Cowlitz County declines Port of Kalama request to vacate short Todaf Road segment after residents object

Cowlitz County commissioners on April 7 declined a Port of Kalama request to vacate a narrow portion of Todaf Road near the Columbia River after a public hearing in which nearby residents said the change would reduce public access and worsen safety and nuisance problems.

Anna Lunde, a county right-of-way agent, opened the continuation of the hearing and said the requested vacation covered the driveway entrance to 220 Todaf Road and the shoreline, a segment described in survey materials as roughly 152 linear feet. Eric Yacovich, speaking for the Port of Kalama, said the piece has not been used actively by the public for decades and that vacating the small sliver would resolve confusion over access to a privately owned house the port acquired.

The port argued the parcel was a narrow, unused strip separating the port’s holdings and would make properties contiguous; it also said there are multiple public launches and other river access points nearby. The port referenced state law in support of vacating rights that end at water (transcript reference: "RCW3687130").

Residents disputed the port’s description and pressed a range of concerns. Mitch Searls, who said he lives on nearby Tidewater Drive, told commissioners the change would let the port expand toward residential properties and remove a turnaround used by buses and service vehicles. "If they take this and bring this out ... the buses won't be able to turn around," Searls said, and he added that grain-dock dust and heavy-truck traffic from recent port activity have already harmed nearby properties.

County staff and the port used survey exhibits during the hearing to show that the hashed area under consideration stops short of the county-maintained Todaf Road proper; county engineer Susan Eugenes posted the applicable statute in the meeting chat and said the vacation provision applies where the property is a port. Eugenes also told the board that, to her knowledge, this right of way is the county’s only direct county-owned access to the Columbia River between Woodland and Longview.

Commissioners weighed neighbor concerns against the port’s stated reason for the vacation and the absence of specific development plans. "If there was a business purpose and we saw something coming in that brought economic benefit, I'd have a different view," the chair said. After discussion a commissioner moved to decline the vacation "at this time," and the board approved that motion by voice vote (individual tallies were not specified in the transcript).

The board closed public comment and declined the port’s vacation request; the port said it respected the board’s decision. The matter may be revisited in the future if a particular project or need is presented to the county.