County poised to move on Sunset Beach

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, February 5, 2003

A year after the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners deadlocked over the Sunset Beach issue, the new board, with two new members, appears ready take action.

The board may vote Wednesday to begin sale negotiations with Trust for Public Lands or another similar group with the goal of eventually having the 149 acres transferred to a public agency, most likely the National Park Service.

“It’s time to move in the right direction, to get it going so there can be resources put toward Sunset Beach, resources that the county doesn’t currently have,” said Commission Chairwoman Helen Westbrook. “We’ve lost a lot of valuable time already in not being able to come to a resolution.”

The board discussed the issue in executive session last week and Westbrook and Commissioner Lylla Gaebel, the board’s two new members, and Commissioner Bob Green agreed it was time to move forward, she said.

The Trust for Public Lands provided one of the two purchase offers that the county entertained last year, when it sought proposals for the county-owned property south of Rilea Armed Forces Training Facility. The board deadlocked over it and the other proposal, from developer Richard Schroeder for a championship golf course, during a vote in February 2002.

For Westbrook, the board is picking up right where it left off when she stepped down from the board following her first term as commissioner in 19995-99.

The District 5 commissioner made Sunset Beach a priority during her first stint on the board, and sought to strike a deal to transfer the property to the National Park Service toward the end of her term. At her final meeting in December 1998 the board considered but rejected a proposal to designate part or all of the 149 acres as a county park. A month earlier the board rejected a purchase offer of $100,000 from the National Park Trust.

“Sunset Beach has been an issue that has been before boards of commissioners for at least a dozen years,” Westbrook said. “When I served on the board, I wanted very badly to see Sunset Beach be preserved in public ownership for perpetuity.”

During her last term, Congress had not yet approved the legislation allowing for the expansion of Fort Clatsop National Memorial, one of the key pieces in the park’s proposal for a trail linking it to the beach. That bill was finally adopted last year.

During the board’s deliberations last February, Westbrook urged the commissioners to accept the TPL proposal.

Green was the only commissioner to support the TPL offer last year. Commissioners Tim Gannaway and Russ Earl both supported the golf course proposal, while Commissioner Sam Patrick offered a third alternative to have the county deal separately with various portions of the property. The board’s fifth seat was vacant following the recent resignation of Commissioner George Kiepke, and without three votes in favor of any one of the alternatives, the issue remained in limbo.

The Sunset Beach property was a prominent issue in last year’s commissioner elections, in which Westbrook defeated Earl and Lylla Gaebel beat Gannaway.

With three like-minded commissioners now on the board, it appeared appropriate to move forward, Westbrook said.

“This is a reflection now that we think this is a key issue – it’s been an important issue for a lot of people in the county,” she said. “We think particularly in planning for Lewis and Clark (Bicentennial) and the Fort Clatsop expansion, that this is an appropriate time to re-look at options for Sunset Beach.”

In its original proposal the Trust for Public Lands offered to buy the land for an amount to be determined by an appraisal, and then turn over the property to the National Park Service. The proposal included the option to allow for some residential development on acreage on the south end of the property.

The resolution is silent about any development on the property, but the board hasn’t “ruled it in or ruled it out,” Westbrook said.

The board has to go through a third party like the Trust for Public Lands if it wishes to sell the property, since the Park Service can’t buy land directly from another governmental entity.

The organization would probably still be able to offer the same general proposal it made in 2000, although the changing economic climate and availability of federal funds for any new park service projects would probably be taken into account, according to TPL’s Chris Beck.

Beck said he’s spoken with Westbrook and County Administrator Jim Azumano about the Sunset Beach property on a handful of occasions over the past few months, but no specific proposals have been brought up. The group has also talked with National Park Service and Congressional offices about the land.

“We are the only group out there that has invested a lot of time and effort in this process, and we’re happy to work with the county if they want to work with us,” he said. “They’re wise to keep their options open.”