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I’m continuing my thinking about our “sister city” across the river, Astoria, as well as our “sister state” of Oregon. On the Peninsula we’re in the catbird seat financially. We Washingtonians love our no-state-income-tax policy, even if it means supporting social services in other ways. And we can slip across the river and head to that capitalistic wonder, Costco, and stock up without paying their state piper either. Do we feel guilty about this or just lucky? Different strokes for different folks.

Anyway, we share so much, yet we’re different too. Though most people think of the North Coast as starting on the Oregon side, I’ve always been puzzled by that. (And I’ve always thought the North and South Pacific County designations were wacky since we’re really east and west.) But in terms of the larger picture, we are actually in the same ecological region. It’s called Cascadia and it starts in Canada — the source of the Mighty Columbia — and encompasses all of Washington, includes a big chunk of Idaho, and runs down through most of Oregon into just a little piece of Northern California. Though we share this nomenclature, within our eco-region there are still many differences, both environmentally and politically.

Who do we want to be?

I happen to think those of us lucky enough to live on the Peninsula are ideally situated. For decades the Peninsula has been a gem in the rough, a hidden treasure that even many Washingtonians didn’t know existed — a kind of Brigadoon.

For better or worse we’ve been discovered, as shown now in rising real estate prices, the (gawd-awful) hordes that descend on the Fourth of July, and even the population bomb that took place on Memorial Day weekend. I guess it’s a boon for all our local businesses, but it begs the question, in my mind, of how we might want to shape our community for the future.

The status quo on the Peninsula is a heavy weight, and it keeps us from being able to shift, to envision new ways of organizing ourselves to respond to changing conditions and circumstances. The ongoing fireworks dispute is only one example of a once-charming event that has become a monster. Our family always came from Yakima to the beach for a month or more about July 4 because it was fun: bottle rockets, snakes, maybe a roman candle or two and lots of friendly gatherings for barbecue ‘burgs and ‘dogs and clams on the griddle. I think a beer or two might have been consumed, or even some G & Ts.

Now, look out. You take your life in your hands; the dogs are under the bed; and the military booms make it sound like the Russians are coming.

Paul Benoit, visionary

A couple of weeks ago, Roger Rocka interviewed Paul Benoit, the visionary and inveterate community booster who worked unceasingly to develop Astoria’s River Walk. (If you want to listen to the entire May 12 interview, here it is: https://kmun.org/speaker/roger-rocka/). Paul was director of the Astoria Chamber from 1995-2004 and was also community development director. He used to walk out at night along the streets and byways behind the buildings along the industrial waterfront thinking, “Why is this only being used for storage and parking 18-wheelers? It felt dangerous and neglected.”

The railroad company Burlington Northern controlled the waterfront. Their tracks ran right along the river and they owned 25 feet on either side of the center line. Paul must have started mulling this over on his evening walks, dodging potholes and considering the forward-thinking public access to beaches that Oregon put in place for the coast (the famous Oregon Beach Bill of 1967).

The River was a commercial asset, but couldn’t it also be an aesthetic addition to the city, something the public could enjoy? It was Paul against the immovable Burlington Northern for many years. Initially they said they might consider the idea, but that the city would have to put up an eight-foot-tall chain link fence on both sides of the track cordoning it off for safety reasons.

Beginning of the River Walk

Then, in a chance conversation with Bud Forster (Steve’s father), Paul mentioned his idea and frustration and Bud said, “Well, I know the CEO of the railroad. We go salmon fishing together. I’ll talk to him.” That set the idea moving.

It turned out Burlington Northern was just as happy to relinquish their rights on the property and tracks that were mostly unused. And instead of the typical process of “vacating property” that generally reverts ownership to adjacent land owners — which would have doomed the project again — the rights went to the city. Even then it still took hours, months, years of conversation and negotiation. (Initially the industrial businesses there wanted to keep the tracks “just in case,” so that’s why you still see them.)

Paul shepherded the project through political hazards and design and construction in a dogged and enlightened way. It took years to complete and lots of help from the city council members, the mayor, the public, and the vision of Robert “Bob” Murase, landscape architect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Murase). It sparked a revitalization of the river front in all sorts of unexpected ways, including the development of the Mill Pond Village.

So what’s the lesson?

Planning takes a visionary champion, strong political leaders and tons of community support. But big things are possible when the right conditions come together. So I ask again, what do we want to look like as a community? How can we leverage our natural assets in a way that boosts the quality of life for residents and visitors alike?

The boardwalk and the Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail are perfect examples of these elements coming together for the good of all in Long Beach. Are there other aspects of our community life that we need to be focusing on? If only we could pull together a Peninsula-wide series of town hall meetings for planning. Who would convene these and how would they be paid for? There are ways to do this. Sometimes there are even grants for such processes, especially for rural areas.

Talking to each other in small groups about what we like about where we live and what we think needs changing, enhancing or upgrading would set us on a path for actively shaping our future. It’s up to us. Sitting on our hands while things change around us is not the way forward. What’s that phrase we’ve all heard before? “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!”