Bainbridge city officials have found four new potential locations for a new police station.

All four locations are on privately owned land, and close to Highway 305.

City officials have been talking for years about replacing the existing police station, a former fire hall at the corner of Winslow Way and Highway 305 that officials say is outdated and too small. A $15 million bond measure to pay for a new public safety building just north of city hall was soundly rejected by voters in the November election.

City Manager Doug Schulze presented the latest possible locations for a new police station at Tuesday’s council meeting, and also told council members the existing location near the ferry terminal was inadequate for a rebuilt facility.

“The site really isn’t large enough,” Schulze said.

Schulze said the new station needs at least one acre of usable space if underground parking is provided or 1.5 acres of usable space if street parking is pursued.

The amount of space needed rises quickly if the new station is built on land zoned for homes; between four to six acres are needed to handle the building and parking, given city regulations that prohibit 75 percent of the land in residential zones from being built on as the lot is developed.

Schulze said his takeaways from the November election included the notions that the proposed location next to city hall, the $15 million cost of the bond measure and the combination of a police station with a municipal court aroused opposition.

Still, voters seemed to agree that a new police facility was needed, Schulze said.

City staff have found four new possible locations for the police station: 9191 Moran Road NE; 9657 NE Yaquina Ave.; 8954 Madison Ave. North; and 600 Ericksen Ave. NE.

There were positives and negatives for each location.

The Madison Avenue site was not large enough and would require a conditional use permit, two deficiencies shared by the Yaquina Avenue property. An existing building on the Ericksen Avenue property would mean a quick occupancy, but would require an emergency access road to Highway 305. The Moran Road parcel also would need a conditional use permit, and the existing building on the property isn’t big enough.

Council members noted that the current location of the police station shouldn’t be taken off the list of options.

Councilman Roger Townsend noted there was a lot of community support for the existing location, and — mentioning Town & Country Market’s major redevelopment, one that saw the downtown grocery store remain open during the rebuild project — he wondered if the new police building could be built in the adjacent parking lot.

“I’m curious about that,” Townsend said. “I know it’s an awkward lot, but there may be some opportunities to expand that lot. I think that’s worth keeping on the table as we go forward.”

City officials pointed to earlier studies of the site, which said the property was too small, including one completed by the consultant firm Mackenzie in 2014. The Mackenzie plan envisioned a facility at just over 21,500 square feet that included offices, a community room, a fitness room, two locker rooms, bunk rooms, kitchen, five bathrooms, a vehicle impound garage and other spaces.

Mayor Val Tollefson said the size of the facility is something that should be looked at, given what the city might be able to afford.

“That may not necessarily be the proper starting point,” he said of the Mackenzie plan.

“I … recommend putting an asterisk on the square footage,” he said, until the project gets a fresh look.”

Councilman Ron Peltier also was interested in keeping the police station in its current location.

“I think it’s a great place for the police station. It’s been there for a long time, and it’s our major gateway to the island,” Peltier said.

Schulze, though, said the property was better suited for commercial use. And one side of the current property may be impacted by planned improvements to Olympic Drive.

“We’re already taking some of the existing lot for that,” Schulze said.

Schulze also said keeping the station in place would conflict with the city’s ferry district plan, which was costly and time-consuming to complete.

“It’s a lot of work that we don’t want to go back and change,” he said. “There’s been a lot of time and money invested in that.”

The ferry district plan dates back nearly a decade, and it was the subject of an environmental study in late 2007.

According to a review of the study,  two of the three alternatives studied envisioned rebuilding the police station in place.

The third option called for 1,253 new homes in the ferry district area, plus 77,264 square feet of retail and office space and a large hotel.

Many of those who commented on the study did not support the third option and wanted the police station to remain in place. Others said the scale of development proposed was “inconceivable,” and noted the empty commercial spaces that were downtown.