Proposed City Council Action

I respectfully request city council to RESOLVE that Chinook Pier Park should be left alone for now until the public has sufficient opportunity to discuss, debate, determine, and voice its sentiment on what, if anything, should be done with Chinook Pier Park now and in the future.

Do you agree? Do you want the downtown waterfront built out? Do you want it kept open for sitting and play and watching nature across the river? Everybody’s view and ideas are welcome.

This is a Case of Miscommunication Between the City and Community

During the last three months we’ve learned the following:

• The city is asking the public WHICH Chinook Pier buildout proposal we want?
• The public is asking the city WHY should we even build out Chinook Pier at all?

A case of miscommunication.  The city and the public are not on the same page.  The city is from Mars.  The public is from Venus.  We must correct this disconnect before we get it very wrong on Chinook Pier Park.  Chinook Pier Park should not bear the brunt of this error.

How did it happen?  How did it become a kerfuffle?  A conundrum?

Since April 2024 when the Chinook Pier Park buildout proposals arrived, city staff have been working tirelessly providing high-level summaries of the buildout proposals to at least five city committees.  Certainly, city staff should be complimented for their professionalism and effort to present, engage, and listen during those sessions.

Additionally, city hall and city leaders have tried their best (above and beyond actually) to communicate to the public the details of these Chinook Pier Park buildout proposals.  Their efforts have been unprecedented.  The city’s best faith efforts in recent memory on any project.

• Posting the proposals on the city website for months for all to see.
• Discussing them on radio, newspaper, and social media for all to hear.
• Running the proposals through at least five city committees and boards.
• Hosting a 6-hour open house onsite at Chinook Pier Park to gather public input.
• Providing a video outlining the proposals to help the public understand.
• The list goes on . . .

Our city staff have given tremendous effort and time to inform and engage the public on these buildout proposals.  We give a sincere “Thank You” to all of them for that.

However, Here’s the Flaw in all the City’s Heroic Communication Efforts

Unfortunately, the city has done a marvelous job of asking the wrong question!  The city has been asking the public WHICH buildout proposal it wants.  Instead, the city should have been asking the public WHETHER it wants any buildout at all.  It got the cart before the horse.  The danger now is that Chinook Pier will bear the brunt of that error.  It might get built out for all the wrong reasons.  We can’t let that happen.  We must step back and ask the right questions.

The comments below are not meant to point fingers at city leaders or staff.  To the contrary, these folks did a superb job, the best they could with the information presented and questions asked.  Instead, the comments below simply say we got it wrong.  We asked the wrong questions.  We sought the wrong answers.  We asked WHICH proposal to build out at Chinook Pier when we should have asked WHETHER to build out Chinook Pier at all.  We have time to go back and get it right.  Chinook Pier and the public deserve that.

Preamble

Arguably, Grand Haven has 12 waterfront areas that define our city’s brand.  Each area is unique and consequential.  Each can enhance, or diminish, our city’s image and reputation depending on how these waterfront areas blend and interact together.

Chinook Pier Park and Harbor Island are two waterfront areas that remain undeveloped.  Rushing to develop either is a mistake and risky.  The other developed areas greatly enhance our city’s brand because public engagement, voice, and sentiment played a major role in what they each are today.  City officials were guided by it.  The city is (rightfully) now starting to engage the public in Harbor Island’s future.  That will take 3-5 years of thoughtful ideas, studies, town halls, debates, and input to capture our public voice and sentiment.

Chinook Pier Park is missing that important public engagement.  Any public views from the past are old and outdated.  The public’s current sentiment must be updated and reestablished.  These latest Chinook Pier Park proposals were sought on the assumption the public wants something built there.  That’s not a valid assumption.  The public has not weighed in on what to do with Chinook Pier Park.  Running these proposals through committees and hearing 3-minute comments from the public at open meetings does not capture our public sentiment or desires for Chinook Pier Park.  We should step back, reengage the public, let ideas form, let public voices speak, get direction and sentiment from the community.

