Residents of Newport fighting the reopening of a log export terminal received a reprieve late last week. The state land use board has upheld an objection by a local condo association.
Residents at The Landing at Newport condominiums are opposing the reopening of the log export terminal by the Teevin Brothers company – citing noise and log truck traffic concerns. They appealed the company’s traffic impact analysis to the state land use board. LUBA upheld one of the appeals and sent the study back to the city for revision.
This is likely only a minor stumbling block for the project. Maria Sause is with the Newport group C-SALT, Citizens Seeking Alternatives to Log Terminals.
Sause: “The project will be postponed somewhat more, which gives us more time to education people in Newport and in Lincoln County about what log export really means. I don’t think it will stop it.”
Sause’s group argues that raw logs should not be shipped abroad, but instead processed in Oregon to ensure good manufacturing jobs. It is unclear exactly how long the LUBA decision will delay the terminal opening.