Heritage Bank lots in PO to be used for public parking, food trucks
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 29, 2026
The Port Orchard City Council approved at its May 26 meeting for Mayor Rob Putaansuu to sign two property leases with Heritage Bank for the use of public purposes at two parking lots owned by the bank.
The two parcels are currently used as parking and storage, and are located on Bay Street. Heritage Bank has expressed interest in leasing the two parcels to the city at a minimal cost, for use of public purposes. In particular, the larger lot that is currently used for parking would be used for city employee parking, as well as parking for downtown merchants (through the merchant parking pass program), and free after-hours and weekend public parking, per city documents.
The smaller lot that is currently gravel and used for storage and construction activities would potentially be used for a food truck parking/service area for the summer months and would be used in 2027/28 as a construction lay-down yard for the city’s Community Events Center project.
“Additional off-street parking for city employees will free up on-street parking currently utilized by staff, and the city was already anticipating leasing the gravel lot from Heritage Bank for Community Events Center construction. The use of the lot for food truck vendors is supported by the Merchants Association and will add more options to entice tourism during the summer months. Staff anticipates providing a program with an associated application process for the food truck vendors at the next council meeting,” documents state.
The draft leases are currently in negotiation, but key terms have been solidified, including the rental rate for each lot of $100/month, a one-time deposit of $200 (first and last month’s rent), a one-time $1,500 security deposit, and the payment of taxes and utilities (currently estimated at $6,000, per year), for an annual total of $8,073 (without the refundable deposits).
“We moved fairly quickly on this because we want to get this in place by June 1 and ahead of the FIFA World Cup activity,” Putaansuu said. “This is a way for us to control the lots and keep them active.”