Why the rush?  A rush to build is like a rush to judgment.  Neither ends well.  It puts our city’s brand and image in jeopardy.  It takes the public out of decisions.  We’ve done well on the other waterfront areas.  Why lose all that public goodwill by rushing a Chinook Pier Park buildout?  History tells us we get better results when we take our time.  Let’s take our time with Chinook Pier Park.  Let our public sentiment catch up.

Here are the Reasons for Adopting the Proposed City Council Resolution

1. There is no Statement of Purpose for Chinook Pier Park Buildout.  Neither city hall nor city council have explained to the public why it is in our community’s best interest to build structures at Chinook Pier Park.  Some might say the purpose is to replace the old shops that were torn down several years ago due to mold.  That answer is wrongly based on reacting, instead of on wise planning.  It’s an invalid reason or purpose.  Others might say the purpose is to follow through on our city Master Plan.  That also is folly.  Less than 5% of our public weighted in on developing our Master Plan, and fewer than ½% attended town halls about it.  A mere handful of people in a city of over 12,000.  Hardly the bedrock foundation of community support to justify building on the most important waterfront in our city.  No, until a developed, published Statement of Purpose has been made crystal clear to the public, our Chinook Pier Park area should be left alone.

• Our City Master Plan does not Support Chinook Pier Park Buildout.  Nowhere in our 2023 city Master Plan (127 pages) does it encourage structures to be built at Chinook Pier Park.  To the contrary, countless times our city Master Plan emphasizes Smart Growth and the importance of protecting our city waterfront against buildout, preserving our city’s open space, and enhancing natural features.  (MP23, p.03 / 04 / 16 / and countless more)

• Our City does not know our Community Sentiment.  A survey of 578 respondents (less than 5% of our city) and thoughts of only 25 residents (not even ½% of our city) who attended a May 2022 open house for the city Master Plan is hardly a full-throated voice of community’s sentiment on what, if anything, we should do with Chinook Pier Park. (MP23, p.02)

• Our City Master Plan says the Chinook Pier Park is to remain an Open Air Active and Passive Use Area. Chinook Pier Park is one of our city’s eight community parks and the only one on our downtown waterfront.  Our city Master Plan says the area is for active and passive uses. (MP23, p.33)  Converting the area to commercial use takes away our only downtown waterfront park, and violates major tenets of our city Master Plan.

• Chinook Pier Park is part of our Riverfront Historic District.  Historic districts are to protect and rehabilitate the areas.  How can building out Chinook Pier Park for commercial use be viewed as protecting or rehabbing it?  To the contrary, a buildout exploits and destroys its historic nature as an open-air, scenic, natural setting.  (MP23, p.52)

• Chinook Pier Park is part of our Waterfront Strategic Plan Sub Area.  None of the current Chinook Pier Park buildout proposals comply with a long history of thoughtful, community documents that control our city Master Plan Waterfront Sub Area.  These include our 2005 Waterfront Strategic Plan, our 2009 Chinook Pier Area Land Use Plan, our Parks and Recreation Plan, and our 2021 Beyond the Pier: Waterfront Master Plan.  A common requirement of all these controlling documents is to “enhance the areas as the community’s “front porch”, offering abundant green space” (MP23, p.55)  Front porches are to be open, airy, and inviting; not cluttered with sofas, ovens, and junk cars.  Similarly, our Chinook Pier Park is to remain open, airy and inviting, not cluttered with buildings blocking the waterfront view.  Our Chinook Pier Park should remain a front porch, not be turned into a storage shed!

• Our city Master Plan calls for a Constituent Based Work Group for the Chinook Pier Park Sub-Area.  These buildout proposals have the cart before the horse.  Step one, form a constituent-based work group to be sure Chinook Pier Park is consistent with the Master Plan objectives and local desires. (MP23, p.131)  That work group effort may, or may not, lead to any changes to the area.  Until that is done, these buildout proposals are premature and should not be considered by council or the city.

