Battle to fill void continues

Local support for DLTA dwindles

Today, two opposing sides continued the weekly struggle to fill the void where District One leadership once was.  One faction is intent on filling that void with an agenda that manipulates the county into fulfilling private and special interests.  The other group is directing the county's attention toward the policies, procedures, and guidelines that support public interests.

Next Monday's Towne Road "check-in" may reveal how committed the commissioners are to their promise to complete Towne Road by the end of this construction season.

The following was read during today’s public comment:

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In September of 2023, a landowner on Towne Road posted this on Nextdoor.com:  

"A petition with over 300 signatures has been signed by members of the local community, you can view it here. This was one of the sources the County was referring to when they gave Jeff the numbers he mentioned at the end of his original statement..."

That same petition, which the creator claims halted the completion of a $20 million, decades-long, multiagency infrastructure project, has nearly 800 signatures now, but there are concerns. Unlike the 140 signatures that were submitted in support of Towne Road which showed where people live, the new petition being circulated now has no transparency.

Of those 772 petitioners, only 15 identify where they live. Of those 15, three live in Sequim, one in Port Angeles, and 11 live in Seattle, Bellingham, Oregon, Idaho, and areas beyond. Applying that statistic to the overall petition, 563 people from outside the county are attempting to influence our Clallam County Commissioners.

This petition reads:

"Do you enjoy walking on the wide part of the new Dungeness River levee trail and seeing peaceful views of nature, river and farmland? The wider levee trail may potentially become a roadway in the near future (a new Towne Road connection), which would alter the character that you currently enjoy on the trail. A road would also adversely affect wildlife with the constant vehicular traffic, noise, and contaminants found on roadways.To request this segment stay a walking trail and not a road, please sign this petition."

Telling people that a trail is going to be turned into a road, and creating a petition and website promoting that narrative, is disingenuous and deceptive.  However, well-meaning people are catching on because the landowners have exhausted the community’s support and are now recruiting allies from outside the county.

Regarding the part of the Comprehensive Plan that Commissioner Ozias has recently referenced as a reason to delay the completion of Towne Road, it reads: 

"A nonmotorized trail segment is a possibility along the Dungeness River if the landowners agree. The Dungeness River Greenway Concept Plan identifies use of the dike on the east side of the River."

The dike referenced in the Comprehensive Plan was a nonmotorized trail.  It was built in 1963 by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Tribe removed it.  The uncompleted Towne Road is a levee, connecting two nonmotorized trails.  Current plans provide a nonmotorized trail beside the road. 

Here is another section from the Comprehensive Plan under "Transportation -- Goals and Policies":

1 (d)  Roads and highways -- Preserve existing road and highway system.

Towne Road was promised by the county commissioners to the community.  Not completing the connection of a roadway would be a violation of the Clallam County Comprehensive Plan.   

Jeff Tozzer, Jamestown Road, Sequim