Public hearing for pitching Hedlin’s Ballfield rezoning

For decades it has been the scene of local youth sports, most notably as a hub for little league baseball.

But now Hedlin’s Ballfield is in line for a changeup.

The nearly two-acre site – roughly 80,000 square feet – is the subject of a rezone application that would allow the public use property off Maple Avenue to be developed for residences and a park and playground area.

The Town Planning Commission will hear an initial public hearing on the rezone request as part of its 6 p.m. Dec. 15 teleconferenced meeting agenda.

The Town Council will ultimately decide the matter after reviewing public input and recommendations from the planning panel.

“Zoning,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas explained on Friday, “is a legislative action.”

The Hedlin’s Ballfield rezone bid will likely come before the Council in January, he and Town Planner Marianne Manville-Ailles estimate.

The proposed rezone is the latest step in a process that has been months in the making.

After buying adjoining farmland, a move that allows the Hedlins to operate their diverse agriculture-based business well into the future, the ballfield was offered for sale to the Town at a reduced price to help defray purchase costs incurred by the family.

Subsequent discussions between the Town and Hedlin Farms led to an agreement in principle that 25 per cent of the ballfield property be reserved for a park and play area. Allowing residential development on the remaining space would allow the Town to recoup its purchase costs over time and address local housing shortage concerns should the deal be finalized.

In addition, Thomas last spring said that should the Town purchase the ballfield property it would confer with La Conner Schools and the Swinomish Tribal Community to develop plans for a replacement youth sports venue here.

At the time, Mayor Ramon Hayes termed the proposal a win-win arrangement for all parties. His view has not changed.

“The rezone,” Hayes told the Weekly News on Saturday, alluding to a Maple Avenue lined by homes on both sides, “falls within compliance.”

Hayes said the Town is not in position to purchase the ballfield acreage and leave it purely as an open space that does not generate a significant revenue stream.

“What people don’t talk about a lot,” he said, “is if this falls through for the Town, a private developer could develop all 80,000 square feet and there’d be no park.”

By committing one-fourth of the property to a public park and play area, Hayes said, the Town would be eligible to make application for grant funds related to its development.

The Town Council earlier this year paid $37,000 for a one-year option to buy the ballfield property. Local designer Curt Miller then presented to the La Conner Parks Commission a detailed rendering showing a prospective layout of basketball and pickleball courts and playground equipment in the planned public park space.

For more than a half-century, the Town has leased the Hedlin property off Maple for youth sports practices and games, a partnership that has created generations of lasting memories for local children and families.

During off-season months, it is often used for activities ranging from dog running to kite flying.

Similar memories, to be shared by future homeowners and park visitors, would continue to be made there as well, said Hayes.

“Our goal,” he said, “is to maintain enough of it as a park while also being able to afford the property.”

In a related item: The transportation element of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan also has a public hearing before the Planning Commission Dec. 15.