Mountains and rivers are the soul of White Salmon. The view from Rhinegarten Park personifies this and is an invaluable asset to all residents of the city and surrounding community. It is the only publicly accessible view of Mt Hood from White Salmon.

The White Salmon planning commission is considering legislation to prevent tall buildings that obstruct mountain views from Rhinegarten Park. There is vocal opposition to the planning commission's work to preserve these views by property owners and members of the real estate community. If the White Salmon community wants these views saved for all of us to enjoy, we will have to fight for them.

You can find details of the proposed legislation here, which is linked from the city website.

Signing this petition is only a start! The planning commission will hold another meeting on Aug 28 and will be taking comments on this legislation in person, via Zoom, and email. Additionally, the City Council will have a meeting on Sep 4, and even though they won't be considering this legislation at that time, it is important to make sure they know as soon as possible that the community is behind this! All meetings open with general public comment and we should make sure they hear our support for this legislation loud and clear! Time is short - decisions made in the following weeks or months will determine the park's trajectory for years or generations! 

Finally, change.org asks for money to promote petitions. Save your money and send this to a friend that lives in White Salmon! They have no hope of promoting this as well as we can. 

Note: an earlier version of this petition stated that at least one of the owners is a real estate developer. Residents of the block came forward to refute this claim. I cannot verify claims in either direction and have decided to remove that language to keep the focus on what's important: preserving the views, regardless of who owns the properties.