Treehouse Campground: A Large Development in the Hills

Treehouse Campground Location Aerial Photo. Courtesy of Tillamook County

The initial application for the proposed Treehouse campground in 2022 was vague and sloppy, containing almost none of the information Tillamook County ordinances or state law requires. This lack of specific information led a Tierra del Mar resident to appeal the uncritical planning commission approval to the Board of Commissioners.

At the initial BOC hearing, it seems Treehouse Partners realized they would not be able to get an application approved without providing more solid details about this large commercial campground. They promised a geotechnical report, which was to be “underway soon.” They also said they had contracted for a wetland delineation, required by the Department of State Lands. Treehouse also provided somewhat more detailed information on water and sanitation infrastructure. But BOC did not wait for all the required information to be provided: they voted unanimously for the campground without it. Their rationale? As related in a June 3, 2022 Pacific Sun article, the Commissioners got the land use laws exactly backwards: they said the “rigorous standards” of the building permit is where all those issues like wetlands and geohazards should be addressed — not the conditional use permit. Unfortunately for the BOC, Oregon’s land use laws require that information during the land use discretionary decision-making process, which is the conditional use permit. The building permit is a later, non-land use, box-checking exercise once land use approval is in place. Conditional use permits can be appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Building permits, which require no discretionary approvals, cannot be.

So ORCA appealed this strange conditional use permit decision to LUBA. Tillamook County, realizing they could not win the case, took a voluntary remand to rework their decision. At the remand hearing months later, Treehouse presented its wetland delineation and geohazard report, and Tillamook BOC, after a perfunctory consideration, re-approved the campground exactly as before. This is a textbook case of obeying the letter of the land use laws while entirely ignoring its spirit.

But the saga did not end there. Treehouse required a Department of Environmental Quality permit called the 1200-C permit, to begin construction. But the company, according to DEQ, underreported the acreage to be disturbed in order to avoid undergoing a public comment period. Discovering this, DEQ doubled back and required public comment. They also did a site inspection in December 2023 – and discovered multiple, massive Class I violations. Treehouse had written an erosion and sediment control plan as required, and then failed to implement any of its provisions. They built and industrial haul road over an unprotected stream, and allowed a mass discharge of sediment to the creek and associated wetlands. DEQ issued a “pre-enforcement letter” on December 19, 2023, requiring Treehouse to stabilize the site, including slopes and disturbed areas, remove displaced sediment in the creek and wetlands, and restore them to prior ecological function. In May 2024, DEQ issued the notice of penalty for these violations: Treehouse was required to pay $43,588 for water quality violations, as well as complete the restoration work. Treehouse appealed the assessment, arguing its fine should be more like $10,800. The dispute is ongoing at this time.

It certainly does not argue in favor of Treehouse Partners LLC and the likelihood of their completing a high-end, commercial campground on this wetland-spotted, forested parcel just east of Tierra del Mar. They have made it clear from the beginning that they are reckless and careless, neither legal requirements nor the environment itself being of concern.

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