Update: September 13, 2006

On Airport Expansion and the Washington County Fair Board

At first glance the link between Washington County airport expansion and the Washington County Fair Board is not entirely evident. However a glimpse beneath the surface, in conjunction with a review of pertinent documentation, reveals some disturbing undercurrents with Richard Vial, the Chair of the Fair Board, as a significant connecting link.

Richard Vial - Aviation and Land Use Attorney

By profession, Richard Vial is an aviation and land use attorney. The website of Vial's law firm states that Vial Fotheringham has "a particular expertise in representing owners of small and medium sized airports and assisting clients on matters relating to property around and adjacent to airports. Vial Fotheringham LLP's expertise in aviation law and land use planning are a rare combination." They have represented clients "before the FAA, Oregon State Division of Aeronautics, and many local jurisdictions in a variety of matters."

Several years ago Vial represented Bob Stark, the owner of Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark, during the Ordinance 609 hearings. This ordinance, which was adopted by the Washington County Board of Commissioners in 2003, paved the way for airport expansion at eight Washington County airports, most of which are in rural locations. Stark and Vial, during testimony before the Washington County Planning Commission, claimed responsibility for bringing Ordinance 609 to the county's attention.

Is a Commercial Airport Coming to a Community Near You?

The following Washington County airstrips, airparks, and airports were approved for increases in aviation uses and activity under Ordinance 609:

• Apple Valley airstrip (1/2 mile S of Buxton)
• Meyers Riverside Airpark (2 miles SW of Tigard)
• North Plains Gliderport (2 miles W of North Plains)
• Ollinger Airstrip (3 miles NW of Hillsboro)
• Stark's Twin Oaks (6 miles S of Hillsboro)
• Skyport (3 miles N of Cornelius)
• St. Vincent Hospital heliport (2 ½ mile NE of Beaverton)
• Sunset Airstrip (1 mile SW of North Plains).

Vial, Washington County Airport Expansion, and Ordinance 609

In his correspondence and in direct testimony Vial advocated for the following:

• In a 5/21/02 letter addressed to the commissioners Vial asked the county to amend its Comprehensive Plan so as to recognize "private use airports and privately owned public use airports not listed under ORS 836.610(3)."
• In this same letter he noted that he was seeking "to make airports an outright use in EFU and AF-20 zones" and further argued that airports should be recognized uses that would not have to go through a Type III review for most activities.
• In a 5/21/06 presentation at a Washington County Board meeting, he and Stark argued on behalf of terminating the conditional use permitting process for smaller county airports.
• In an 8/20/03 letter signed by Vial and submitted to the Washington County Board of Commissioners, Vial urged the commissioners to amend 609 to allow restaurant, retail, and office development in addition to other types of commercial development at public use airports. Under this section Vial includes lodging, rental car facilities, and office space. In this regard it is important to bear in mind that there are three public use airports in Washington County - Hillsboro, Stark's Twin Oaks, and Skyport (a residential airpark).
• In the above-cited letter Vial also stated "We believe that the ordinance should be changed to allow residential development where the development is specifically in connection with an airport facility, and furthermore, to allow residential development in the entire overlay district where the property owner has executed a non-remonstrance agreement and the airport operator has reviewed the application and found no conflict."

It is noteworthy that while advocating for commercial development at public airports Vial was also negotiating via the Fair Board with Opus Northwest and Port of Portland regarding fairground development plans. The 101-acre Washington County Fairgrounds are adjacent to the Port of Portland owned and operated Hillsboro Airport.

Apple Valley Airstrip Expansion Proposal

As a direct consequence of the passage of Ordinance 609 residents in the Buxton/Banks area are engaged in an ongoing dispute with Mike Applebee who is proposing to expand aviation uses at the Apple Valley airstrip to include helicopter and fixed wing flight instruction, helicopter sightseeing tours, and agricultural services. This airstrip is located on a rural property that was originally approved as a personal use airstrip for the now-deceased TV personality "Ramblin' Rod" Anderson. If approved, Applebee's proposal will result in a significant increase in aviation generated noise and environmental pollution as well as safety and security risks in a once quiet rural community that is already unduly pummeled on a routine basis by Hillsboro Airport traffic. Applebee's expansion plan, which has met with widespread community opposition, is slated for a public hearing on September 21, 2006 at 9:30 AM in the auditorium of the Washington County Public Services Building, 155 N. 1st Ave., Hillsboro Oregon, 97124. It is the first organized community challenge to rural airport expansion in Washington County resulting from the passage of 609.

