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Felida park will not be divided

Residents opposed county selling half of undeveloped site

The Columbian
Published: August 20, 2010, 12:00am

Clark County commissioners decided Wednesday that a 10-acre community park would stay in long-term plans for the Felida neighborhood.

Previously, commissioners were looking into trading or selling half of the property at 11515 N.W. 16th Ave., presumably to buy more nearby parkland. After reviewing options, they determined a 10-acre park would provide the county with the most bang for the buck.

“It was worth researching, given the need to make the best use of land and other resources,” Commissioner Steve Stuart said in a release. “We concluded that buying this property for a park was money well spent. It would be next to impossible to find an equivalent value within the same parks district.”

The commissioners wanted to see if there was a public benefit to cutting the park in half and selling the surplus, Stuart said at an earlier date. Commissioners found the idea interesting, especially because the 10-acre site isn’t big enough to support parking lots, restrooms, sports fields and other infrastructure that typically goes with a community park. The county typically wants community parks to be at least 20 acres, Stuart said.

The idea of breaking the park in two didn’t sit well with Felida neighbors. Several expressed their concern to the commissioners at a meeting two weeks ago. Others flooded Stuart and other commissioners with e-mails and letters urging them to keep the 10-acre park whole.

The new park will expand Cougar Creek Trail south of Northwest 119th Street to Hazel Dell Avenue, according to the release.

Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation officials could not be reached for comment.

The county purchased the property for $990,000 in 2009, well below the appraised value. Funding came from park impact fees, which are collected whenever new residential property is developed.

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