For a lot of folks in Clark County, the top story in 2015 hit close to home.
Actually, The Columbian’s top two stories reflect a year of frustration and disappointment on the home front.
Renters were squeezed by a housing market so tight that Vancouver became the national leader in an unfortunate category: According to Apartmentlist.com, Vancouver had the highest rent increase in the nation from November 2014 to November 2015.
And the homeless — a population that sometimes goes ignored — moved onto the front pages this year.
Those topics finished No. 1 and 2 in our annual newsroom voting. The 25-item ballot asked staffers to pick their top 10 stories (worth one point each) and then choose their story of the year (worth two points); 29 ballots were returned. The housing crunch was a top-10 pick on 24 ballots, and it received nine “story of the year” nods, for a total of 42 points.
Homelessness was picked on 25 ballots and received six “story of the year” votes for 37 points.
There was one notable absence: no Columbia River Crossing, ending nine straight years of that story being in the top 10.
1. Affordable housing
Higher rents and lower vacancy rates made life difficult for many low-income households. More than half of all renters exceeded the recommended amount — 30 percent of their income — spent on housing.
The average rent for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Vancouver is $1,013, according to a local real estate agency; vacancy rates hover between 1 and 2 percent.
Vancouver Housing Authority said people with Section 8 rental assistance vouchers had trouble renting.
“The market is tight, and landlords aren’t necessarily choosing our people,” said David Overbay, VHA’s federal program policy manager.
The Vancouver City Council passed ordinances that give renters more time to find new housing when told to vacate or when notified that rent is increasing. In September, more than 50 people got 22 days’ notice to vacate their homes at Ghim Village, a low-income townhouse complex. A similar situation began in 2014 at the Courtyard Village apartment complex in Vancouver and continued this year.
Affordable housing complexes that opened this year, including 1st Street Apartments in east Vancouver, quickly filled up.
Several nonprofit organizations have announced plans to build affordable housing complexes over the next couple of years.
2. Homelessness
There are an estimated 300 to 400 homeless people in Clark County, though the number is hard to pinpoint.
With shelters full, homeless people began staying along the street near Share House in downtown Vancouver. At its peak, about 150 campers were there.
The encampment was disbanded in November after a Vancouver ordinance banned camping in public except between 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Violators are subject to $250 citations.
Huts for Hope built a handful of wood and fiberglass shelters to keep people warm and safe at night.
Two churches in west Vancouver said people could park the huts on their property to avoid tickets.
Faith groups and street-level advocates helped provide emergency services and supplies, such as food, clothing and tents.
Friends of the Carpenter opened a day center inside its Fruit Valley warehouse and plans to open a shower-restroom-laundry facility in March.
A temporary village of tiny homes is being planned by the Council for the Homeless and other advocates. The location is undetermined after a church backed out.
3. Oil terminal
This year saw the release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement on the oil-by-rail terminal proposed for the Port of Vancouver, which would be the nation’s largest. The massive review of the proposal has been used by supporters as well as opponents in their fight over the terminal.
The Vancouver Energy proposal, a Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. joint venture, would bring an average of four full trains of oil through the area per day. Amid disagreement over the proposal, anti-terminal candidate Eric LaBrant was elected as a port commissioner.
Public hearings in January will help shape the final environmental review that a state panel will use to make a recommendation to Gov. Jay Inslee. It then will be up to the governor, whether next year or in 2017, to decide if the terminal’s risks or benefits are greater.
4-tie. Madore’s moves
Taking the lead at meetings, Councilor David Madore has written his own controversial zoning proposal for the county’s 20-year growth plan.
The Republican championed a 2 percent cut to the county’s property tax levy, although fellow elected officials warned of negative impacts on the county budget.
He threatened to disqualify the Columbia River Economic Development Council for state funding over its advocacy for an Interstate 5 interchange project that once was included in the defunct Columbia River Crossing.
Madore faces re-election in 2016 in District 3, which covers the city of Vancouver east of Interstate 205. Whether Madore will run for that seat remains to be seen.
4-tie. Boldt’s election
A new era for local politics dawned when Marc Boldt won the hotly contested race for the new Clark County council chair position. There was an element of redemption: After losing his seat in 2012 to David Madore, Boldt, no party preference, defeated the Republican councilor in the primary. He then beat Democrat Mike Dalesandro and state Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, in the general, despite Madore’s significant financial backing for Pike’s write-in campaign.
