Public to Weigh in on Proposed Gorge Resort
By Kathie Durbin, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
May 28–A proposed destination resort on the site of the former Broughton Mill in the Columbia River Gorge will be the subject of a public workshop Wednesday in White Salmon.
The workshop, hosted by the Columbia River Gorge Commission, will feature two panels of specialists. They will discuss such issues as the potential impacts of a large resort in the gorge on transportation, wildlife habitat and river recreation. The proposed Broughton Landing site is immediately adjacent to the popular Spring Creek Hatchery State Park windsurfing beach, west of Bingen and White Salmon.
Tribal representatives will discuss treaty fishing rights in the area, mayors of gorge towns will be asked to express their views on how the resort might affect the economies of their communities, and other speakers will explore ways to enhance scenic, natural and cultural resources at the site if it is redeveloped.
SDS Lumber Co., the owner and developer of the site, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge, which opposes the scale of the proposed development and questions the need for the project, have been invited to take part in the workshop.
Jill Arens, executive director of the commission, said she and members of the bistate panel look forward to engaging the community in one of the most important decisions the commission has ever faced — whether to amend the scenic area management plan to allow a large recreation resort to rise on a derelict industrial site in the heart of the gorge.
The 60-acre mill site presents a unique situation for the commission. It’s the only large industrial site in the national scenic area. Although it is zoned for rural recreational development, the scale of Broughton Landing would require amending the gorge management plan.
SDS Lumber proposes to build 245 units of rental lodging in privately owned fourplexes, townhouses, cottages and cabins. Those would be grouped around a central lodge, restaurant, general store and recreation building. The resort, 63 miles east of Vancouver, also would have 36 camping and RV sites.
The project has been scaled down significantly from a 2004 version that proposed building 550 rental housing units as well as retail stores.
SDS President Jason Spadaro said in November that reducing the resort’s footprint further could kill the project. He has lined up support for the project from the Klickitat and Skamania county commissions, state parks Director Rex Derr and the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. Broughton Landing is expected to produce 288 temporary construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs after the resort opens.
One purpose of the workshop is to give the gorge commission staff direction as it begins drafting an amendment to the management plan that would allow large recreation resorts in rural parts of the scenic area. “The amendment will look at policy issues and at framing or restricting recreational development,” Arens said.
Any proposal for new development in the rural portion of the scenic area must comply with the management plan.
Public testimony will be taken at the meeting Wednesday, which will run from 3 to 8 p.m. at Pioneer Center, 501 N.E. Washington St. in White Salmon.
A workshop will be June 11 in White Salmon, and the commission will take up the issue at its June 12 regular meeting. Arens said she hopes to have a draft amendment available for public review in late July.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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