The cleanup of Ridgefield’s 40-acre waterfront property presents our chance to preserve this open space and its access to Lake River. It’s the direct route to the Columbia River and the buffer to our National Wildlife Refuge. Lake River is also the transit route for threatened steelhead and salmon that migrate to Salmon Creek.
This is our opportunity to obtain a high-quality public park and recreation area. If it is developed there will be no going back. A five story hotel on the property will dwarf every building in downtown, and high-density housing will be totally out of place.
The project has been planned by three Port commissioners who have served in this position for a total of almost 75 years and may be very resistant to outside ideas. It is interesting to note that they repeatedly tout the “success” of their multi-million dollar cleanup, while failing to mention that its cause was pollution by their own unsupervised tenant over 29 years and who left without paying a dime in damages.
They stress their mandate for development, but don’t say much about the requirement to provide parks and recreation sites.
The Port has previously developed Discovery Ridge; the 11th Street area; much of the Discovery corridor, and more. Isn’t it about time for ‘parks and recreation?’.
The commissioners have hired Palindrome Communities, an out of state developer, to mastermind this project. A quick set of Internet searches indicates that this company frequently relies on low-income tax credits, partnerships with local government and other sources to build “dense, affordable residential complexes.”
Two projects of note were located in New Mexico and Arizona.
Of significant concern is their long history of Legal Controversies and major violations including: violation of an open meetings act, illegally approved site plans, wage theft, and much more. No wonder Palindrome did not respond to two requests for comment.
At this point, the port commissioners have not indicated a willingness to make any impactful alterations to their project, nor have they addressed the problems that will appear if their “high density, low-income housing” is constructed. These include environmental impacts, traffic flow, water and sewer impacts, and fire/police protection.
The considerable size and intensity of local opposition that their proposal has generated is not surprising and is an excellent indication that this is a deeply flawed plan and out of touch with area voters.
Craig Lynch
Ridgefield
•••
Readers are encouraged to express their views by writing to the editor of The Reflector.
Email: letters@thereflector.com
Mail: The Reflector, Attention: Letters to the Editor, 209 E. Main St., Suite 121, Battle Ground, WA 98604
Word Limit: Maximum 400 words. Longer entries will be edited or rejected.
Frequency: Limited to one submission per writer every 30 days.
Verification: Must include full name, home address, and phone number.
Anonymity: No anonymous letters or pseudonyms will be published.
Exclusivity: Letters must be original and exclusive to this publication.
Format: Email submissions directly in the message body. No attachments.
Content: Focus on a single local topic. Personal attacks or libelous content will be rejected.
Political Endorsement Policy
Candidate Letters: Letters endorsing or opposing political candidates are subject to standard word limits.
No Form Letters: Mass-distributed form letters and campaign-generated submissions will not be published.
Blackout Period: No political endorsement letters will be published in the final issue immediately preceding an election.
Rights & Disclaimers
Editing: The paper reserves the right to edit for length, clarity, grammar, and accuracy.
Selection: Submission does not guarantee publication.
Ownership: Published letters become the property of the newspaper.