Boldt has been a vocal critic of the council and said he hopes to see most of its controversial decisions of 2015 reversed. In the council’s expansion to five members, Boldt will join the three current councilors, along with Julie Olson, a Republican who will represent the newly created District 2 in northwest Clark County.
6. B.G. tornado
A tornado with winds of more than 100 mph ripped through Battle Ground on the morning of Dec. 10.
The EF1 twister touched down in at least two places, leaving damage in the wake of its 2-mile path. EF1 is the second step (moderate) in the Enhanced Fujita scale, which evaluates tornadoes on a scale of EF0 (light) to EF5 (incredible).
Dozens of trees were downed and snapped, sending them onto cars, houses and roadways, closing streets and causing power outages that affected thousands. No injuries were reported.
Two commercial buildings and at least 36 homes were damaged, with many more homeowners reporting damage to fences and outbuildings.
Emergency officials are still collecting damage information from residents affected by the tornado, as well as recent flooding and windstorms. Preliminary information indicates that about 35 people reported structure damage totaling between $250,000 and $300,000 –with property losses of about $100,000 — between Dec. 1 and 13.
7. Port secrecy
The Columbian’s investigative reporting series, “Port of Secrecy,” detailed the secretive process by which the Port of Vancouver handled the oil terminal proposal. Issues included an agreement to negotiate exclusively with Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. before the public heard a word about the proposal.
Response from members of the three-person port commission included “not very good journalism” (Brian Wolfe) and “all stuff I think I’ve heard before” (Jerry Oliver). However, newly elected commissioner Eric LaBrant told The Columbian earlier this year that “it seems like there’s a lot happening behind closed doors there.”
8. Summer fires
During the biggest fire season in state history, an abnormally dry Southwest Washington saw its share of fire activity.
Firefighters in Clark County responded to about 350 calls for outdoor fires from June 1 to Sept. 30, making this season the busiest in the last eight years. In a few instances, grass fires threatened or spread to nearby homes.
A handful of small fires closed roads or disrupted routines in rural areas of the county. North of Woodland, the Colvin Creek Fire ignited on July 19 and burned about 130 acres. Although not in the county, smoke from the 30,000-acre Cougar Creek Fire near Mount Adams reduced air quality in the Vancouver-Portland metro area in August.
9. Fireworks
After a series of blazes sparked by fireworks, the Vancouver City Council unanimously voted to ban fireworks for personal use inside Vancouver.
Firefighter overtime staffing cost $107,000 in late June and early July. Fireworks led to four structure fires in Vancouver, resulting in $574,000 in damage. (That’s up from $5,000 in 2014.) Damage was pegged at $250,500 in the rest of the county.
Camas took action as well: The city council voted 5-1 to reduce the days when residents can shoot fireworks to just July 3 and 4. The law also will limit fireworks sales to July 2-5. Because of state law, the new fireworks ordinances in Vancouver and Camas won’t take effect until 2017.
10-tie. Cowlitz casino
After a long legal battle, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in March acquired the reservation it needed to build a casino-resort near La Center. This month, the tribe secured financing from the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority for the $510 million project along Interstate 5 at Exit 16.
Excavation on the 152-acre site began in October; an official groundbreaking is slated for early 2016. Scheduled to open in spring 2017, the three-phase project will begin with a one-story casino-resort building of 368,000 total square feet. It will include a 100,000-square-foot gaming floor, as well as meeting and convention facilities, plus restaurants, bars and retail shops.
10-tie. Land use
The county’s 20-year growth plan update has been in the spotlight since Councilor David Madore inserted himself in the process with the creation of Alternative 4, a zoning plan that could lead to smaller lots across rural Clark County.
Proponents say it will restore property rights to rural citizens; critics fear it may do sweeping environmental damage to unincorporated Clark County. Some local land-use attorneys have questioned whether Alternative 4 will pass muster with the state’s Growth Management Act.
County staff have said the county’s portion of the plan must be completed by April 30 to meet a state deadline.
Amy M.E. Fischer, Emily Gillespie, Kaitlin Gillespie, Patty Hastings, Brooks Johnson, Andy Matarrese and Tom Vogt of The Columbian contributed to this report.
