Do we need any more reasons to incorporate Ocean Park? The 60% super majority the county commissioners arbitrarily required to “consider” a countywide fireworks ban predictably failed after passing by a simple majority, relieving them of doing the hard work of legislating.

The county sheriff is the self-proclaimed boss of Pacific County but admits he doesn’t have the resources to provide law enforcement in the North Peninsula area, so he’s promoting the idea of a “posse,” modeled after Bob Songer, a “Constitutional Sheriff” from Klickitat County. The local fire chief outlined challenges presented by the growth and demand, especially for emergency medical services.

An editorial Jan. 23, 2023 in the Chinook Observer highlighted the disparity between what we contribute to the county tax base and what we receive for services. A March 30 article in the Observer shows our population has jumped 18% in the last 10 years. The 2020 census has Ocean Park’s population at 1,980 residents, and that doesn’t appear to include Klipsan Beach or Surfside. That figure puts us second only to Raymond (population 3,075) as Pacific County’s most populous community.

I’m a newly retired municipal attorney, having represented small Washington cities for nearly 30 years, now living full-time in Ocean Park after owning property on the peninsula since 2007. I see our lack of local control as a solvable problem: we need to incorporate and become Washington’s newest city. The threshold in Washington for a municipality to incorporate is 1,500 residents. It’s a challenging but doable project. It starts with a group willing to put some time and effort into the idea.

A non-charter code city in Washington operating under RCW Chapter 35A has plenary authority to self-govern as a “home-rule” city, meaning any authority not specifically reserved to the state or county by statute or constitution is under the city’s control. That includes the ability to establish local law enforcement, fire protection, emergency medical services and other life, health and safety policies (“police powers”). It can also enact ordinances to regulate land use, permitting, and other local laws and seek grant and bond financing for roads, parks, affordable housing and anything we prioritize as a local community. More of our local sales and property taxes stay local.

Long Beach did it. Ilwaco did it. It’s time we follow our smaller sisters’ examples and establish local control.

KEN WOODRICH

Ocean Park