Another new plan at Occidental Park. Another case of déjà vu with the Parks Department.

In April, the City Auditor issued a report citing some of the Parks Department’s poor practices at taking public input, such as declaring a valid topic off-limits for discussion at public meetings. At a meeting last week in Pioneer Square, Parks staff did it again, telling participants who called for the return of Occidental Park’s historic pergola that the matter wasn’t part of the agenda.

The glass pergola was removed last year during a controversial remodel in which Parks cut down 17 of the park’s 60 trees. On April 16, a Superior Court judge ruled that the city had violated both environmental law and historic district code in Pioneer Square, where a structure cannot be removed without an approved replacement.

An information booth stands at the site today. In its place, Parks wants to put a 625-square-foot retail kiosk, for which it unveiled two utilitarian designs last Wednesday. Most of the meeting’s 17 attendees immediately objected, with Pioneer Square Preservation Board Chair Tina Bueche noting that the board had required Parks to box and save the pergola so it could be reused.

Designer Peter Watson of Otak told the group, however, that Parks had asked his firm to design an enclosed kiosk, with Parks project manager Patrick Donohue describing the pergola as a legal issue beyond the scope of the meeting.

Parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter says that reusing the pergola will be discussed at the next meeting, which is not yet scheduled.

“It’s ironic and somewhat obscene with respect to public process,” said Fritz Engebretsen, one of the Occidental Park litigants. The meeting, he added later, showed that “the city and Parks decided it was OK to ignore public process. But the judge said it was not OK.”