High Roberts Slideshow
Overview of Land Trade Case
Hood River County valued the property it traded to Mt. Hood Meadows at $325 per acre. The County only looked at the existing use of the property for commercial timber timber production in valuing it. The County ignored other higher and better uses allowed under current zoning, such as forest dwellings. The County also failed to consider probable changes in zoning under Oregon's land use laws, even though the County was in the middle of active and detailed discussions with Mt. Hood Meadows about a zone change to allow a destination resort.
Mt. Hood Meadows and the County participated in numerous meetings about the destination resort and the land trade, and discussed both in a meeting as early as July 18, 2001. In that meeting, David Riley showed Chair Arens, Michael Benedict and David Meriwether an aerial photo of the lands subject to the swap as the participants discussed the proposed land swap and ways to site a destination resort on that land.
The second public meeting was on August 20, 2001. The reports valuing the property were completed on October 16, 2001. However, before those reports were competed, Meadows representatives met with County officials, including Planning Director Michael Benedict, County Administrator Dave Meriwether and County County Counsel Wil Carey and showed them their detailed development plan for the County property that Meadows was to receive in the deal. Dave Riley confirmed that the plan showed to County officials included development on the County property. That plan shows 450 units of development including a golf-course with subdivision style homes around it, high-end homes on the bluff along Road 3511, a skating rink, a conference center and other amenities. While this meeting was never disclosed to the public, plaintiffs have obtained copies of the development plans in this litigation.
Meadows also circulated an outline and agenda at the October 2, 2001 meeting that detailed a zone change that would allow a destination resort. Meadows also provided a list of the team they assembled to help plan, design and implement the development. Meadows indicated that they would submit an application in December of 2001. The County finalized the land exchange in March of 2002, over public protest on the valuation methodology, the equalization payment and the backward process that the County employed in this case.
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