Port of Camas-Washougal preps industrial park

Meanwhile, construction is underway on the Steigerwald property’s first building, a 21,600-square-foot project situated on roughly 2 acres. It will enable longtime port tenant Foods in Season, a gourmet fresh food supplier, to relocate from an existing port property and to expand its operations. The company, which will lease its new space from the port, is expected to set up shop there this spring.

The Foods in Season expansion and rezoning proposal are part of the port’s overall effort to attract employers to the Steigerwald property, which the port hopes will one day support as many as 400 jobs. The port says it will lease or sell tracts at the site. The port’s economic development effort is part of a larger ongoing attempt by regional jobs promoters, including the Columbia River Economic Development Council, to increase Clark County’s inventory of employment lands.

Ripp said the Steigerwald property is capable of supporting manufacturing and warehouse uses, and potentially a campus-style business park. About 10 lots at the property are currently marketable.

“All of the infrastructure is in place,” Ripp said. “You just need to tie into it.”

The port has decided its proposed zoning designation isn’t likely to generate major adverse impacts to land, air and water. As a result, the port says, it won’t need to produce an environmental impact statement. The public has until Jan. 31 to submit written comments to the port about its zoning proposal and its “determination of non-significance” under Washington state’s Environmental Policy Act.

The Clark County Planning Commission is expected to examine the port’s proposed zoning change this spring. The Board of Clark County Commissioners has the final say over the port’s request. Commissioners are expected to weigh in on it sometime this fall.

Meanwhile, Foods in Season’s planned relocation from its current 13,500-square-foot main building at a different port site to the new 21,600-square-foot complex marks an opportunity for the family business to grow.

The company’s product lines include shipments of sustainably harvested fish to high-end restaurants and grocery stores across the country. Ripp said the company, which currently employs about 25 people, is expected to eventually add 10 jobs at its new site at Steigerwald.