Landowner requests resolution

BRIDGEPORT – By unanimous vote, Wednesday, Dec. 19, the city council agreed to push ahead with actions that could lead to a resolution of the current impasse over a productive use of Atomic Way. The small parcel of land on the north side of Columbia Boulevard near 22nd Street includes an access to the Columbia River but is too small to permit any kind of residential development.

Bridgeport resident Scott Wright, who owns property adjacent to Atomic Way, has been negotiating with city officials for the past year over available options both parties can mutually pursue to get some practical use out of the parcel. As it currently sits, access to Atomic Way is limited and a line of boulders along the north side of Columbian serve as a makeshift barrier to prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway and falling into a large depression adjacent to the boulevard.

In a prepared statement he read to council members at their regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 19, Wright reviewed some earlier history of the site including previous unsuccessful attempts by interested investors to develop property there.

In previous council meetings Wright asked that the city vacate Atomic Way as a means of eliminating a city liability and creating a potentially buildable site for a residence. In his prepared statement, Wright quoted a portion of a letter concerning Atomic Way, written by Public Works Superintendent Stuart Dezellem.

In the letter dated last November 14, Dezellem wrote: “In light of new information vacating or surplusing Airport Way should not have an impact on the future of the river for recreational purposes.”

Wright added that Atomic Way abuts two of his parcels that, unlike Atomic Way, have been properly maintained per city code requirements and distributed a series of photos to council members supporting his claim.

Wright wants to combine the front portion of Atomic Way with the unbuildable portion of his adjacent property to make a usable site from two separate unusable properties.

 “In the event we are not able to acquire the above (Atomic Way), I hereby make a formal request to the mayor that the City of Bridgeport bring the derelict and hazardous Atomic Way into maintained city code 17.56.060 referencing noxious vegetation, and city code 17.50.080 referencing junk and trash,” Wright said.

City contract planner Kurt Danison advised that since access to the water runs through Atomic Way, the city should investigate applicable Revised Code of Washington (RCW) regulations relative to water rights of way to verify what authority the city has to vacate or surplus Atomic Way.

Danison said a vote by the council to go forward “triggers the formal review process as laid out in RCW.”

Once the city has clarified the scope of its authority it can then proceed with a resolution, a public hearing, and a final decision, whatever that might be.