Judi Lampi, right, the park project chair for the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association, celebrated at City Hall on Monday night.

A proposal to build a park celebrating Astoria’s Scandinavian roots sailed through a City Council meeting Monday night.

“Great plan,” Mayor Arline LaMear said. “I like it.”

“I’m just so impressed with how organized your group has been,” City Councilor Zetty Nemlowill said. “Making this decision is one that I feel I can do with great confidence that the project is in good hands.”

The City Council voted unanimously to approve blueprints proposed by the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association for a small, grassy, tree-filled park off Marine Drive between 15th and 16th streets. The vote was the final approval the group needed to proceed with construction.

The heritage association has already begun a capital campaign to raise the nearly $1 million it will take to build the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Park.

The group is the focus of Fort George Brewery’s monthly Benefit Night fundraiser on Jan. 29. The evening will feature Scandinavian dancers and traditional music, as well as a joke contest and a silent auction.

The park, known by most as Peoples Park, is used primarily by the nonprofit Filling Empty Bellies, which serves lunch to people in need six days a week.

Nemlowill asked if the city had spoken with the nonprofit about the future plans for the park.

Jonah Dart-McLean, the interim park director, said the city was waiting for the project to go through the approval process.

The park the heritage association plans to develop will include interpretive features and information about the Scandinavian immigrants who came to Astoria seeking work and better lives. The park will be low maintenance, but also a public monument, easily accessible to visitors and locals alike, organizers say.

While the site will continue to be a city park, the heritage association will be responsible for maintenance.

The park has been two years in the making. The heritage association had hoped to have a park in place in time for the annual Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2017.

“We’re very excited,” said Judi Lampi, the park project chair for the heritage association. “I’m looking forward to a lot of hard work.”