Appeal launched at DeeTour hotel

Apollo Land Holdings LLC, a real estate company owned by local developer Jason Taylor, got permission in 2014 to site a concert venue, complete with amphitheater and stage, at the intersection of Dee Highway and Lost Lake Road — about 12 miles south of Hood River.

HRVRC appealed the original decision, but chose to let their challenge expire after it stalled at the Planning Commission level. It was thus approved.

Last month, planning staff okayed a hotel add-on to the site, and HRVRC has intervened once again.

The Residents Committee argued in their written appeal the case hasn’t been properly vetted on public impact, mainly traffic. They said transportation issues and other concerns need to be studied in “far greater depth.”

These include a traffic study done with “more seasonal accuracy” in context with travel from Hood River, Odell, and Parkdale; the “increased burdens” on public safety responders; more detailed plans regarding storm water runoff; and a greater opportunity for public comment from Dee residents.

“The simple fact that all properties to the west of this proposed project can only be accessed by the bottle neck of the Lost Lake Road passing by this … project suggest that this appeal needs to be made to offer the citizens of the Dee area an opportunity that has not been adequately provided to comment upon this troublesome proposal,” HRVRC wrote.

The venue would go up at the current site of a large concrete slab and an 8,000-square-foot chip shed left over from the property’s days as a lumber mill, Dee Forest Products, which closed in 1996 after a fire.

The developer, Taylor, plans to put in a 437-car parking lot to serve the hotel and concert venue. The county approved that number as a maximum; other conditions include no parking on Lost Lake Road and numerous spots for bikes.

Hood River County Planning Director John Roberts said HRVRC’s appeal addresses the hotel addition — the original venue still has the go-ahead to develop.

“The appeal only pertains to the hotel,” Roberts said. “The decision regarding the amphitheater still stands.”

Roberts anticipates HRVRC’s appeal will come before the Planning Commission for a hearing in late May.