Skamania County adopts zoning for Wind River Business Park after public hearing

Skamania County commissioners on Feb. 19 approved proposed zoning text and map amendments for the Wind River Business Park in the Stabler area after a public hearing that included residents, former workers and local nonprofit representatives.

The action, taken after staff described a multi-year history of planning work and public outreach, establishes separate Business Park North and Business Park South zones for the county-owned property and adopts a set of allowable, conditional and prohibited uses. Commissioners also approved payroll for the pay period Feb. 1–15, 2025, during the same meeting.

Planning staff told the board the Wind River site has a long history of commercial nursery operations and community uses and that zoning is intended to reflect existing and expected activities. "There was not negative feedback necessarily of any kind," planning staff member Mandy said after describing a Jan. 14, 2025 meeting with the Stabler Community Council where the proposal was presented.

Staff described the proposed North zone as allowing uses tied to historic and research uses on the former nursery site — including horticulture, research and limited forest-practice activities — while the South zone would accommodate the existing cluster of about 10 homes and roughly 45–50 buildings leased for varied small businesses, studios and a visitor information center. The staff presentation noted the county currently owns about 214 acres in the Wind River Business Park.

Public commenters urged protections for historic resources and better clarity on some uses and permitting. "It would be, I think, a good idea to put the historic district ... on the map," Mary Rappar Stevenson said, referring to the Wind River historic district and the need to coordinate work there with the State Historic Preservation Office. Tom Lannon, of Skamania County, thanked commissioners for moving toward closure on a long-running issue: "This has been a long, arduous task, and it looks like, we're going to get closure on it." Anita Gaveheimer Crow, speaking as a private citizen and a planning commission member, said the site was acquired to provide countywide economic opportunities and urged care in how the land is used.

During discussion commissioners and staff addressed a series of specific questions raised in public comment: whether large group camps or temporary fire camps would be limited (staff said county code sets minimum acreage and separation requirements and that the county — as landowner — retains oversight for uses on county-leased land); whether trail systems and public parks should be subject to conditional review rather than allowed uses (several commissioners recommended moving trails and parks to conditional uses to require review of maintenance and funding plans); and whether power-generation or certain extraction activities should be prohibited or limited (staff noted state procedures govern some energy facilities and suggested listing certain uses as prohibited to limit county liability).

Staff offered three implementation paths: take no action; adopt a temporary zoning or moratorium (a statutory approach that lasts six months and may be extended) to buy time for more review; or adopt the proposed zoning with any local modifications and direct the planning commission to review and recommend refinements on a longer timetable. Several commissioners favored adopting the proposed zoning now and sending the ordinance back to the planning commission for further review and potential refinement over the next one to two years rather than repeatedly extending short-term moratoria.

After brief final comments and a clarification that written testimony had been received from several residents, the board voted to adopt the proposed zoning and map amendments as discussed and modified in the meeting. The motion carried on an audible unanimous voice vote. Commissioners directed staff to return the adopted text to the planning commission for additional review consistent with the board's schedule.

The Feb. 19 agenda also began with a motion to approve payroll for Feb. 1–15, 2025. The board approved payroll in a separate, earlier vote. The payroll item totaled $766,958.32, with $458,202.28 charged to current expense; it covered warrant numbers 45040–45058 and direct deposit numbers 85538–85714.

The board closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting after the votes. Staff noted that if members of the public or the planning commission identify issues after adoption, the county can revisit the zoning (including creating a Stabler sub‑area plan) and that the planning commission could be asked to produce recommendations by early 2027 if the board requests a two‑year review window.