Talon Mitchell, 12, of Washougal, left, stands Camas Lily Loop Trail in Lacamas Lake Regional Park and looks onto lands that have been cleared for the Windust subdivision with his mom, Kara Morrison, and his siblings, Hayden Mitchell, 9, and Opal Mitchell, 7, in late June. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
CAMAS — The natural beauty of Lacamas Lake Regional Park in Camas can feel a hundred miles away from civilization, but some of the park’s loyalists say a new housing development is tarnishing its appeal.
A short distance into the woods from the Northeast Third Avenue trailhead, the city scape disappears behind a wall of greenery, and the drones of traffic are washed out by the rush of falling water and calling birds.
The trail eventually leads to the Camas Lily Loop at the northernmost boundary of the park, which for a short distance runs along a rusty barbed-wire fence. The fence divides the park from what used to be more forest. Now the vegetation beyond it is gone, cleared for a new housing development.
The Columbian heard from many people frustrated with the development near the park boundary. They complained about woody debris from the clear-cut being left along the trail and were frustrated with the lack of a vegetation buffer to shield hikers from houses. Several complained that the city is losing its character because of the boom in construction.
“You could go on the trail and feel you were 100 miles from anything and just lost in the woods. Now, it’s — boom — you’re right next to homes,” Washougal resident Kara Morrison said.
Morrison said she has hiked the Lacamas Lake Regional Park trails nearly every day for the last five years. She’s one of more than 1,500 signatories of an online petition addressed to the city of Camas titled, “Stop the destruction of Lacamas Lake.”
“I’m horrified to think a row of houses could just be sitting right there. It used to be so pretty,” she said, standing on the portion of the Camas Lily Loop trail that is right next to the development. “There was debris all over the trail, and people were moving it off on their own.”
The property in question is a 179-lot subdivision called Windust just north of the park boundary and east of Round Lake. The land is owned by Holt Group Inc. The company’s website for the neighboring Hills at Round Lake subdivision touts the park as one of the subdivision’s amenities.
Rian Tuttle of Holt said some trails will be constructed in the development and connected to the park’s trail system. More than 10 acres of the subdivision is being left as open space, and a large portion of that is near the park, he said.
Robert Maul, planning manager for the city of Camas, said he understands the sense of ownership a lot of residents have over the area.
Through the years, visitors began making social trails from Lacamas Lake Regional Park onto the Holt property. Maul and his wife used to walk the trails before realizing they weren’t part of the park system. He understands the ire that comes with seeing it developed, but, at the end of the day, it’s private property.
“I think what’s caught a lot of people off guard is this perfect storm of new projects coming in at the same time as old projects that were approved eight or 10 years ago,” he said. “So it feels like explosive growth, but it’s been planned for years.”
The 312-acre Lacamas Lake Regional Park is owned and operated by Clark County.
Jeff Mize, public information outreach manager for Clark County Public Works, said the county is aware of the situation and is monitoring it.
“At this point, it doesn’t sound like it’s a major issue, but it is on our radar screen,” he said in an email.
The land in question has long been slated for development. The Camas School District planned to build a high school there, but they chose a different spot. The district then entered into an agreement with a developer to sell land in 2006. Then the recession hit and the housing project, along with many others in the area, was shelved until the last few years.
“There’s some who feel we’re tearing up public parks, but that’s not the case. This was never part of the public park system it was in private ownership,” Maul said.
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