Cedars Golf Course | Clark County

UPDATE – AUG. 2022

In September 2021, Clark County Public Works gathered community input about the potential acquisition of property known as the Cedars Golf Course along Salmon Creek near Battle Ground, Washington. 

Public Works has concluded its negotiation with the property owner and will be presenting a purchase and sale agreement to Clark County Council on August 16, 2022, to acquire almost 118 acres and protect over 2 miles of upper Salmon Creek near Salmon-Morgan Creeks Natural Area. You can find more information about the purchase and sale agreement and the Council meeting, including how to participate, here: https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings.

Click the link below to view a PDF version of the acquisition area.
Cedars Acquisition (PDF)

BACKGROUND

Owners of the Cedars Golf Course approached Public Works in 2019 about a possible sale of the property. The property is identified as a high-value conservation area in the Conservation Areas Acquisition Plan.

The property is 133 acres in size with two miles of frontage along Salmon Creek adjacent to the county’s Salmon-Morgan Creeks Natural Area and the Lewis and Clark Railway/Chelatchie Prairie rail-with-trail corridor. Property includes the golf course, the golf course club house, and a maintenance garage.

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

Should the county move forward with the acquisition, golf course use will be discontinued; the site will transition away from golf to a greenway, similar to how the county manages the Salmon-Morgan Creek Natural Area. No development is planned. A master planning process could occur in the next 20 years to consider trails and a trailhead.

The project provides a unique opportunity to assemble a Salmon Creek Greenway-East using the current pathways. Salmon Creek supports endangered salmon/steelhead runs. The creek also does not meet state water quality standards. Volunteer and grant-funded restoration projects would support both regional water quality and salmon recovery goals

COSTS

Acquisition of the property with Conservation Futures funds was reviewed by the Parks Advisory Board, or PAB, in late 2020 through early 2021 and ranked Cedars Golf Course as the second highest priority for acquisition. PAB suggested that parcels through which the main stem Salmon Creek flows are the highest priorities for conservation.

The proposal is to acquire approximately 118 acres, which includes all of the property apart from 15 acres containing the golf course club house and its immediately surrounding area. Using recent sales figures, purchase price may be between $3,529,380 and $5,023,142. Prior to any potential acquisition, a fair market appraisal will be completed on any acquisition footprint agreed to by the county and the landowner.

SCHEDULE

The Clark County Council directed staff to engage in a public involvement program focusing on interaction with the City of Battle Ground and residents of the Cedars Golf Course community. We will return to council with input from the public involvement phase at which point council will determine whether or not to move forward with a land purchase. If a decision to acquire the property is made, the process can take up to one year.

COMMENTS

We invite your input and send out an early notice, so that there is ample time to offer comments. We recognize that people have unique knowledge about the areas in which they live and work. The purpose of collecting comments is to help us understand your concerns and interests pertaining to this specific project.

Your comments must be submitted in writing or by leaving a voicemail in our project inbox by Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021