Touchet Valley Trail Concerns heard by Commissioners

DAYTON–During the Columbia Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) regular session on January 21, local residents since 2010 Chuck Beleny, M.D., and his wife Darcy, presented issues with the proposed Touchet Trail and the impact on Right to Farm policies previously established in the county. He mentioned that a number of citizens have concerns over the Trail. He did some research and mentioned a "Right to Farm" policy adopted by the County (currently codified in Chapter 18.110 of Columbia County Code). The concerns he mentioned refer specifically to 18.110.060 which has the following:

The Columbia County board of commissioners adopts the following right-to-farm policy:

A. The right to farm according to generally accepted practices shall be considered by the county before approving a land use or occupancy change on adjacent land or in the area.

B. Farm operations shall not be restricted to time of day or days of the week when conducted according to generally accepted practices (BMP).

C. The right to use rural county roads for slow-moving farm vehicles and the movement of livestock and farm products shall be recognized.

D. The county agrees to support legislative activities of farmers and farm organizations to protect their right to farm according to generally accepted and appropriate agricultural practices (BMP).

E. The county encourages appointed and elected state and federal officials to consider local right to farm policies and the generally accepted agricultural practices as defined by best management practices when developing laws and rules that affect the agricultural industry.

Dr. Beleny mentioned that there are 21,000 miles of "Rails to Trails" in the United States. Only 1,400 of those miles are "live" trails. The rest of the miles are abandoned rails. He researched live Rails with Trails to see what the issues were.

He reiterated that in most of the live rails with trails there is some separation, such as a fence, to separate the rails from the trails. He noted the Port of Columbia's 50-foot right of way from center of rail. He is concerned that there is no buffer zone for safety.

He also mentioned that Yamhill County in Oregon approved a walking trail on an abandoned railroad in March 2019. This should have been easy. However, Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals ordered the county to cease the project because of concerns about pesticide restrictions. Farmers argued that it would complicate pesticide application due to setbacks. It is feared that users of the trails in Oregon would be targets for the chemicals applied. It is also feared that there would be more trespassing on the farmlands and those trespassers would be "relieving themselves" in the fields, which creates a concern for foodborne disease. Not to mention people tossing cigarettes, which creates a fire danger.

The Commissioners responded that Columbia County is not directly involved with this trail, this is the Port's project. Kathryn Witherington, Economic Development Coordinator for the Port, was at the BOCC session and responded to these concerns. She reiterated that the Port's goal is to create a trail that is embraced by the community. The right to farm is an important aspect of this trail, and the desire is to celebrate agriculture. Community citizens are invited to communicate concerns to the Port, in person, via email, submission on web site, etc. It was also reinforced that the Touchet Trail is not part of the Rails to Trails network, as this trail will be near a rail line still in use.

Darcy Beleny mentioned that not everyone subscribes to the newspaper and not everyone reads the Port web site. But as more information was rolled out, more concerns came out. She felt that getting signatures to put it to a vote in Columbia County was the way to proceed. So far, 500 signatures have been gathered. This is a statement that people want to have a say.

Commissioner Talbot responded that getting signatures doesn't mean it gets on the ballot. Commissioner Rundell mentioned the Secretary of the State's website which mentions how to get an issue on the ballot. There are two ways currently. One is the signature route, and this process is explained on the Secretary of the State's website. The other way is to have the Port of Columbia Commissioners ask to put it on the ballot.

Commissioner Talbot emphasized that there is a cost to getting something on the ballot. That cost could be borne by the Port or the County or somewhere. Someone has to pay to get the issue on the ballot. It was mentioned that signatures have to represent 35% of registered voters. For this county it would be around 900 signatures needed.

Beleny emphasized that of the signatures he has collected, 10% are for the Trail, 10% don't know enough to make a decision, and the remaining 80% have indicated this issue should be voted on by the citizens in this county.

Kathryn Witherington invited the Beleny's to come talk to the Port Commissioners. She also mentioned that if the Beleny's encounter people against the Trail, to please come express those concerns to the Port Commissioners.