WHITE SALMON — After more than two hours of comments and discussion, White Salmon’s City Council decided to put the proposed Viewshed Overlay Ordinance, which would limit the height of four Lincoln Avenue homes across from Rheingarten Park, on hold during their Oct. 2 meeting. As previously reported by Columbia Gorge News, the city’s planning commission spent three meetings belaboring the ordinance, the utility of protecting Mount Hood views from a small section of the park, lack of homeowner input beforehand, convoluted height measurements, and that confusion carried over to city council.
Several councilors called the process flawed and felt the planning commission was rushed, so in a 5-0 vote, they opted to host a workshop and iron out the ordinance’s kinks, staving off immediate legislative action while acknowledging the value of preserving the viewshed. The time, date and who exactly will be involved in the workshop is yet to be determined, but councilors did mention collaborating with the planning commission. As in previous public hearings, the affected homeowners came out in full force, and all emphasized they have no plans to develop their properties.
Even though the ordinance has been revised many times, reducing the number of homes impacted, raising the height limits and possibly giving owners additional rights to develop, they weren’t satisfied. “I am now, too, also as confused as you guys are. In fact, every time I come around to this, I get more and mo.