[Skamania] 💩 Stevenson March ‘26 Round-Up - Sewer Frustrations & Campground Clashes

In this March round-up for Stevenson, we cover the growing friction over mandatory sewer connections and the emergency repairs needed for the city's failing water intake. We also dive into the Planning Commission's heated debate over a proposed hop-farm campground that has Skamania Lodge threatening legal action.

In This Episode:

• An emergency, quarter-million-dollar fix for the Rock Creek water intake.
• The defeat of a "Sanctuary City for Gender Diverse Peoples" resolution.
• New City Council appointments and upcoming Planning Commission vacancies.
• Municipal tourism funding for the CAT Dog Mountain shuttle.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• https://upliftlocal.news/with-recall-efforts-resolved-stevenson-council-member-lucy-lauser-resigns/
• City of Stevenson Agendas & Zoom links: ci.stevenson.wa.us
• Watch the full meeting recordings on the City of Stevenson YouTube Channel

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Scamania Dispatch. This is your March municipal roundup for Stevenson. We're covering the latest from both the City Council and the Planning Commission. And let me tell you, infrastructure and zoning were the absolute talk of the town this month. Let's start with the City Council and ongoing frustrations over the city's sewer ordinance. If you own property in Stevenson, you might be aware of the current rule mandating expensive connections to the municipal sewer system, even if you already have a private septic tank. Well, residents are pushing back hard. Multiple property owners showed up to protest the forced transition, asking the council to waive fees, hold dedicated town halls, or make the connections voluntary. So here's the structural friction behind this. The city's wastewater treatment plant currently has more capacity than it has paying users, which drives up the baseline cost of operations for everyone. To balance the books, the city needs more homes connected. But for a homeowner who just dropped thousands on a private septic, this feels like a personal unfunded mandate. Well, right now there's a moratorium or a temporary pause on enforcing this rule, but that pause officially expires on August 31st of this summer. Also at City Council, we have an emergency situation with our drinking water in Stevenson. The Rock Creek water intake is failing. The council just approved an emergency contract with Grayling Engineering for nearly$257,000 to begin rehabilitation. Total replacement could eventually hit half a million dollars. Some residents pushed the council to look at drilling deeper wells for long-term resiliency, but right now, the city simply has to fix what is broken before summer demand hits. On social policy front, Councilmember Lucy Lauser proposed a resolution to declare Stevenson a sanctuary city for gender-diverse peoples. However, after heavy public debate where commenters argued the city should focus on equal treatment for all rather than carving out protections for quote-unquote specific groups, the resolution died due to lack of a second from any other council member. Resolution ended up being Council Member Lauser's final policy proposal. At the end of subsequent March 19th meeting, Lauser officially announced her resignation from the council, effective March 31st. This comes after a turbulent year of protests, legal battles, two separate recall petitions over a protest action of hers in November 2024. These petitions were ultimately dismissed by the state Supreme Court, affirming Miss Lasser's First Amendment rights to free speech. The city is now accepting applications to fill her seat, and the remaining council members are expected to interview candidates and appoint a replacement at their April 16th meeting. A quick housekeeping note before we switch gears. The council officially appointed Jeff Breckel to counselor position number four, which means he's leaving his spot as chair of the planning commission. So, moving over to that planning commission, the biggest clash this month was about a proposed hop farm campground. Applicant Wesley Houston presented updated plans for a campground that would feature a hop farm, an oversized septic system, and communal fire pits, but Scamania Lodge is fighting this hard. The lodge's ownership submitted a formal legal letter heavily objecting to the permit, arguing the campground is completely incompatible with its suburban residential zoning. They also called out missing traffic and environmental studies. This is a classic test of our zoning code. The commission is caught between encouraging local agritourism and defending the strict legal definitions of residential neighborhoods. They opted to continue the hearing to April to demand more information. Interestingly, this camp previous proposal kicked off a much bigger debate among commissioners about environmental health. The city's official long-term plan is to expand the municipal sewer and eventually eliminate private septic systems within city limits. So approving a massive brand new commercial septic for a campground right on the edge of town might seem to contradict that long-term goal. So what's next on the radar? Keep an eye out in April when the Planning Commission will elect a new chair and continue that heated campground hearing. You can also expect to see the Dog Mountain Shuttle running this spring, funded in part by a$10,000 tourism grant from the city. And remember that six-month pause on the sewer ordinance enforcement expires at the end of August. To dive deeper into any of these stories, to find links to the official meeting recordings, or look up tricky zoning terms, make sure to check out the text version of this newsletter. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, the home of the Schmania Dispatch and the Click a Tattler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the gorge, head over to SchemaniaDispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash opengorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in. We'll talk to you next time.