This week’s special Port Angeles City Council meeting offered a rare moment of clarity and consensus, and I urge all Port Angeles residents to take action.
If you haven’t yet listened to the recording, please do.
The collective insights from residents, experts and advocates highlighted one thing: SL5 is the only viable path forward.
SL3, which proposes capping and fencing off a contaminated 10-acre area with 30 years of monitoring, falls short.
Development under those conditions would be physically and legally constrained and unlikely to fulfill the Shoreline Master Plan’s vision.
Worse still, SL3’s costs may be underestimated, while SL5’s have been unfairly inflated and its long-term value ignored.
The stakes are high.
Though Rayonier is zoned heavy industrial today, our new comprehensive plan reimagines it as a vibrant mix of open space, recreation, walkable commercial areas, hospitality, housing, public facilities and clean industries.
SL5 supports this vision with a complete, permanent cleanup.
It’s not just preferable, it’s essential to create a waterfront that’s healthy, accessible and economically dynamic.
Now is the time to speak up.
The state Department of Ecology needs to hear from us. I strongly encourage everyone to write in support of SL5.
Our voices can drive environmental accountability and ensure this site becomes a source of community pride for generations.
Comments are due by midnight Aug. 12 at https://go.ecology.wa.gov/comment2270, email marian.abbett@ecy.wa.gov, or mail to Marian Abbett, Dept. of Ecology, P.O. Box 47775, Olympia, WA 98504-7775.
Kelly Johnson
Port Angeles