Seaside City Council focuses on the North 40

Published 2:47 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Work group to help move plans along for sports complex

The Seaside City Council on Monday moved forward with plans for a youth sports complex on the North 40 property, authorizing a staff-led User Design Working Group to refine early draft concepts before the project returns to the Seaside Parks Advisory Committee and the council for final approval. The final timeline is TBD.

The North 40 site at 1901 N. Roosevelt Drive is located near where the former Seaside High School was located. It is part of a 12-acre lot formerly owned by Clatsop County that reverted to the city in 2022. It has long been the site of Little League games and other community uses.

If the city doesn’t use the North 40 site for the sports complex, it will revert back to the county, according to City Manager Spencer Kyle.

The last park in Seaside?

City leaders see an opportunity to build what Kyle described as potentially the last big park development opportunity in Seaside.

“We just don’t have spaces for another one,” he said.

Public feedback gathered by the Seaside Parks Advisory Committee showed strong support for a sports complex anchored by a baseball and softball mixed-use field, along with a walking path, playgrounds, restrooms and parking.

The architect’s three draft concepts vary in field orientation, parking layout and circulation. Each includes trade offs.

“You can’t have double the parking and double the field space,” Kyle said. “You trade one for the other.”

Kyle said it’s important that those who will be using the part, give their input.

“Our youth sports organizations will be heavy users of this park,” he said. “They carry some practical experience that, at the staff level, we can’t replicate.”

A long-term investment

Kyle said the work group’s focus would be to advise the council, city staff and architects on refining the sports complex concepts.

“This group would be temporary and project specific,” Kyle said.

Mayor Steve Wright asked how long it might take.

“It would really be as soon as we can schedule a virtual meeting with the architects,” Kyle said. “… I think it depends on how ready the current plans are … . I have looked through them and each one of them either has some missing components or some things that need refinement.”

Kyle said he will be reaching out to the representatives this week and has already had informal discussions with others.

He said the User Design Working Group will be an advisory group only — it will not have formal authority and will not make a direct recommendation to the council. Its members will collaborate with city staff and the landscape architect to narrow three preliminary concepts into one or two strong options.

Who will serve

Proposed members of the working group include representatives from Seaside Kids Inc., the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association and the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, along with residents whose children participate in sports. Kyle said the city will also seek participation from residents on the north end of town including the Necanicum Estuary near the 12th Avenue Bridge, and from the Hispanic/Latine community.

Rather than form a formal ad hoc committee — which would require advertising vacancies, accepting applications and appointing individual members over multiple meetings — the staff opted for a more flexible structure. Organizations will send representatives and meetings will likely be virtual.

Budget and built-out

The city has budgeted for the landscape architect work but has not yet allocated funding for construction. Cost estimates will come later in the design process, at which point the council can determine whether to build the project all at once or in phases.

Kyle said he hopes to bring a refined concept to the Seaside Parks Advisory Committee this spring.

Neighborhood considerations

Councilors also raised questions about surrounding neighborhoods, including Venice Park and Indian Way, as well as planned high-density housing development near the site.

Councilor Tita Montero asked about the possibility of pickleball courts, noting the sport’s popularity — and its noise.

Kyle said the current draft concept does not include pickleball courts.

“We’ve crammed a lot of stuff in there without the extras,” he said, referring to the already tight balance between fields, parking and other amenities.

For now, the focus remains on youth sports and getting the core design right.

“We want something that will last,” Kyle said, “something our community can be proud of and that will last our youth and our community for a long time.”