Oregon Coast Alliance

10/06/2026

People who care about the coast need to keep an eye on the Port of Coos Bay’s behemoth project: the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP). It has three parts: (a) dredging Coos Bay’s federal navigation channel to accommodate ships up to 1,100 ft. long, with a 49-ft. draft; (b) building a new container shipping terminal on the North Spit capable of handling two million containers per year; (c) upgrading the railroad, originally built in 1916, that links Coos Bay and Eugene. The total estimated cost of this mammoth project? $4.3 billion (approximately), much higher than original estimates. The container shipping industry is highly volatile, and major West Coast ports such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver, have recently undergone major upgrades; nevertheless, West Coast ports are facing flat import growth and declining export volumes. The studies necessary for PCIP grind slowly on. Here is more information on a project ORCA considers to be a major boondoggle, and that we are watching: https://www.pcipinfo.com/

Photo: Dunes NRA near Reedsport. Photo Courtesy Wikimedia/Rebecca Kennison

09/25/2026

The proposed Douglas Point Golf Resort would take up 775 acres of land on the North Spit of the Umpqua River. ORCA has been monitoring the progress of the proposal since its beginning. There has not been much activity for the last year and more. But ORCA has just heard from a tribal representative that the Douglas Point partners have now purchased the 775 acres for the resort. They have furthermore recently contacted the Forest Service requesting information on how to acquire access across Forest Service lands, and how to initiate a land exchange so the partners can acquire a 27-acre Forest Service parcel. ORCA will continue watching this project as it slowly unfolds. It is a terrible proposal that would ruin beautiful North Umpqua Spit permanently, as well as drastically change the economy and community livability, and we are 100% opposed to it.

Photo: Coastal Moon. Courtesy ORCA.

09/19/2026

Now we know a little more about what is happening with data centers in Oregon, and it isn’t pretty. ECONorthwest just came out with a research report, which tells us that Oregon already has 111 data centers, with some 32 more in the pipeline. That is 22.1 million square feet of gross building space. True to their reputation for greedy overuse of resources, Oregon data centers use about 23% of retail electricity sales statewide. Here is the OPB article for the details:
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/17/oregon-data-centers-consume-quarter-state-power-report/

Massachusetts, unlike Oregon, is focusing on making sure local governments decide first on whether to bring a data center in, and they also have to pay for their own clean energy, as well as protect water supplies. Governor Healey’s Data Center Framework is one of the most comprehensive nationwide; among other things it establishes protections for ratepayers from data center energy use. See here for more information: https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-no-data-centers-without-local-approval

Photo: Boiler Bay. Courtesy Barry Wulff.

08/21/2026

After outcry from coastal residents to the Department of Land and Conservation Development (DLCD), the agency appointed a coastal representative to the rules advisory committee considering ways to increase housing in unincorporated communities. Unfortunately, that person is Gail Henrikson, the planning director for Clatsop County. Henrikson was at the forefront of pushing through a measure in the county last year that opened up unincorporated communities to housing types from duplexes to multiplexes. At the RAC meeting, Henrikson characterized the Clatsop County experience as requiring “brute force” (her words). ORCA would certainly agree with that assessment of the county’s tactics, as we were heavily involved in the opposition. We argued the changes would not lead to new housing, which has in fact been the outcome. For this committee, Henrikson stressed the importance of being “nuanced,” because each community is unique. That is quite different from the way she approached rural housing in Clatsop County, and ORCA hopes she champions the uniqueness of individual communities in future. The RAC is now beginning its work; the first meeting was the 19th. In fact the state has plenty of land for rural housing already in place, and ORCA opposes this entire process as a land grab — the rulemaking language is explicit that they plan to give counties the option to allow not only housing but also light commercial and other services. If ever implemented, such changed rules would urbanize and commercialize our rural communities forever.

Early Moon over Woahink Lake. Courtesy WLA.

07/28/2026

DLCD has appointed the members of the very important Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) for Governor Kotek’s Unincorporated Communities initiative, which seeks to expand housing initiatives to the states’s many rural unincorporated areas. ORCA’s Executive Director applied and was turned down. Shockingly, the committee membership does not include even one appointee from the entire coastal region! There are more than forty unincorporated communities in the five coastal counties, and it is highly inappropriate that there are no appointees at all from the coast, nor any advocates for the coast. Furthermore, at most a tiny number of the sixteen-member committee actually live in an unincorporated community, though those are the people who know the issues that attend the expansion of urban housing to rural areas with very local infrastructure and roads. If you live on the coast, whether in an unincorporated community, city or a rural area, please write DLCD Director Brenda Bateman and point out the glaring oversight of having no representatives on this RAC from the coast: [email protected]. Please also copy Governor Kotek, who provides an online form for contact, here: https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/share-your-opinion.aspx

Photo: Bandon Sunset.

07/23/2026

Oregon Coast Alliance is pleased to welcome Jeff Harrison as our new Board President. Jeff has been on the ORCA Board for seven years, and is a proven leader with deep interest in maintaining the coast’s beauty and livability. We also say farewell to Mike Manzulli, our outgoing President, who has led ORCA well for many years, and been the face of the organization coastwide. We wish Mike and his family all the best in the next chapter of their lives.

Photo: Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. Courtesy OPRD.

07/10/2026

06/19/2026

Wheeler City Council approved the Botts Marsh LLC application for a hotel/restaurant (and, ultimately, cottages) on the old piece of infill fronting Nehalem Bay. ORCA is very disappointed. There seems to be no interest in looking seriously at the public health issues involved in building a major development on old infill land subject to sagging. Furthermore, as the site of an old shingle mill the site has contaminants in the soil. And it sits right on Nehalem Bay, in a perfect location for an incoming tsunami. Even the applicant’s own geology report says this is not a good place to develop. If there were a need for such a development in this tiny town (which there is not), elected city officials should have concern over the public health and safety of projects it approves. It is much easier than coping with disasters down the road.

Photo: Wheeler Waterfront. Courtesy City of Wheeler

06/08/2026

Bay City Council is holding a remand hearing on the Mistybrook Estates proposal for a 40+ unit subdivision. The hearing will be held Tuesday, June 9th, beginning at 6:00 PM at the Montgomery Community Hall, at 5525 B Street in Bay City. For further information, contact city planner David Mattison, [email protected]. Unfortunately, the hearing will only cover those issues dealt with in the LUBA case, rather than the many issues that have not been adequately discussed in this proposal to date.

05/22/2026

The Wheeler Planning Commission approved the Botts Marsh LLC proposal to build a huge (for tiny Wheeler) development on old industrial fill land fronting Nehalem Bay. The proposal would involve a hotel as well as cottage clusters. The problem is that Wheeler does not have adequate infrastructure for so large a development. Furthermore, the geological hazard report makes clear that this is a substandard lot, because the land is old infill. Building structures will require exotic and elaborate preparations, including such things as “geo-foam” to enhance stability. This is a longstanding controversial project in Wheeler. It would be much better to engineer a land trade, by which Botts Marsh LLC could build a development elsewhere in town, and this property could become a bayfront park.

Photo: Wheeler Waterfront. Courtesy City of Wheeler