Local News

Judge Halts Vacation of Three Devils Road

Jun 10, 2015

Okanogan County Superior Court Judge Chris Culp signed a writ prohibiting vacation of three miles of Three Devils Road on Tuesday.

The order, against the Okanogan County Commissioners and Gamble Land and Timber, was filed on behalf of the Coalition of Chiliwist Residents and Friends, Ruth Hall, Roger Clark, Jason Butler, William Ingram and Loren Dolge by the groups attorney, Barnett Kalikow.

Gamble Land and Timber had sought to vacate the gravel road that runs through their property earlier this year. TheChiliwist residents want the road to remain open as an escape route. The road also leads to National Forest land that would become off limits to the public if the road is vacated.

County Hearings Examiner Dan Beardslee, after taking testimony on the proposal at an April hearing and traveling the road himself, recommended keeping it open. Writing in his recommendation to the Commissioners, “Three Devils Road is useful to the County Road system as an emergency evacuation route, as a scenic drive, and as a connector to National Forest Lands to the West. It is therefore useful to the County Road system.”

Last Wednesday, without much debate,Commissioners voted, 2-1, to vacate the road, with Commissioner Jim Detro opposing the vacation.

Commissioners Ray Campbell and Sheilah Kennedy later said they supported the vacation because it was recommended by the County Engineer.

The Chiliwist residents allege the commissioners violated the state law concerning road vacations, acted “arbitrarily and capriciously in willful disregard of the facts and circumstances as found after exhaustive hearing in finding and conclusions by their own hearings examiner,” and acted in violation of basic due process rights, “including appearance of fairness disabilities, actual conflicts of interest, and in violation of petitioner/plaintiffs’ rights of equal protection of the law.”

The writ signed Tuesday orders all the parties involved, including the Commissioners, Beardslee, Engineer Josh Thomson, Gamble Land and Timber, owner Cass Gebbers and Gebbers Farms governmental affairs specialist Jon Wyss to “desist and refrain” from taking any further action to vacate the road.

Shortly after the commissioner took formal action to vacate the road Tuesday, they were informed by Kalikow of Culp’s ruling.

A hearing on the matter has been set for June 26^th at 2 p.m.