By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
January 25, 2008

Two of Hood River County’s most well-known attributes, recreation and agriculture, have come into conflict in the case of an orchard on Alameda and Bartlett Drive.

The county’s parks and recreation district wants to convert the orchard into a public use area for recreation but faces hurdles including strict state land use laws regarding high value farmland.

Hood River County commissioners and the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District board called a work session on Jan. 16 a chance to discuss mutual goals and challenges.

But it became obvious during the two-hour work session that the primary topic was the future of the Bartlett property.

In January 2007, the parks district purchased a 31.4-acre orchard for $610,000 from Don Wanzek. He continues to farm the property at the corners of Alameda and Bartlett Drive under a lease arrangement.

The district received a grant in July of $324,800 from Oregon State Parks, which distributes the money through state lottery funds. The parks district was able to use the money retroactively to help pay for the land purchase. The grant comes with the condition that the land be developed for public use within two years.

As months go by and the state deadline approaches, establishing public use has proven to be a challenge. Plans to pursue first a ballfield and then a walking and bicycling trail have not worked.

Parks district board member Mark Zanmiller said he initially thought the land could be saved for future uses.

“We have always had the goal of having a ballfield complex. It’s why we bought the Bartlett property; because we hoped to develop it someday,” Zanmiller said. “Currently it is land banked with the hope of doing that.”

While the Bartlett orchard was at the time of purchase and remains high-value farmland, Zanmiller explained the purchase was made thinking that the Urban Growth Boundary for Hood River would eventually expand to include the acreage.

During the discussion with county commissioners, the parks board wanted to know what could be done with the property to avoid losing the grant; in particular because they had thought the trail development was a sure bet.

The district applied last year to the county to develop the fourth segment of the Indian Creek Trail along one side of the Bartlett property as a conditional use. However, the county planning commission turned down the district’s application.

The county’s staff report centered on whether the project would negatively impact farm land and farming practices. Because the trail would take place on and among working orchards and had raised concerns from adjacent owners on possible conflicts with the public, the request was denied.

County Commissioner Maui Meyer asked why the parks district simply didn’t appeal the matter to the county commission level or make a new application to the planning commission.

Zanmiller replied that they thought if the county commissioners knew the park’s district long-range plans, it would help, so the district suggested the work session instead. Part of those long range plans is to keep expanding the Indian Creek Trail.

“This is the first of a bunch of pieces to get that connection up to Oak Grove,” Zanmiller said.

Commissioners Chuck Thomsen and Ron Rivers, both orchardists, pointed to potential conflicts between pesticide safety rules growers must follow while dealing with unlimited public access to a nearby trail.

“For some pesticides now, it’s 14 days for our own workers to re-enter the orchards; so how would we deal with the issue of people walking through on that trail?” Rivers asked.

Hood River County Administrator Dave Meriwether pointed out that even if the farmers were okay with it, there might be other interests opposed to such plans.

In fact, during the August meeting of the Planning Commission, Peter Frothingham of the Hood River Valley Residents Committee stated the group’s opposition to the district’s proposal.

At Wednesday night’s session, Commissioner Les Perkins pointed out that if the trail became permanent, then the access of easement might be a problem. Parks district board member Art Carroll said they have worked through at least 50 easements so far in the process of building the Indian Creek Trail.

“You will always have someone object to any type of development, no matter how benign,” said Renee Van de Griend, the park district board chairman.

This conflict between the uses for agriculture and recreation in Hood River County remains as the two entities continue to work on resolving the issue.

As far as Hood River’s urban growth boundary expanding, it is not expected to do so in relation to the Bartlett orchard within the next year.