Evergreen Arboretum: Public park or neighborhood problem?

Kelly Punteney has spent six years laboring to get a beautiful, historic private property on the Columbia River ready for its star turn as Vancouver’s newest public park. But now he’s eager to move on, and starting to worry: Will the city make the Jane Weber Evergreen Arboretum a park, or won’t it?

“There’s got to be a decision, and it’s got to be made in the near future,” Punteney said.

Punteney meant to serve as resident caretaker for only 18 months when he moved onto the 7-acre property from his home near Officers Row. The former city parks and trails manager and state parks commissioner said it’s been a labor of love since then — he’s never been paid while spending nearly $80,000 of his own money on the site — and now he’s feeling finished with it.

“I’m moving off the property in spring,” he said. “It’s been way too long. I need to get on with my life.” After all these years, Punteney said he’s pretty frustrated that the city still hasn’t acquired the land — for free, from current owner the Clark College Foundation, which wants to be rid of it — and made the park designation formal.

The verdant property, which slopes from Old Evergreen Highway down to the river, could provide delightful access to the water, Punteney said. “The public has so little contact with the water’s edge, it’s almost all locked up in private property,” he said.

It would also be a natural intersection for future pedestrian trails along the waterfront — the nearest continuous trail now stops at Wintler Park, about a mile to the west — and up along Old Evergreen Highway. Hikers and park visitors could enjoy the views, the historic home, the gardens and grounds that Punteney and a small army of volunteers have been tending and taming all this time, he said.

The public-park vision “hasn’t been any secret, we’ve been talking about it for years,” Punteney said. This summer, he said, numerous supporters have appeared before the Vancouver City Council during its open-comment period to urge the council to adopt the property and get on with managing it.

“I want them to start a transition plan, because I don’t intend to be there to start the gardens in spring,” Punteney said. “How should I leave the place? What do they want to do? They’ve really delayed for quite some time.”

But opponents of this idea have also been addressing the council. Last month, Mayor Tim Leavitt and City Manager Erik Holmes said they expect to explore the issue during an open public process — next year.

Punteney sighed at that and seemed to relent about leaving the place: “If something is happening, if it’s moving forward — then OK,” he said.

Historic site

There are two structures on the property, and they both have serious needs.

One is the original 1867 home of settler John Stanger, a millwright for the Hudson’s Bay Company. It has the distinction of being the oldest home in Clark County that’s still in its original location. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

In the 1950s, the property was purchased by Dr. Vinson Weber, a dentist and teacher at Clark College, and his wife, Jane, a teacher with Vancouver Public Schools. They built a new home uphill on the site, closer to the street — a jarringly angular, “mod” structure that Punteney has been living in but wants to see torn down. It’s in terrible shape, he said — and it’s really not compatible with the land’s history and the older Stanger home.

After Jane Weber died in 1974, Vinson Weber donated the property to Clark College. And to make sure it was never sold and redeveloped, he did something really canny: had Jane and himself buried on the grounds. You can visit them there today.

But the college’s visions of an environmental classroom never panned out, and the Clark College Foundation eventually turned in desperation to Punteney — who moved in and started activating all those volunteers, from Eagle Scouts to the Vancouver Women’s Club. They have installed so-called “vignette” gardens, rock benches and walls, a stream-spanning footbridge and even a “Path of Heroines,” honoring great local women leaders.

“We have a lot of volunteers who work there all the time,” Punteney said. “People really love the place.”

Maybe so. But not everybody loves the idea of wide-open pedestrian access.

Objections to pedestrians

Dean Irvin and Susan Courtney, husband-and-wife landowners in the neighborhood, have argued against the proposal during open Vancouver City Council forums in recent months. So has Douglas Babcock, president of the nearby Hillcrest Community Club, who said he represents “quite a few” petitioners.

“Not once,” Babcock complained to the council on Oct. 26, have individual neighbors or the overall neighborhood been consulted about this matter.

“There’s a lot of concern about having a mini Wintler Park in the arboretum,” he said. Wintler Park, where the current waterfront pedestrian trail ends, has a reputation for crime and lewd behavior. Could extending the trail extend those problems?

Irvin and Courtney also noted that busy railroad tracks run across the south end of the property. Irvin cited statistics about sharply increasing train traffic all across America, and corresponding numbers of pedestrians getting hit and killed by trains. He said the average speed of trains crossing the Weber property is 35 mph.

“There is no system in place and nothing to prevent pedestrians from walking across the tracks,” he said. “Straddling the rails with a public park creates a huge liability for our city, and it’s not worth one life. What do you plan to do to keep the people off the tracks?”

At the Oct. 26 forum, Mayor Tim Leavitt seemed to regard the whole matter with bafflement. He said the city will consider the matter in proper fashion next year — but right now, there are no plans at all regarding the property. City Manager Erik Holmes added that there aren’t even funds allocated for what will have to be a thorough and transparent public process that definitely would involve the neighbors.

Urban jewel

Ted Gathe, who recently retired as Vancouver’s city attorney, is working the problem on behalf of Punteney’s park idea.

“We pushed the city earlier this year. We gave them Kelly’s deadline. The process seems to be a little bit convoluted,” Gathe said. “Years ago, the city indicated strong interest in acquiring this property.” Now, he said, it ought to be a matter of ironing out legal details.

For example, he said, a pedestrian underpass below the railroad tracks provides safe waterfront access. “We believe the property has a defensible legal right” to that underpass, he said.

“The city cannot afford to not take this incredible property,” Gathe said. “It’s hugely historically significant. And there’s the aesthetic piece — a creek flows through it and it’s got riverfront access. In an urbanized area like this, it’s a jewel. We just hope we can work out the issues and make sure it’s properly cared for.”

Scott Hewitt: 360-735-4525; scott.hewitt@columbian.com; twitter.com/_scotthewitt