Ewing Young Park Bridge Appeal Dropped, Board to Work with County

During a public meeting on July 24, 2023, the Chehalem Parks and Recreation District (CPRD) Board voted last night to drop the appeal to reverse Yamhill County Commissioners’ decision blocking the construction of a footbridge over Chehalem Creek. This decision came under the condition that the board would work with the county commissioners to find a solution and build the bridge over the next year.

“Given the information from the attorneys, as long as the intention is to have a conversation with the county and not just punting down the road, I think we should vote to drop the appeal,” said CPRD board member Lisa Rogers. “Because if it is punting down the road, why waste our time? I see a lot of people here, and I’m guessing they’re here because they want to see a bridge built.”

Ewing Young Park (1201 Blaine St. Newberg, OR 97132) is one of CPRD’s 22 parks in the area. The masterplan for Ewing Young Park, created in 2018, defined park improvements, including but not limited to the Chehalem BMX Track, R/C Track, Chehalem Skatepark, a disc golf course, a trail system, and a dog park. Also included in that masterplan were plans for a footbridge crossing Chehalem Creek, providing access to the public land on the other side.

”Ewing Young is the people’s park; it’s democracy in action,” said Matt Dolphin, a member of the Friends of Ewing Young Park group and executive director of the Oregon Music Academy. ”The skate park and BMX track started with a petition from hundreds of middle schoolers 20 years ago. It’s a visible example of what small voices can accomplish when they join together around a good idea and take action through local politics.”

Earlier this year, Yamhill County Commissioners denied the application to build the footbridge, citing the proposed bridge as a transportation project instead of a park improvement project. The park land is outside the city limits and, therefore, under the County’s jurisdiction.

The July 24 meeting was a special session carried over from the previous meeting on July 11, 2023. During that meeting, newly-elected board members Jason Fields and Matt Smith were sworn into their new roles, and Smith was elected chairman of the board.

In that same meeting, the board added an agenda item to discuss the proposed bridge at Ewing Young Park and continuation of a submitted appeal through the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) to build the footbridge. The appeal could overturn the county’s decision.

CPRD Legal Counsel John Bridges said the park, zoned as AF-10 or “Agricultural/Forestry Small Holding,” is used throughout the county’s many wineries and bed & breakfast facilities. Each of those properties has clear transportation facilities constructed without road blocks, so there is a path to demonstrating a legal standing for the footbridge.

“Part of the evidence we would submit is that three of the five county parks have bridges in them,” Bridges said. “I don’t know if the underlying zone is AF-10, but it’s evidence we would submit.”

The CPRD board explored several options on the advice of council: the LUBA appeal, enforcement action, dismissing the appeal and reapplying at a later date, and annexation of the land into the city limits.

After a discussion between the board members and their council—Bridges and supported by land use and appeals specialist Margaret Gander-Vo—they deduced the LUBA appeal would be an expensive route (from $50 thousand to $70 thousand) without a guaranteed victory. Annexation would potentially be more expensive, as that would require the city to provide all utilities to the area currently served by the county.

The board decided to drop the appeal with the intention of working with, not against, the Yamhill County Commissioners, who were blocking the construction of the bridge.

“I don’t think you get a good outcome moving forward with LUBA, except maybe the county board takes this issue more seriously when staff says they need to amend their code or get sued,” said Gander-Vo. “Sometimes, these events can warn them of potential litigation, and they’ll be much more lenient.”

After an hour-long discussion, board member Rogers motioned to drop the appeal and work with the county on a solution. Board member Fields seconded the motion, and the board unanimously agreed.

“I think the result of the meeting was the best we could hope for under the circumstances,” Dolphin said. “It’s certainly better than the 5 year delay and $100 thousand-plus annexation idea [CPRD Board Chairman] Matt Smith pushed at the previous meeting. I hope this situation served as a learning opportunity for him and the entire board.”