Public Meeting on RV Development Proposal

Trail to Arcadia Beach.

A landowner is proposing an RV park on forested land across from Arcadia Beach.  No formal application has been submitted as yet, but Clatsop County requires public meetings in advance of an application for commercial development adjacent to residential properties.  A public meeting has been called for Thursday, Sept. 18, 11 a.m. in the Cannon Beach Fire Hall (188 E. Sunset Blvd.).

The owner, James Smejkal, has 17.6 acres of forested land, in five parcels, one of which is zoned for forestry and four for recreation management.  An RV park is a possible use in such a zone, although neighbors and conservationists are opposed on grounds ranging from water and traffic impacts to possible effects of wildlife from bears to marbled murrelets.  He has a permit to clear brush to open the way for geologic hazard surveys needed in advance of development, but local observers have raised the suspicion that he is going well beyond what he is permitted to do.  That will certainly be one of the concerns raised at the meeting.

Eight years ago, Oregon Shores was an active participant in the successful effort to defeat plans for a housing subdivision at this largely natural site across from a popular beach.  If this proposal reaches the formal land use application stage, we will be actively engaged in opposition once again.

For more information, see this article in the Daily Astorian.