Airport Expansion Ordinance 609 - A Summary

According to county documents, Ordinance 609 proposed "amendments to the Washington County Comprehensive Plan to fulfill state law requirements for adoption of an airport planning program for Washington County." The airports and airstrips targeted for expansion under these new rules are those that had three or more based aircraft located on site in 1994. In passing this legislation, which was championed by County Commissioner Andy Duyck, the majority of the commissioners willingly chose to relinquish their ability as elected representatives to address the serious livability, environmental, and safety impacts that result when unwelcome and unwanted aviation activity is foisted on communities against their will. In the end John Leeper was the only commissioner who voted against 609.

Throughout the hearing process the safety, security, noise, environmental, livability, and financial concerns of impacted residents were treated in a dismissive manner. At a 9/3/03 Washington County Planning Commission Meeting, Brent Curtis, a Washington County Planner, acknowledged that the county took on the issue of airport expansion before they were required to by law at the Board's instigation. Nonetheless, in their zeal to pander to aviation interests, the Board denied citizen requests to, at the very least, postpone their decision to allow for further public review and citizen involvement through the Citizen Participation Organizations.

It should be noted that Tom Brian, the current chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, voted in favor of airport expansion while serving in the state legislature in the mid 1990's and again as county chair during the 609 proceedings. The airport planning rules were intentionally designed to cater to aviation interests at the expense of the common good to such an extent that the county was required to send out notices to property owners within 1000 feet of the specified aviation facilities notifying them that "The Board has determined that adoption of this proposed ordinance will affect the permissible uses of your property and may reduce the value of your property." Ordinance 609 placed height restrictions as well as limitations on types of allowable building materials that could be used by neighboring property owners.

Richard Vial and the Fair Board

Vial, who has been a Fair Board member since 1999, was chosen to serve in this capacity by Washington County Commissioner Roy Rogers. The resume included with his 2004 Fair Board application highlighted his background with land use issues but did not mention his experience as an aviation attorney. In his application Vial denied potential conflicts of interest that might arise from his reappointment.

In 2003, the same year that 609 came before the Washington County Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners, Vial was also serving as vice-president of the Fair Board. Thus while the fate of 609 was being decided, Vial and his fellow Fair Board members engaged in at least 6 closed-door executive sessions, some of which involved the Port of Portland, that ultimately ended with a bid by Opus Northwest to develop 62 acres of public fairgrounds property. Subsequent to this decision a number of fair boosters and other community members publicly stated their opposition to selling off public land to a commercial developer. The fair boosters, much to the consternation of the secretive fair board, gathered 3500 signatures from residents opposed to the redevelopment plan. Their petition, which Vial characterized as "negative," was entitled Save Our Fairgrounds from Becoming a Shopping Mall. It was worded as follows:

Your signature below will show the Washington County Commissioners and the Fair Board that you do not support their efforts to sell or the lease the land where the fair is currently located. We further are requesting that the current fairgrounds be put in a public trust in perpetuity and a representative group of citizens and business representatives be assembled to inventory current facilities and recommend improvements and necessary additional facilities. They would then develop a long range capital improvement and replacement plan complete with necessary funding. These signatures will be submitted to the County Commission and Fair Board.

