Here it is! Click on the link below or here to download and review the latest draft of the Benton County Comprehensive Parks Plan, prepared for final review by the Park Board in advance of recommendation to the Benton County Board of Commissioners. Appendix items are also listed for download below.

Comments? Thoughts? Get in touch with the , with , or attend the Park Board meeting to weigh in.

Draft Park Plan (4.1 Mb, Acrobat® file)
Appendix A - Policies (52 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Appendix B - Cost Estimates (104 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Appendix C - Questionnaires (428 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Appendix D - Comments (1.2 Mb, Acrobat® file)

The comment period on the draft Benton County Parks Plan is closing soon - parks officials have announced they’ll consider additional public input through Tuesday, March 25th at 5:00 pm.

From consultant Gideon Schreiber’s e-mail to participants, sent Tuesday the 18th:

"I wanted let you know that the Park Plan is getting close to final draft form, based on all the ideas and input received during the process. The current draft plan was presented at the March 11 Park Board meeting.

Further comments and feedback will be taken on the draft until 5:00 pm on March 25th. The Park Board will review the plan at their April 8th meeting, with the intent to recommend it for adoption. A review of the plan for consistency with the Benton County Comprehensive Plan will then take place before the Planning Commission. Once that review is complete, a final meeting with the Board of County Commissioners will be scheduled for consideration and final adoption by the County."

Haven’t seen the plan yet? Check it out by clicking the link below, then submit any thoughts, comments or further ideas to Mr. Schreiber at: gschreiber@studiocascade.com . You can also submit comments using the online comments form linked to this article - just click on “comments” at the bottom of this listing and enter your thoughts directly.

Thanks for taking part in the process, and be sure to get comments back by the 25th!

Draft Park Plan (5.2 Mb, Acrobat® file)

The last public workshop for the Benton County Parks Plan took place on January 15, but at least four more meetings are left before it becomes an adopted part of County policy.

The first of the remaining meetings has already been scheduled. A Park Board workshop, re-capping the draft plan and seeking further refinements, is set for February 12 from 5:00-8:00 pm at the Justice Center, 7122 W. Okanogan Place, Building A (GMAP). Members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend.

A second meeting before the Parks Board is anticipated in March, and will offer the public another opportunity to comment. That date has not been finalized.

If all goes well, an April Park Board meeting will present a final version for recommendation by the Board, sending it to the County Commissioners for their eventual approval.

The public is invited to each meeting through the remaining process. Future meeting dates, times and locations will be posted on this website.

The last official public workshop for the Benton County Parks Plan drew a favorable crowd, offering needed refinements to the draft policies section of the plan. The January 15th meeting even received coverage on local TV stations.

Gideon Schreiber, lead consultant from Spokane planning firm Studio Cascade, indicated that participants were generally supportive of the policy outline presented. A few concerns and questions were raised about goals being too broad or easy to misinterpret, but these were noted at the meeting and will be addressed in the final draft, according to Schreiber.

A copy of the policy framework presented at the meeting, together with the comments received and corrections made since the meeting, is available for download at the link below. Additional thoughts, questions or comments from residents are welcomed, Schreiber said.

Draft Policies - Results