• Our City Council, Planning Commission, and City Staff have Agreed that Community Consensus is the Most Important Element for Valid Goals.  Our city Master Plan declares in no uncertain terms that “For a goal to be useful, it must meet the following criteria: . . .  “Reflect a consensus.  Most importantly for goal setting, the goal must reflect a community consensus on a particular issue. . . . A statement that does not reflect the ideas and values of a broad section of the community is doomed to failure.”  (MP23, p.95)  None of the Chinook Pier Park buildout proposals have broad community support.  At present, the city doesn’t even know the community’s sentiment about them.  An outdated survey of less than 5% (and an open house of fewer than ½%) of the community is far from broad community support by any means.  And, a road show of these proposals to 5-6 city committees that allows the public 3-minutes to speak might check a box but it doesn’t equal “broad community support”.  In fact, many in the community claim they don’t even know about these buildout proposals, and the ones that do range vastly in their sentiment for and against.  Either we follow our guiding documents (e.g. the city Master Plan) or we don’t.

Feedback Gathered from the Public

Here is only a portion of the feedback gathered during committee meetings where city staff outlined the Chinook Pier Park proposals.  The feedback is from comments made by both committee members and the public.  City council will no doubt consider it during their own deliberations about the buildout proposals.  Given an opportunity, the community would offer much more input to give the city guidance for Chinook Pier Park.

1. This is the wrong time to build out Chinook Pier Park.  The timing is wrong.  It should wait until the public has sufficient opportunity to consider what the pubic thinks should be done with Chinook Pier Park, if anything.  It also should wait until Harbor Island’s future is clearer so both areas get developed in tandem.  The two areas are “neighbors”.  They are both key elements of our waterfront.  They must complement each other.  To move ahead on one without the other risks long lasting mistakes.  Within 3-5 years Harbor Island’s future will be clearer.  Wisdom says wait on Chinook Pier Park for now.

• These are the wrong elements for Chinook Pier Park.  All the proposals to build out Chinook Pier Park include elements that are wrong for the waterfront.  Also, they each have serious flaws in some of their assumptions and projections.  For example, one proposal includes pickleball courts that don’t belong on our downtown waterfront.  One proposal includes a children’s museum that doesn’t belong on our downtown waterfront.  Plus, its visit projections are unrealistic.  One proposal includes an event center.  We already have one at Central Park Place that is unprofitable.  And, the Diesel Plant might also have one.  Same with Harbor Island.  If the event center we already have can’t make money, why add more to cause even worse hardship?  One proposal includes a restaurant.  History has told us, in no uncertain terms, time and time again, that Chinook Pier Park restaurants don’t survive.  And to top it all off, the proposals block upwards of 80% of our waterfront view and add more traffic and parking headaches to our already congested downtown waterfront.  None of these proposals are right for Chinook Pier Park.

• Much of the public is not aware the city is considering building out Chinook Pier Park or of these proposals.  Shouldn’t we first inform and engage the public before making any decisions on these proposals?  It seems like the cart is coming way before the horse.

• The buildout (some is 2-story) will block upwards of 80% of our view of the waterfront.  The waterfront is to be our city’s “front porch” to residents and visitors.  Blocking the waterfront view and cluttering it with structures would turn Chinook Pier Park into a “storage shed” at best.

• The children’s museum estimates 170,000 visitors a year (400 a day).  That’s 8-10 school bus loads each day.  So, in addition to the added car traffic, expect to see many yellow school buses parked at Chinook Pier Park every day, all day long.  The visitor estimates are based on Grand Rapids Public Museum, which is 170 years old, is 20 times bigger, has over 6,500 activities, has over 100 volunteers and almost 100 teachers, and draws from a metro area of over 1 million people.  Yet, it only has 33,000 visitors a year (90 a day).  How can our children’s museum expect 400 visitors a day when the one in Grand Rapids only gets 90 visitors a day?  The proposal’s study is unrealistic and sorely flawed.  Note for Comparison: Our own Tri-Cities Public Museum had 3,444 K-12 students engage in 2023.  While that’s wonderful; it’s fewer than 10 a day.