Vial, the Fair Board, and the Oregon National Guard

At the 2/1/06 Fair board meeting Chair Vial mentioned that he had met with the military department in connection with development. Three months later, on May 4, 2006, fair board members Richard Vial, Kathy Christy, and Raif Flagg, Executive Director Don Hillman, Washington County Commissioner Andy Duyck, Hillsboro City Planner Wink Brooks, another City of Hillsboro representative, and an Opus developer embarked on an Oregon National Guard-sponsored trip to the Baker City Armory. Duyck maintained that since it was a "fact finding mission" no written reports or minutes were kept. He further noted that the National Guard is interested in establishing a multi-purpose community center armory in Hillsboro similar to the one in Baker City.

A recent email from Don Hillman, the Executive Director of the Fair Board, in response to a request for copies of all conversations and written records pertaining to the Fair Board's interactions with the military stated, "To my knowledge, there are no recordings or written records of the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to determine the Oregon National Guard's interest in the Fair Complex's development efforts. Any documents relative to any real estate negotiations would be protected from disclosure."

The Oregon National Guard is currently a tenant at Portland International Airport (PDX) where military operations have historically been one of the largest contributors to the noise footprint. Many residents in the Portland/Vancouver area would like to see military aviation moved out of the Portland area. A 2004 Port of Portland Military Siting Analysis Study revealed that the Hillsboro Airport is under consideration as a possible relocation alternative for military operations currently based at PDX.

Vial and the Port of Portland At the January 2006 fair board meeting, Vial announced that the Port has identified some fair complex land they may be interested in purchasing. A request for documentation on these conversations with the Port elicited the following response from Don Hillman: "If any documentation exists, they would be protected from disclosure in that they are related to ongoing real estate negotiations."

Since the Port owned and operated Hillsboro Airport borders the fairgrounds it should come as no surprise that the Port has designs on fairground property. In fact the most recent Hillsboro Airport Master Plan documented an overture by the Port to buy 25 acres of fairground property with the intent of using the land for a parking lot. Port officials later stated that they decided to retract this offer after meetings with fair and county officials revealed that this plan might interfere with the Opus development proposal.

Conclusion

It is astonishing that volunteer Fair Board appointees, including Vial and his fellow board members, have apparently been empowered by the Washington County commissioners to negotiate multimillion dollar deals designed to sell off fairground property to developers, the Port of Portland, and the military. Far too many of the decisions made by the Fair Board have taken place in executive sessions that are closed to public view and scrutiny. Minutes are not even kept on subcommittee meetings and trips involving Fair Board members such as the 5/04/06 Baker City armory tour. This is unacceptable.

This situation raises some serious questions:

• Is Richard Vial a point person for the County and the City of Hillsboro?
• Do his activities reflect the views of the Board of Commissioners, the mayor, and the city council?
• Has he been directed by elected officials to act on their behalf?
• Is the Fair Board colluding with elected and appointed Washington County and City of Hillsboro officials in negotiating a deal to sell fairground acreage not only to developers but to the Port of Portland and the military as well?

The proposal to engage in commercial development at the fairgrounds, as well as the plan to push airport expansion onto rural communities against the will of the people, is emblematic of the contemptuous and disdainful attitudes all too often exhibited by Oregon's state and local politicians and their appointed representatives towards traditional rural values and the common good. The ability to engage in open governing procedures that demonstrate respect for the residents of this jurisdiction seems to be beyond the ability of far too many of our elected and appointed representatives, many of whom seem to seek public positions to push their own narrow agendas rather than to serve the greater good.

As a result of secretive, behind the scenes manipulations of public lands and resources, the Fair Board in conjunction with Washington County, the City of Hillsboro, the Port of Portland, the State Department of Aviation, and Federal Aviation Administration have collectively created a climate of mistrust and suspicion. The people in this county deserve better. They are a worthy of a government of, by, and for the people rather than one that is of, by, and for developers and aviation interests.

Recommendations

1. Appoint Fair Board members who have the capacity to respond to citizen concerns and who have no ties to either aviation expansion or commercial development.
2. Thoroughly evaluate all Fair Board members as well as citizen representatives on all other aviation-related committees for potential or current conflicts of interest.
3. Develop and enforce strategies to significantly reduce unwelcome aviation noise, pollution, safety, and security hazards over rural and urban Washington County.
4. Revoke Ordinance 609.