FOGH (Friends of Grays Harbor)
PO Box 1512
Westport, WA 98595-1512
Email: olearycrk@aol.com
Contact: Arthur (R.D.) Grunbaum
Westport, WA -- Citing the importance of golf course jobs to "save Westport," Representatives Mark Doumit, Brian Hatfield, Lynn Kessler and Senator Sid Synder applied pressure on the the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Ecology to overturn their denial of a critical permit and withdraw their objections to the Links at Half Moon Bay golf resort. The group of Legislators convinced the Departments that it was in their best interest to abandon "best science" in order to allow the conversion of 350 acres of interdunal wetlands into an 18-hole destination resort golf course. FOGH (Friends of Grays Harbor) and other conservation advocates learned of the change at a recent meeting with the Southwest Regional Director of Ecology and an Assistant Attorney General.
Beach enthusiasts, clam diggers, surfers and other ocean water sports users as well as oyster growers and shellfish harvesters will be placed at risk by their decision. The proposed development, located within the City of Westport in southwest Washington, seeks to replace the interdunal wetlands between Westhaven State Park and the Westport Light State Park with an 18-hole golf course and 200 - 400 condominums. This will have an effect on the public access to the ocean beaches and Westport's Half Moon Bay, known to surfers as "The Cove."
The condominiums are proposed to be placed at the western most area next to the parking lot at Westhaven State Park. This area is prone to significant erosion events and has already cost the taxpayers multi-millions of dollars to protect the sand between the Park and the South Jetty. The Corps of Engineers is presently trying to repair another potential breach at this area.
"Placement of housing in this area will insure that the public pocket will be tapped again to protect those investments made in purchasing these home/recreation sites," said Arthur Grunbaum, a spokesperson for FOGH. "The result will be a further armoring of the Southwest Washington coastline, causing impaired water quality and the steepening of the beach in front of the armor structures. Soon there will be less sand and the beach profile will become too steep to support a walk on the beach, or the experience of digging razor clams."
The waters exiting from the golf course and resort will increase the potential for degraded water quality in an already compromised Bay. The shellfish harvesters are already harmed by the pulp mill and sewer discharges. At present the Grays Harbor Estuary is on the EPA 303(d) list of waterways that are impaired and must be cleaned up to meet federal standards.
The Grays Harbor shellfish industry provides over $7.3 million and 150 - 200 family-wage jobs for the Southwest coastline. In addition the recreational razor clam dig brings another $4.5 million to coastal southwest Washington. "A loss of this magnitude in exchange for the golfing industry, which is presently overbuilt and suffering bankruptcy, doesn't seem economically justifiable. This is not responsible government," Grunbaum stated.
FOGH and Wildlife Forever of Grays Harbor are trying to balance the influence of the Legislators. Frustrated by the overriding poliitical pressure to the public process, FOGH and Wildlife Forever filed a Land Use Petition Act (LUPA) complaint with the Thurston County Superior Court. The land use petition challenges the Master Plan Development issued by the Westport City Council for the Links at Half Moon Bay project.
Part of the complaint is that the City of Westport has failed to act as required by the mandates of the GMA. Specifically, it has failed to enact development regulations protecting its wetlands. These regulations are nine years overdue and threaten the critical environmental and economic resources that rely upon clean water in the Grays Harbor Estuary and ocean beach environment. In additional FOGH and Wildlife Forever have also filed an appeal before the Shorelines Hearings Board protesting the Substantial Development Permit with Conditional Use.
Both FOGH and Wildlife Forever have been actively involved in the comment periods for this project since its inception and are concerned for the long-term health and public safety of the citizens and the irreplaceable public assets of the interdunal wetlands.
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