Wind Farms Moving Closer: Remember the Energy Overlay Zone?

Lumber company will apply to build Skamania wind farm

The ColumbianWednesday, September 05, 2007
BY KATHIE DURBIN, Columbian staff writer

"SDS Lumber Co. plans to apply for a permit before year's end to build a wind farm in Skamania County that would produce up to 70 megawatts of power."

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/09052007news192087.cfm

White Salmon Enterprise, Sept 6th

SDS and Broughton planning wind project near Willard


Does anyone know what this might mean for Klickitat and those energy overlay zones the County Commissioners created?

Environmentalists, developer dislike proposed gorge amendment

The Associated Press Sep 4, 2007
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A proposed change in the Columbia River gorge management plan to allow construction of a destination resort at the site of an old timber mill has upset both environmentalists and the developer. http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/207458.html

Proposed restrictions anger resort planners

From The Columbian, Mon. Sept 03, 2007 BY KATHIE DURBIN, Columbian staff writer
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/09032007news191812.cfm

Important Gorge Commission Meeting Sept 11

I encourage everyone to attend!

September 11, 2007

Columbia River Gorge Commission
Hood River County Administration Building
601 State Street
Hood River, Oregon

You can find the complete meeting agenda at the link below.

http://www.gorgecommission.org/meetings.cfm

Why Does White Salmon/Klickitat Co. want the Mega Destination & Housing Resort?

And we don't even get the tax base, just more traffic and pollution.

The devil is in the development details AND WHO PRESENTS OR PREDICTS THEM (like full-time paid development lobbyists?) Exactly how many new cars will be on the road between the proposed Broughton/SDS Destination Resort at the Hatchery during the summer? What is this going to do for commerce in White Salmon?

Exactly how many permanent living wage jobs will be created? And who is going to follow up that they actually did? Will they be low pay service sector jobs such as cleaners and grass cutters. Skamania lodge (a federally subsidized development) has a hard time keeping the kids at the jobs, and the adults have no place to live. Where are the workers going to live in Klickitat? How far are they going to have to drive? There sure isn't any workforce housing available in Underwood. One can see perhaps out of work orchard workers from Hood River valley crossing the bridge every day. Gosh, we may get a new bridge out of this!

And How many of the 150-200 proposed permanent residents are going to drive up Doc Grade and pay 7.5% sales tax to ACE hardware when they can zoom across the HR bridge for $1.20 (without stopping anymore) and go to Roseauers and Highschool in the heights as easily?

What about the nascent Arts Community in White Salmon? Face it. Most of the arts community are hobbiests and aren't forced to make their living at their crafts. Hoping that the well heeled tourists will come up and buy art is not promoting living wage jobs. Instead of endorsing the Mega Resort Development as good for the citizens of White Salmon the city would be wiser to spend its money on signage on highway 14 and I-84 to promote the town's art. The added traffic from this development is not good for the natural environment of the gorge, or for our town in general.

Showing Up is Important: Next Broughton Mega Resort Discussion Gorge Commission Meeting

At the next Gorge Commission meeting there will be two opportunities
to make comments about the Broughton Landing Destination Resort
proposal to the Gorge Commission, at 9:10 and again around 10:45.

The Commission staff will be presenting their report on the proposed
Recreation Resort Plan Amendment. It should be interesting given the
public comments at the previous two workshops.

The more public comment on Broughton we can provide at every Gorge
Commission meeting the better - so please come out and share your
views if you are available next Tuesday, August 14, in Cascade Locks.

What's Happening at the Broughton Mill Site?

Broughton Mill is the site of a controversial development project in Underwood Wa. near the Spring Creek Fish Hatchery State Park and world famous windsurfing site. This is an issue of vital concern to everyone interested in maintaining the natural beauty of the Gorge, and who wish to continue enjoying this beautiful stretch of the Columbia River. Let us not allow this to become one more huge sell-out to huge developers at the expense of the majority of State Park users.

The property is owned by the Stevenson family, owner of the SDS lumber company and the Broughton family. The site was zoned to include 35 units and an RV park nestled in the woods. The current proposal is to expand it to almost 250units (it was going to be 450 units), that is over ten times the size that was planned in 1986 under the Columbia Gorge Scenic Act. A destination resort. It is being developed by a destination ski area. Think Aspen. Right here where we sail. Why did they call it a scenic area when they don't plan to keep it scenic? Our White Salmon City council has endorsed it as well as the Klickitat County Economic Development commission. Keep that traffic coming our way! Heck, there are 3 other 'commercial recreation' sites left to develop in the Gorge after this one. Lets add a Casino while we're at it. Think how valuable our land will be when we can sell out and move away. The Columbia Gorge Windsurf Assoc. CGWA is hoping to get some scraps from SDS by 'asking' for parking space for RVs so they won't be parking at the Hatch.

Check out this link to a local website on what's happening from a local point of view: http://whitesalmon.freeservers.com/

Here's a link to the p.r. from SDS/Broughton that the CGWA has posted on their website. http://windsurf.gorge.net/cgwa/broughtonlanding.pdf

Broughton has information at http://broughtonlanding.com/

Here's a write-up on one of the Gorge Commission hearings: http://www.topix.net/content/newwest/2753007227266627404028909111400544457783

Check out the discussion among windsurfers at:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/GORGEwindsurfer/

To get on the Gorge Commissions mailing list go to: http://www.gorgecommission.org/