Save The Metolius From Destination Resorts - Brian Hines, Salem

[Testimony to the Senate Committee on Education and General Government, April 5. Undelevered as time ran out.]

Save the Metolius from destination resorts

Short-sighted greed is poised to wreck the marvelous Metolius basin. It makes me sick. I strongly support Senate Bill 30, which would prohibit destination resorts in or within three miles of the basin.

My wife and I are part owners of a forest service cabin on the Metolius. It's the most beautiful river I've ever seen. The fly fishing is incomparable. The banks are wonderfully walkable. And you can even pause on your stroll and enjoy a latte at the oh-so-charming Camp Sherman store.

The permanent population of Camp Sherman is about 200. Jefferson County has pushed through changes to the area's comprehensive plan that would allow two destination resorts to be built in the Metolius basin, adding up to 10,000 people in the area at peak times.

Recently the Portland Oregonian ran a story about this travesty in the making, "The Metolius River Basin: Natural getaway or county's cash cow?" The most infuriating quotation came from Bill Bellamy, a Jefferson County commissioner: "Whether or not you like what destination resorts have done, it's phenomenally significant what they do to property tax revenues."

Wow, Bill. What a phenomenally ignorant statement to make. You're willing to ruin a world-class river basin so a few extra bucks can flow into the county's tax coffers.

Also infuriating was Bellamy's assertion that the county held public hearings before passing the resort zone and responded to concerns by paring down the size of the two properties earmarked for the destination resorts.

I know that the main hearing in Camp Sherman was packed with people opposed to the plan and that the opposition was virtually unanimous. I also know that the proposed Colson destination resort (on Green Ridge) is 10,000 acres, more than five times larger than the Black Butte Ranch resort, about six miles away.

How much did you pare down its size, Bill? From 10,001 acres? Thanks so much.
Yes to SB 30. No to Bill Bellamy and his property tax-crazed Jefferson County.

Sincerely,

Brian Hines
Salem, OR