Richland to reopen Columbia Park West and Y Park after months-long closure; expanded patrols and outreach planned

The Richland Parks and Recreation Commission on March 13 voted to reopen Columbia Park West and Y Park after the parks were closed late last year because of repeated vandalism, fires and makeshift camps, Public Facilities Director Chris Waite said.

Waite said city staff took the parks offline to “give the park some opportunity to have a break from human activity” after an Oct. 18 fire and an increase in other unsafe or destructive incidents. “Closure is our tool of last resort,” he said during the commission meeting.

Why it matters: staff said the parks experienced escalating problems in 2024, including an increase in recorded incidents, concentrated campsites along the shoreline and fires that threatened park users and park infrastructure. City officials said they balanced public safety, asset protection and resource limitations when planning the reopening.

What the city did: Waite described a winter cleanup that included removing litter and hazardous material, pruning lower branches of shoreline Russian olive trees under permit to reduce hiding spots, and coordinating with Benton County Human Services to add a weekly resource navigator presence. The city also cataloged personal belongings found in camps and said those items are retained for 60 days with tagging and location information to allow retrieval.

Staffing and enforcement changes: Waite summarized an operational review that narrowed park ranger duties to patrol, volunteer oversight and special-event presence. The city currently has one full-time park ranger, two seasonal rangers who overlap in summer and one intermittent ranger; at peak staffing those roles can total four park rangers on duty. The Benton County resource navigator will visit weekly for the next two months, and the city will continue periodic outreach with a Fire Department resource navigator and police support.

Rules and procedures: Waite said if staff encounter an occupied campsite they will notify occupants they may not camp in the park and typically give time to collect belongings. For unoccupied campsites staff will post notice and follow a 72‑hour timeline before removing property and cleaning up, he said. “If we encounter a campsite that we don't we haven't had an interaction with a person at, so there's a campsite there but no one is there, we still will go through a 72 hour notice period,” Waite said.

Incidents and scale: staff reported 126 more-established campsites found across parks during a 10‑month tracking period and showed police-provided incident trends that rose notably in 2024. Waite said the city also found drug paraphernalia in shoreline areas and that some cleanups recovered hypodermic needles near picnic and marina access points.

Reopening plan and timing: the parks will reopen together rather than in phases; staff cited a planned Shamrock Run event and the availability of increased patrols as reasons to open both parks simultaneously. Waite said the city will reassess conditions and can pause access or pursue longer-term shoreline vegetation work, which would require additional permits and mitigation.

What officials said: Commissioner Biltz asked whether camping would be allowed; Waite replied that camping in parks will be prohibited and enforcement will be paired with offers of resource navigation. “Our goal is to also at that time engage with our resource navigators and hopefully provide pathways for individuals who are using the camp or the parks as a campsite to connect with resources,” he said.

Next steps: staff will continue coordinated patrols with Richland Police Department, schedule the weekly Benton County resource navigator visits, and monitor the shoreline and park conditions to determine whether further actions, including riparian restoration, are needed.