Residents voice concern over plans to clear out trees at 'critical' habitat
By Eric Florip, Columbian
Transportation & Environment Reporter
Published: September 21, 2014, 5:00pm
Share:
A planned tree-clearing and development on a 40-acre wooded property outside Washougal has some neighbors worried about damage to what they call a “critical” habitat — and the character of their rural setting.
Landowner Derek Kysar has proposed logging about 12 acres of the property near the corner of Southeast 342nd Avenue and Southeast 20th Street to make room for a “cluster development.” The plan would put seven homes on about seven acres in the southeast corner of the property, said Tim Halme, president of Battle Ground-based HFI Consultants, which filed the timber harvest application to Clark County.
Kysar Development LLC just purchased the property last month, according to the county assessor’s office.
The application initially sought approval for the logging of 32 acres, drawing strong objections from nearby residents. County maps show multiple streams flowing through the property, and a letter from one resident cited negative impacts to wildlife and the overall ecosystem in the thickly wooded area.
“There’s a tremendous amount of concern,” said Bill Padgett, whose property abuts the same intersection.
The planned logging was reduced to 12 acres to keep the impact focused on the development area, Halme said. The rest of the property would remain in forestry, he said, and clustering homes in one place puts less strain on the environment and the services such a development would require.
“Environmentally, it’s a much better idea than scattering five-acre lots throughout the forest,” Halme said.
Many of the neighboring properties are five acres or more. The area is zoned as rural residential.
Padgett and others say they recognize a private property can be used as the owner sees fit, within applicable rules. But apparent errors on the HFI application have raised red flags, he said.
For example, some documents in the county’s application file still list the old property owner. And in the original proposal, the application estimated that logging 32 acres would yield 800 board feet of timber — a number far too low for a harvest of that size.
County forester Jim Vandling of the Department of Environmental Services said the initial number should have been 800,000 board feet. Reducing the logged area to 12 acres should drop the estimated volume by half or more, Halme said. But the amended application still used the too-low estimate of 800 board feet.
“Basically what we all want them to do is follow the letter of the law,” said A.J. Niebauer, another neighbor. “I think that’s what we’re looking for as a community.”
Said Padgett: “I view these folks (the county) as the people’s safeguards.”
As currently proposed, the tree cutting would only happen outside of critical natural areas, Vandling said. The county’s environmental compliance standards “far exceed” state rules for such projects, he added.
If all requirements are met, a permit for the logging could be issued within two weeks, Vandling said. The housing development will require a separate application and public review process, he said.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
