Our Voice: Rachel Road a community compromise

Balancing conservation efforts with a booming population isn’t easy, but Richland city officials and a citizens group seemed to have found a way.

At issue is the need to build a connecting road through the Amon Creek Natural Preserve, which is home to many types of animals and plants and a favorite spot of open space in south Richland.

The Richland City Council recently voted unanimously to adopt the citizen committee’s recommendation to build the new road at the preserve’s most narrow point — that way there is less harm done to the land.

This is much better than the initial idea to have the new road cut right through the area, with little regard to the animals living there.

As proposed, Rachel Roach will be extended in a swooping route from Leslie Road and Steptoe Street. It may seem like an obvious compromise, but it took a lot of effort by many people volunteering their time to reach this agreement.

On one side of the debate are those who would prefer the Amon Creek area remain as is, untouched by further construction.

The area is a popular walking and hiking destination for Tri-City nature lovers. The 80-plus acre preserve has trails of shrub steppe and marshlands and offers people a chance to encounter birds, raccoons, beaver, mink, jackrabbits, deer and other animals.

The Tapteal Greenway, an all-volunteer organization, has worked for almost 20 years to preserve sections of the Amon Basin habitat from development. It contributed money that helped the city acquire property within the Amon Creek Nature Preserve in 2007 and lobbies on its behalf.

On its website, the group highlights this uncredited quote: “Conservation is hard; you have to win every day. When the other side wins you lose that battle forever.”

We understand that. There is no going back once development takes over natural habitat.

However, on the other side of the issue are city and school officials who need better access to serve growing neighborhoods near the Amon Creek area.

Residents of the Hayden Homes subdivision at Clearwater Creek would benefit from the Rachel Road extension, and the Kennewick School District secured land in that area last June to build a future elementary school. The location was selected and based on the new road going in.

The school district’s boundaries extend into south Richland and the new school is supposed to open in 2018.

To bring the two sides together, Richland city officials hired a consultant to lead a public process and guide a citizens committee to come up with a route for the new road.

The committee was made up of homeowners in the nearby neighborhoods, officials from the city of Richland and Kennewick schools, members of the Tapteal Greenway, the Richland police and fire departments, the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society, the Kennewick Irrigation District and the Bonneville Power Administration.

That’s impressive representation.

Getting the stakeholders together to discuss the best approach to extending Rachel Road was a smart move, and we think it made all the difference in coming up with a solution both sides can live with.

The Amon Creek Nature Preserve is a precious piece of natural habitat that should be protected. But at the same time, infrastructure is also needed to improve access to the proposed school and to new homes.

Richland’s resulting compromise is a good example of balancing opposing interests.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Rachel Road a community compromise."