The weather is stunning here in beautiful Yamhill County, and me and my family just celebrated the coming of spring with a great little hike around the North Valley Peace Trail in Newberg. I hope you all are finding time to get out in the sunshine as well, but when you do head indoors, I have a quick action item, to help support the Yamhelas Westsider Trail and increased access to outdoor spaces here in our lovely county.
The future of our trail is once again coming up on the agenda for the Yamhill Board of Commissioners this Thursday March, 18 at 10am. We need as many people as possible to write in and let them know that we haven't forgotten about this project, and there's still as much passion for it as ever!
Two weeks ago, two of our commissioners (Lindsay Bershauer & Mary Starrett) voted to pull out of the Land Use Approval process (LUBA) despite our protests. This time, our specific asks are that they continue the Master Planning process already begun, and preserve the land the trail sits on for the benefit of all Yamhill County citizens.
For those of you who (like me) sometimes need a little help getting started with their letters, I've put together a template you can use. Feel free to personalize it and add why the trail is important to you!
Send your comments in to: bocinfo@co.yamhill.or.us
cc: nmontesano@newsregister.com, mperkowski@capitalpress.com, Lacker@oregonian.com
Additional talking points you may want to include are:
- Stopping the Master Plan purposefully ignores the possibility of finding solutions.
- The property has been used for transportation since the 1870s and was purchased by the County to serve the public good and provide for our communities’ growing transportation and recreation needs. Converting abandoned railroads to trails has been a county goal since 1996.
- The Yamhelas Westsider Trail enjoys widespread public support and has had broad support from local governments, encouraging years of effort and development that are now being thrown out the window.
- Bicycle and pedestrian facilities are important for people who have barriers to driving cars, whether economic or physical. It’s a huge transportation equity issue. There are no safe north-south walking/biking routes through Yamhill County.
- Having safe, walkable, and connected communities are critical in making them livable, affordable, and sustainable.
- There are thousands of miles of trails around the country that go through agricultural land and work for everybody. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to do the same, especially with so many best practices to draw from.
- Adjacent property owners have been invited into the planning process numerous times. A few participated early on, many did not. They have repeatedly refused attempts to discuss how their concerns can be met. That disconnect has been exacerbated by the LUBA process and the requirement to go through lawyers. The county offered mediation to the opponents and they flatly refused.
- Friends of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail and the County have offered to fence the entire length of the trail to ensure privacy and property protection.
- The Banks Vernonia Trail has not had homeless camps or vandalism issues, and there is no reason to expect any on this trail either.
- Wildfires are much less of a problem where trails exist as there is no fuel compared to unmanaged rural property. In fact, trails provide a firebreak.
Thank you so much everyone, for your continuing support and for taking a little time this weekend to help us build, protect, and maintain access to trails for all Yamhill County citizens.
As always, happy trails!
-Erin