Tumalo resident appealing BLM decision on planned Thornburgh destination resort

Published 5:00 am Saturday, August 18, 2007

The controversial proposed Thornburgh destination resort must overcome yet another appeal, this time at the federal level, before the developers are in the clear.

Tumalo resident Nunzie Gould, who owns property near the proposed project, is appealing the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to give the project a right to construct and maintain a road that crosses BLM land. The bureau’s decision would include three road rights-of-way, a transmission line and signs spreading across a five-mile area.

“It will give them legal access to their private land,” said Janet Hutchinson, a realty specialist for the Prineville BLM office.

But Gould argues that it would degrade the visual and recreational qualities of the area, according to her appeal statement.

The Thornburgh resort project spans nearly 2,000 acres along the Cline Falls Highway between Bend and Redmond, and is slated to have three golf courses and 950 homes.

Gould has appealed the resort at every step.

The overall legality of the resort is still under consideration at the Oregon Court of Appeals, and a decision is expected within the next 30 days.

If the Court of Appeals says the resort is illegal, then it’s likely that the BLM land case will be moot, according to Paul Dewey, a Bend attorney who represents Gould.

“There is no point building useless roads and transmission (lines) if the resort is not around. We are requesting a stay from the BLM until the Court of Appeals decision.”

Initially, the Deschutes County Commission approved the resort’s plans, in a 2-1 vote, in February 2005. Gould appealed that decision to the Land Use Board of Appeals, which put the decision back into the county’s hands.

“This is the fourth step,” said Dewey. “It hasn’t gone up and down. It’s just gone up.”

Thornburgh partner Kameron DeLashmutt was in Nicaragua and declined to comment. It was Everett Thornburgh, Kameron’s grandfather, who owned much of the land since the 1950s.

“Our basic argument is that everything in a destination resort has to be zoned for destination resort, and the roads on this land are not zoned for that,” Dewey said.

The act also is not in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, he added.

Both decisions should be resolved within the next 30 to 45 days.