Letter to the county from CSLM president jeff Cox
Good Morning Ms Otto, Councilors Marshall, Yung, Belkot, Medvigy and Bowerman:
I was unable to attend the Tuesday October 17, 2023 Council meeting but my duties as President Greater Brush Prairie Neighborhood Association called. I would like to submit my comments that I would have given Tuesday.
I fully endorse the comments of Andrew, Brenna Collins, John Nanney, Gregg Smith, Teresa Harding Jackie Lane, Wendy Cleveland and others.
Ms Otto, I appreciate the update on the status of your office handling the Chelatchie situation. I am disturbed to find out that after the stop work order the construction continues in Chelatchie. Just this morning(10/20/23) logging trucks are removing logs from the area again in defiance of your order. Even though this is zoned Forest Resources, permits and certifications are still required for this activity.
Unfortunately this does not surprise me as the railroad operator by all appearances is running rogue with little regard for the environment or the community(s) involved. Additionally the railroad operator chooses to misrepresent fact on a regular basis.
One recent and egregious example was the statement referring to the work in question as a “road maintenance project”. It has been clearly shown that no road has ever existed on the site therefore maintenance cannot occur only construction with requires necessary permits.
It boggles my mind the county chooses to engage in a business agreement with an entity with such low regard for the community that makes this railroad even exist. This should come as no surprise as the many letters written by railroad operator show disdain for the county government and residents.
Furthermore the railroad operator has stated he has taken at least one property under eminent domain. Good stewards of the community only use this method as an extreme last resort as opposed to the first option. Almost exclusively, eminent domain takings are reserved for government entities.
As you know the operator is only a lessee of the county owned railroad. As demonstrated by this own actions, left unchecked this operator can and will destroy the environment, take peoples properties without restriction and accountability.
Additionally, it is known that the operator may not be in compliance with the lease signed just 10 months ago. For these reasons I urge the county to:
- Terminate the lease with Eric Temple doing business as Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, discontinue implementation of Freight Rail Dependent Uses legislation, abandon the railroad, and return any properties to subordinate owners.
- Identify the entity that was subject to eminent domain takings, produce documents associated with that taking, and lastly return that property to the rightful owner.
Below find enclosed pictures of clearcutting adjacent to rail terminus in Chelatchie at coordinates Latitude 45,55 26.28N, Longitude 122,22’,29.97W. Reviewing Google Earth it is clear this clearcut has occurred within the past 2 weeks. By all estimations this appears to be the 3rd instance of the railroad operator engaging in non-permitted forestry, grading or road construction activities.
Thank you for considering my comments.
Best Regards
Jeff Cox
Coalition for Sustainable Land Management
