Plans floated for next 50 years at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach

Sonoma County park planners are looking for public input on what can be done to modernize and improve Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach, most of which dates back at least to the 1970s.

The Regional Parks department is working on a master plan that will guide operations and physical improvements at the river-front park into the future, potentially including a dedicated launch site for paddleboards, kayaks and canoes; a wheelchair accessible path to the swimming area; a “destination playground;” updated concession building; and expanded picnic areas.

The 11 ½-acre site has been operated by the county since 1967 and was mostly developed before a ?general plan or bedrock state environmental laws were in place.

“This beach has been a popular gathering spot for more than a century,” county Board of Supervisors Chairman James Gore said. “A master plan will let us set a course for the coming decades and better support a healthy community and healthy watershed.”

Tonight’s meeting, the first of at least three community meetings to be held on the issue, runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the park, 13839 Old Redwood Highway. An online survey also is available at es.surveymonkey.com/r/HVMB1-eng. More information is available at bit.ly/2JE24MS.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.