• Pickleball courts don’t belong on our downtown waterfront.  Grand Haven has a thriving pickleball club with existing courts by the YMCA and doesn’t need any more.  Pickleball court time must be coordinated, and teams organized.  To put courts at Chinook Pier Park means you also need an onsite office like the charter fishing and marina staff.  Pickleball courts come with staff commitments and heavy time and money costs to manage them.

• Several restaurants at Chinook Pier Park have already failed in the past.  Do we really need to put another one there to prove failure again?  The seasonality of Chinook Pier Park does not lend itself to restaurants or cafes.

• Apply what our MSDDA has done on Washington Ave at Chinook Pier Park.  The energy and family-fun activities we now see downtown on Washington Ave are healthy and exciting.  Each year it gets better thanks to the MainStreet DDA.  Chinook Pier Park is an ideal area to leverage that learning curve and effort to help make it more family, youth, open-air, and eventful year-round.

• Many of the retail shops at the old Chinook Pier Park have since moved to other downtown retail locations.  What makes us think they will return to Chinook Pier or that new retailers will take the new spaces?  If the new rental rates are comparable to existing downtown rates, why would a retailer risk the seasonality of Chinook Pier when they can have other space at a similar price with better foot traffic and less risk?

1. We already have an event center at Central Park Place that is losing money.  And, the Diesel Plant might also have one.  And, Harbor Island also might have an event area.  If the one we already have can’t make money, why add another one to take business from the struggling one we already have?

1. The city coffers will only get about 15% of the 50 mils of tax levied on the property.  The rest goes to the county and elsewhere.  If you assume Chinook Pier Park’s build out costs $15 million.  That generates 50 mils x $15 million = $750,000 in tax revenue.  The city’s 15% portion = only $100,000.  Our city budget = about $18 million.  $100,000 is a drop in the bucket; less than 1% of our total city tax revenue.  It’s essentially a rounding error on our pension fund deficit of over $35 million.  Enough to fill about 25 potholes.  Maybe enough to change the oil once and pump up the tires on our city vehicle fleet.  Why would we put our waterfront at risk for less than 1% of our budget?  That doesn’t make any sense.

1. Downtown traffic and parking are already difficult, and nobody has a solution for it.  All these proposals add more traffic and more parking problems to the ones we already have.  Shouldn’t we solve our current problems instead of making them worse?

1. Chinook Pier Park would be an ideal spot for a combination green space and activity park for youth.  We don’t have an open-air activity park for our youth.  Putting one on the downtown waterfront makes sense.  We could engage them to help concept it.  To help decide the types of interactive kiosks and learning/play areas.  Even to help name and oversee it.  We would have over 1,500 linear feet of waterfront available for it if the Farmers Market became part of a bigger vision Fresh Market Emporium at the 3rd St Bridge area; and the Charter Fishing relocated to Harbor Island’s boat launch.  Plus, that would free up 20-30 marina boat slips for recreational craft visitors who do stroll our downtown streets and buy while visiting.

1. By nature, Chinook Pier Park is a beautiful, open waterfront along the river.  Why are we determined to turn it into something it’s not by insisting on building and building and building on it?  Why can’t we just leave it alone as nature intended; an area to sit and enjoy and be proud of just as it is?  Why is doing nothing such a bad idea?

Chinook Pier Park will be enjoyed for many years by many generations.  It’s a center piece of our city’s brand.  It must be used thoughtfully, carefully, and correctly for the long term.  If we get it wrong by waiting, we can always build later.  But, if we get it wrong by building, we can never get it back later.  Please wait.  Delay building on Chinook Pier Park for now until the public is better informed, has time to discuss and debate, and voices its clear sentiment so the city knows what the public wants for Chinook Pier Park now and in the future.

Do you agree? Do you want the downtown waterfront built out? Do you want it kept open for sitting and play and watching nature across the river? Everybody’s view and ideas are welcome.