By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – Whether the view in Yachats will include a clearcut at the south end of town is uncertain. But not for long.
Efforts to stop the potential logging began shortly after landowner Clemente Rocha of San Jose filed notice with the Oregon Department of Forestry in June to cut 20 acres of his 40-acre parcel located near the base of the Yachats Ridge immediately south of the Yachats River bridge.
The property lies just outside the city limits and is zoned for forestry practices.
Yachats Mayor Craig Berdie contacted Rocha to see if the city could negotiate an agreement to stop the logging. Rocha agreed to a 30-day delay, which has now stretched through summer and into fall. And negotiations have evolved.
Rocha initially requested that if he were allowed to keep an acre to build a home and the city connected it to public utilities, he would give the remainder of the property to the city “to preserve in perpetuity.” But state land-use laws make clear that is not possible.
Expanding the city’s urban growth boundary to include the property was also deemed a non-starter by state and Lincoln County officials.
Berdie then asked Rocha what price he wanted for the property and said Rocha told him $2 million. Berdie later told the YachatsNews that Rocha denied asking that price.
The 2024 “in process real market value” for the property is $110,600, according to county records.
Complicating matters is the fact Rocha has already sold the 20 acres of trees to logging contractor Joshua Howard of Dallas, Ore. But like Rocha, Howard said he was willing to negotiate to leave the trees.
Berdie said that he met with Rocha and Howard several times and the landowner and logger made multiple offers. But what emerged in July was that Rocha wanted $400,000 over five years and another $150,000 to Howard to leave the trees. Then, at the end of five years, Rocha would sell the property to the city for its appraised value.
Berdie acknowledged an appraised value would likely be higher than the county’s $110,600 figure and through some inquiries learned the going rate for timberland is between $3,500 and $4,500 an acre – or about $180,000 for 40 acres.
The city council discussed the issue during an executive (closed) session July 17 and then directed city manager Bobbi Price to have the land and timber appraised and work with the city’s attorney to come up with an offer.
But then Rocha and Howard changed the terms. Rocha said he will not sell the property but will instead lease the trees for 25 years for $450,000 with an initial down payment of $150,000. Howard now wants $250,000.
The city’s appraiser has since finished his assessment and the city attorney has determined an offer for the lease and the timber, which he sent to Price on Wednesday.
Price will take that offer to the council for review during another executive session Tuesday. Then, if the council approves, she will make an offer to Rocha. She did not disclose the amount.
“I really want to make the offer to him before we say anything publicly,” Price told YachatsNews this week. “He has a price that he has set. I don’t know if he will stay with that. I will make an offer and he will either accept or deny and then I will take that to council.”
The offer for both the lease and the timber will be bundled and left to Rocha and Howard to parse out, Price said. It will also be in the form of a “covenant of land” and not a lease so as to cover the trees but remove the city from any property liability.
City officials did not provide information from the appraiser hired by the city, but did forward information provided by Howard about the types of trees on the 20 acres and its estimated value in milled lumber.
That report says the acreage is 68 percent hemlock, 20 percent spruce and 12 percent alder that totals 576,000 board feet of lumber valued at $307,468 once milled.
Some community members have rallied behind efforts to stop the clearcut out of concern for the view, impact on attracting tourists, property values, landslides on steeper slopes – although they have been mitigated for by making the total cut less than 20 acres — as well as after logging concerns about smoke from slash burning and herbicide application prior to replanting.
Other residents, who have learned of the 25-year lease, questioned whether the expenditure justified what amounted to kicking the can down the road?
Berdie said he understands the sentiment.
“It’s true,” he said. “But two things. A lot can change in 25 years. The other thing is that it tempers what we are willing to pay. And if we can’t own it and there’s this unknown for 25 years, that’s part of the calculus for what we are willing to put on the table for this kind of an offer.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
A petition in support of a solution that would protect the Rocha parcel from clearcutting while reasonably satisfying all parties was begun shortly after Mayor Berdie discovered that the owner planned to clearcut his land but before negotiations started between the landowner and the city. As of this writing, 880 signers have expressed their wish that the city and Rocha negotiate an alternative to clearcutting for a fair price. I sympathize with those who wish to see the land turned into a conservancy in perpetuity. That would be the best outcome. A lease to spare the trees for a number of years is less desirable because it ultimately shifts the problem onto the shoulders of our children. Also, it’s the kind of ransom that doesn’t guarantee freedom, only a respite until the next demand for money. Here is a link to the petition in favor of a win-win outcome, if the Yachats News is willing to print it: https://chng.it/XTzF2FmGn9
Three words…lot line adjustment.
Not sure if anyone looked into this option for Rocha’s desire to have land for building a house. And don’t know if the city services can extend beyond city limits.
Would still need to pay Howard for the trees.
And no one saw this coming? What a racket. I imagine (don’t know for sure) owner/buyer had this in mind from the beginning. So sad. Praying for the survival of trees.
Seems like the community should be told what the city is offering to pay. What if the community doesn’t agree with the council decision. We would as a community not be allowed to communicate our desires.
Lack of affordable housing, roads in disrepair, higher than average property taxes, lack of long term water supply, higher than average water and sewer bills, no city master plan, lack of support for businesses (or some of them), no formal education programs, and yet the city may purchase someone’s land to appease a few. I’m not against the purchase (or lease) of this land, but it’s my opinion the city needs to spend its limited resources and our tax dollars on other higher priorities or at least tell us how we the citizens of Yachats will all benefit from this