Comment period for Robin Hill Park disc golf plan ends today
Cindy O’Connor of Port Angeles, center, spends Wednesday afternoon at Robin Hill Farm Park, mountain biking with her daughters, Ciana, 12, and Hope, 7. O’Connor says that a disc golf course proposed for the county park would too drastically alter the environment. -- Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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Except for the gunfire.
This woodsy, trail-rich Clallam County park just north of U.S. Highway 101 is beloved by hikers, mountain bikers, birdwatchers, equestrians, dogs and their walkers.
But it's become a battleground.
Clallam County Parks' plan for an 18-hole disc golf course is at the center of the fight between two small armies: those who believe the sport's flying discs will rob Robin Hill of its peace, and those who say disc golf is a harmless, fun pastime that should be available in this neck of the woods.
"I'm not opposed to disc golf, but I think there could be a better place for it," said Cindy O'Connor, who whiled away Wednesday afternoon on Robin Hill's bicycle trails with her daughters Ciana, 12, and Hope, 7.
O'Connor's opinion is shared by many local residents who've penned letters to the Peninsula Daily News and sent scores of e-mail and voice mail messages to Clallam County Parks.
Earlier this month the parks department extended the public comment period for the disc golf proposal through today.
E-mail may be sent to parks@co.clallam.wa.us while letters should be addressed to Clallam County Parks, 223 E. Fourth St., Suite 7, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
Golf worse than gunfire
Since the outcry over discs began, opponents have said relatively little about the fact that Sunnydell Shooting Grounds and Gun Club, just outside the Dryke Road entrance to Robin Hill, puts out no small amount of noise.
On Wednesday afternoon, gunshots pealed while the three O'Connors pedaled into the forest.
"The gun noise doesn't bother me. It's always been there, since we've come to this park," said O'Connor, whose family has lived in Port Angeles for eight years.
To her mind, disc golf would create a visual distraction that would be worse than the shotgun-instruction sounds at Sunnydell.
On the other hand, "we do need more activities, more activities for kids and adults to do together," she added.
Disc golf could be such a game, though she would prefer it be played in another park.
Clallam County is rich in parkland, with Salt Creek, the Dungeness Recreation Area, Sequim's Carrie Blake Park and Lincoln Park in Port Angeles.
Alternative site?
Lincoln "may be the second best possibility," for a disc golf course, Clallam County Parks supervisor Bruce Giddens noted in a report on alternative sites for the course.
An evaluation of 21 parks and beaches, from Quillayute River to Miller Peninsula, is available on the Clallam County Parks Web site, www.Clallam.net/countyparks, under "Current News."
But Lincoln Park belongs to Port Angeles, and though it would serve that city's west side, it's relatively far from Sequim's growing population, the evaluation said.
Robin Hill, Giddens has said, is the best bet for disc golf because it's meant to be a place of many uses.
Giddens also emphasized that parks planners have taken care to design the course, which would be in Robin Hill's southwestern corner, to accommodate golfers while not infringing on others' enjoyment of trails, birds and trees.
Essentially, Giddens said, there's plenty of room for everyone to play at Robin Hill.
A nine-page report on criticisms of the disc golf proposal, parks department responses and a summary of favorable comments also is available on the Clallam County Parks Web site.
'Little noise'
In answer to a comment that disc golf will spoil Robin Hill's serenity, the report said: "Other than possibly some laughter and talking, the sport makes very little noise . . . Not wanting to hear people enjoying themselves in a park is contrary to one of the reasons the park exists."
The report also said that 2,278 disc golf courses are open across this and other countries.
"Research indicates disc golf is a recreation activity that has been increasing, not decreasing as have some other activities."
Ciana O'Connor said she's seen the game on television, but isn't too interested in it.
She enjoys bicycling at Robin Hill, she said, because "there aren't a lot of people here."
At the same time, Giddens reports that a pro-flying-disc contingent exists in the communities around Robin Hill.
Positive comments "come from a wide range of people within Clallam County, as determined by their addresses or reference to their residence being within our county," his report said.
Even after the public-comment period officially ends today, the parks department must make its way through another kind of obstacle course.
The Clallam County Board of Commissioners will have to approve the estimated $40,000 to build the course, and the design must pass a State Environmental Policy Act checklist and receive a conditional use permit.
Giddens hopes to seek that permit from the county hearing examiner in September.
If it's granted, construction could get under way this fall, and disc golfers would join the rest of Robin Hill's users next year.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: July 30. 2008 9:00PM