels now comprising the 5th hole fairway. 

The City has given no reason to believe that the proposed housing will not be very expensive houses or condos, built on very expensive lots. 

In effect, the City’s plan will result in the eventual loss of the golf course, and has potential for significant negative impacts on the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve. 

Loss of the 5th hole would mean loss of the driving range. With the experience of managing the golf course for the past six months, the Friends have found, and everybody agrees, that without the driving range the course is no longer viable. The range is not only financially important but is also the best way to practice golf, learn golf, and just have some fun hitting golf balls. Housing as proposed would also impact the prairie. Prairies cannot withstand massive vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic, shading from nearby buildings, or introduction of non-native species. The possibility of periodic burning to maintain the prairie would be eliminated. Prairies cannot be expected to survive within housing developments! 

If the time frame is shortened from the original 2030 agreement, the Friends will likely abandon the entire golf course plan. There would be no time to implement golf course rehabilitation, set up the disc golf course, construct public trails, construct a mini-golf course, improve the driving range, implement a concert venue, expand natural areas etc.  This is after many Port Townsend residents, including golfers and non-golfers, have committed huge amounts of time and money to the course with the expectation that there would be a five- to ten-year time period to implement the The Friends vision for the course.

The City’s plan, under the leadership of the mayor and city manager, is being pursued even though it has not been shown that availability of land is the limiting factor in providing housing for all in Port Townsend. The city owns land at the Evans Vista project and across from the golf course at Cherry Street where they could develop housing. There are vacant lots in nearly every block in Port Townsend (see the mayor’s comments of June 10).

Recent regulatory changes allow up to two ADUs on essentially every city lot. The City should provide incentives for the private sector to build affordable housing.

We are among the vast majority of Port Townsend residents who are very supportive of affordable housing in Port Townsend. We have been active members of the Affordable Housing Action Group and long-time volunteers for several non-profit organizations including Kah Tai Prairie  preservation.

That said, what community would convert public green space used for recreation to private housing except as an extreme last resort?  

Ann Weinmann is a botanist and Fred Weinmann a botanist and ecologist. They live in Port Townsend.