The city plans to remove a long row of dirt piled along a waterfront road in Pritchard Park. The dirt has created a heap of confusion for the several parties involved in the park.

A contractor excavated the earth from the neighboring Japanese American Memorial site and dumped it along the trail under instruction from the city roughly 10 days ago. The row of dirt, about 50 yards long and eight feet wide, was left close to the shoreline, supported by a fence and landscaping cloth.

The move raised red flags with several Bainbridge Metropolitan Park and Recreation District officials, who said they had not given permission for the dirt to be dumped near the shoreline. The park district and city jointly own the Pritchard Park property.

Park board member Ken DeWitt said the dirt pile underscores a need for better communication between the city and park district on the site. He said the city needs to bring the park district into conversations about the trails and landscaping.

“We are co-owners of the property, and we were not consulted at all on the work,” park board member Ken DeWitt said.

Park district Executive Director Terry Lande said the district has requested that the dirt be removed.

According to City Engineer Bob Earl, the dirt was being stockpiled along the trail temporarily and will be moved to an eastern portion of Pritchard Park in the next several weeks.

However, some of the dirt may stay and used in landscaping as part of the memorial project.

The original designs for Phase II of memorial construction called for narrowing the waterfront road and creating a landscaped berm planted with native vegetation between it and the shoreline. The idea is to create a tranquil path that visitors can leave the memorial on, said Clarence Moriwaki, president of the memorial groups.

“Building a contemplative trail on a site which many consider sacred would give people the chance for reflection. That was always important,” Moriwaki.

But due to an “administrative oversight” the trail and landscaping work was overlooked when the city originally permitted the memorial. So last week the city applied for an amendment to the permit to allow the berm to be built along with a short connecting trail to a parking area to the south.

According to City Planner Josh Machen, the temporary stockpile of dirt along the road was allowable under the current permit for the site. But the amendment will be needed if any of the dirt is to remain.