Three plans have been pitched for the Park Township airport site. Now the public weighs in
PARK TWP. — Consultants for Park Township have sketched out three plans for Park Township's former airport site and are now seeking community input.
Residents' input will help determine which plan the township ultimately pursues for the acreage at Ottawa Beach Road and 152nd Avenue.
“We’re excited to see what the public thinks of the alternatives,” Township Manager Howard Fink said. “We had a lot of great ideas come out, but now it’s time to narrow down our options.”
More: Board notes: Community reacts to ideas for Park Township Airport
More: Park Twp. board addresses criticism over members' attendance at airport forum
The three plans were developed after a months-long process of gathering ideas from the public and feedback on those ideas, discarding impractical and controversial proposals and developing ideas that had broad appeal.
Park Township's consultant, McKenna, facilitated the community input process and drew up the plans along with OCBA Landscape Architects.
Option A has as its centerpiece a large-scale pickleball facility with outdoor and indoor courts, intended to be a regional draw capable of hosting tournaments.
The option also includes soccer fields and a playground and leaves part of the property open for walking and bike paths and a natural meadow.
Option B has more family amenities, with a larger playground and a splash pad and includes sports facilities on a smaller scale, with fewer pickleball courts and fewer soccer fields.
Option C would transform two of the airport hangars into an aviation museum and a community events center. Much of the rest of the land would be developed into a native meadow with walking trails and bike paths.
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All three options would include a veterans memorial and options A and B an aviation memory wall acknowledging the airport's history. All three also include an area for flying drones and remote controlled airplanes, walking paths, picnic facilities and a community garden.
Those amenities had broad public support during the earlier public input phases.
Comments can be submitted online on a virtual bulletin board and through an online survey at parktwpvision.com, where the three plans are posted.
There will also be public engagement booths at Park Township Hall, 52 152nd Ave., Bowerman's Blueberry Farm Market, 15793 James St., Sam's Liquor Center, 611 S. 160th Ave., Yacht Basin Marina, 1866 Ottawa Beach Road.
Public workshops at the township hall to gather resident feedback on the plans are scheduled for:
1 p.m. Monday, May 23
7 p.m. Thursday, June 2
10 a.m. Saturday, June 11
Zoom workshops will take place at the following times:
7 p.m. Wednesday, May 18
10 a.m. Saturday, May 21
10 a.m. Friday, June 3
— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Three plans presented for public input for former Park Township airport
