Commissioners decline Port of Kalama request to vacate short stretch of Todaf Road after residents object

The Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners voted to decline a Port of Kalama proposal to vacate a small portion of Todaf Road that reaches the Columbia River after a contentious public hearing and resident testimony.

Anna Lunde, Cowlitz County public works right-of-way agent, introduced the request as a proposed vacation of roughly 152 feet of the right-of-way adjacent to 220 Todaf Road and the river. Eric Yacovich, a Port of Kalama representative, told commissioners the port purchased the adjacent property and said the parcel “appears unused” for decades, citing RCW 36.87.130 as the authority that allows municipalities to vacate waterfront rights of way for port or public-use purposes.

Residents who live on Tidewater Drive and nearby properties urged the commissioners to retain county control. Mitch Searls, who identified himself as a Tidewater Drive resident, said the road currently serves as a turnaround used by school and service buses and argued vacating the parcel would remove a separation between residential parcels and port property, increasing the risk of industrial encroachment. “If you vacate that piece of land there, now the port has access all the way across,” Searls said, adding worries about truck maneuverability at a nearby active grain terminal and about grain dust settling on homes.

Yacovich responded that the vacation request was limited and would stop short of the main Todaf Road, and that the port had no immediate, specific development plans for the parcel. County Engineer Susan Eugenis posted the relevant RCW in the meeting chat and observed that, to her knowledge, this is the only county right-of-way that directly reaches the Columbia River between Woodland and Longview, which some commissioners said raised potential emergency-access concerns.

After hearing public comment, a commissioner moved to decline the vacation request. The board approved the motion by voice vote; the chair called for those in favor and recorded two “Aye” responses.

The vote rejected the port’s request at this time; commissioners said the proposal lacked a demonstrable public benefit and had created significant neighbor concern. Commissioners suggested the port and nearby property owners work to resolve neighbor relations and, should a specific project or public-benefit case arise in the future, the matter could be revisited.

The board then closed the hearing and moved to the next agenda item.