Residents Give Gorge Commission an Earful on Broughton Resort

By Dan Richardson, 1-19-07

We’ve reported here about the proposed new Columba Gorge resort at Broughton, site of the historic, decrepit lumber mill west of Bingen. (Across from the world-famous windsurfing site, the Hatchery.) Now the “Broughton Landing” proposal has gotten serious: It’s up before the Gorge Commission, which met to discuss the matter earlier this week.

The Stevenson family — which owns Bingen-based SDS Lumber — and Broughton family are asking the Gorge Commission to rezone the former lumber mill property to allow for an ambitious resort development project.

The question is: Should the commission allow the families to re-develop their 260-acre parcel into a sprawling resort in the heart of the Gorge? On one hand, the land is already developed — a large, if moribund, sawmill. On the other, to allow the resort would be to potentially kick the door open for other quasi-urban developments in the Gorge’s allegedly protected zones.

Minutes of the January 9 Gorge Commission meeting can be downloaded from here. In the minutes, look under the heading, “Recreation Resorts Plan Amendment.” One interesting note: though the lumber families are asking the Gorge Commission to amend the Scenic Area plan to allow their development, Commission staff reported that there are three other commercial recreation properties in the Gorge. Two are in Skamania County, the other in Multnomah County.

A number of Gorge residents attended the meeting, mostly to voice concern over the Broughton proposal. (See their comments in detail as printed in the meeting minutes.) Among the common concerns over building a resort across the street from the Columbia River — which would bring potentially thousands of visitors — were increased traffic, air pollution and sanitation.

One White Salmon resident said, according to the minutes, “he is concerned with the prevailing philosophy that development is good. ... He said the Commission should consider whether the standard of living will be raised because of development ... and urged the Commission to take a slow, measured approach to approving development of the Gorge.”

Property rights advocates and commercial groups also testified at the meeting, in support of Broughton Landing. Economic development officials from Skamania and Klickitat Counties encouraged the Commission to consider the potential income from new jobs and tourists.

The Gorge Commissioners themselves were split over the staff proposal to accept, with modifications, the requested plan amendment that would allow Broughton Landing. Some, like Kenn Adcock, stood by the standard pro-development argument: That the Gorge Commission, in seeking to conserve the scenic and natural qualities of the Gorge, should not raise regulatory hurdles so high that property owners cannot pursue their enterprises here.

Other commissioners, though, like Harold Abbe, warned of creating what amounts to a new urban area in the Columbia Gorge. The Broughton Landing plan requests 260 or more new residential and recreational dwellings on the former mill property.

For now, Broughton Landing seems to have won a certain amount of momentum with the Gorge Commissioners. They voted to direct Commission staff to continue work on policy development surrounding the resort proposal — moving it closer to ultimate acceptance.