The proposed Snack Time Trail has become the focus of a larger dispute over recreation, neighborhood safety, and OSU’s management of McDonald-Dunn Research Forest.
It will be less than a mile long, and Benton County approved the new Snack Time connector trail on September 18th. Four residents of Upper NW Oak Creek Drive have now appealed that decision, putting the approval on hold while the county Planning Commission considers the case.
It’s not that simple, though. It never is. The dispute for this little trail is more than a two-sided contest.
(Photo: McDonald-Dunn Research Forest/The Corvallis Inquirer)
Snack Time will connect Lower Play Time and Uproute, two already existing trails. OSU describes it as a replacement for an older, eroded trail called Innuendo, with benefits for recreation, forestry operations, education, and research.
The appellants, Daniel Rosenberg, Jennifer Gervais, Steve Cook, and Terri Cook, live along the residential road serving the forest’s Oak Creek entrance. Their objections to the new trail concern traffic, parking enforcement, wildfire evacuation, and whether OSU has followed the conditions governing recreational development.
Their attorney, Zack Mittge, says the county used the wrong approval process, that the underlying permit has expired or become void, and that the proposal fails several land-use standards.
Meanwhile, a community advocacy website, MacTrails.org, is in support of approving Snack Time while removing the condition requiring Innuendo’s closure. Created by forest user Joshua Trenary, it essentially advocates for keeping both trails open.
MacTrails.org is in support of a more connected, accessible trail network in McDonald-Dunn Forest, where hiking, running, mountain biking, and other recreation coexist with forestry, research, and conservation.
In testimony submitted prior to the approval, the homeowners described a narrow road with blind spots and no shoulder, where vehicles share space with pedestrians and cyclists.
“We are not objecting to the existence of recreational opportunities on the McDonald-Dunn forests,” their testimony states. Their position is that neighborhood impacts and permit compliance deserve fuller scrutiny.
The residents are challenging whether the 2017 permit remains valid for this modification and whether county staff can approve Snack Time without first holding a Planning Commission hearing.
County planning staff does acknowledge existing neighborhood concerns, but concluded that the evidence did not establish that this particular connector would materially increase forest visitation or vehicle trips.
Obviously, the homeowners near the trailhead think otherwise.
Under the county’s approval, OSU must close and decommission the older Innuendo alignment within 30 days. Keeping both trails would require a different outcome than the approval currently provides.
The Planning Commission will hear the case, considering relevant evidence and public testimony. MacTrails reports a tentative December 1st hearing, citing a county scheduling update, although formal confirmation is pending.
OSU proposes replacing the older Innuendo trail with Snack Time.
MacTrails advocates for keeping both trails.
Four homeowners want traffic and parking concerns addressed before additional trail development proceeds, along with future permit compliance getting more scrutiny.
This is more about forest conservation, community access, and how to balance those two things when building new trails.
The four homeowner concerns about future permit compliance are fair, particularly where conservation is involved. Their arguments on added traffic to their street… for a new trail less than one mile long, should concern all of us when it comes to community access.
More about the trail can be found at: www.mactrails.org
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
More recent stories:
→ Donate
We’ll still keep it ad-free and paywall-free even if you don’t. 100% of donations go to expanding local reporting, giving back to community causes, and minor operating expenses. Read more about our values and mission here.
Do you have a story for The Inquirer? Email: editor@corvallisnow.com
