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Timeline Of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail (YWT)
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  • 1971 State Transportation Plan includes a Bikeway Transportation Plan.
     

  • 1974 Yamhill County included a Bikeway Transportation Plan in their Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
     

  • 1984 Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) abandoned their line north from Carlton to Scoggins Creek north of Gaston.
     

  • 1991 The County formed the Yamhill County Bikeway Task Force to develop a County Bikeway Master Plan.
     

  • 1996 The County adopted the County Transportation Systems Plan (TSP) policy objective of pursuing the conversion of abandoned rail lines to trails that connect with the County’s trail/bikeway system.
     

  • 2003 Yamhill County Parks and Open Space Master Plan includes policy objective of pursuing the conversion of abandoned rail lines to trails that connect with the County’s trail/bikeway system.
     

  • 2009 Yamhill County Agri- Business Economic and Community Development Plan includes the same policy objective of pursuing the conversion of abandoned rail lines to trails that connect with the County’s trail/bikeway system.
     

  • 2009  The project is identified in the Carlton TSP as a priority pedestrian and bicycle improvement project.
     

  • 2017 Yamhill County purchases the 12.48-mile section from 3 miles south of Carlton to South of Gaston.
     

  • 2018 On May 18 the County amended the TSP to acknowledge the purchase and to implement plans to develop the Carlton to Yamhill section of that purchase. 
     

  • 2018 On December 20 opponents of the trail petitioned the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) for judicial review.
     

  • 2020 On December 30 the LUBA decision was sent to Yamhill  County. That LUBA decision stated: “We are not convinced that the Trail is prohibited by farm impact standards as a matter of law.” noting specifically that the County could gain LUBA approval if they addressed some remaining issues.
     

  • 2020 The first phase of the 3 phase Master Plan was presented to the County for Commissioner approval.
     

  • 2020 Elections had replaced an incumbent board member who had been supportive of the Trail.
     

  • 2021 In January the 3 County Commissioners voted 2 to 1 not to approve continuing with the Master Plan process or to respond to the LUBA issues. This essentially halted the appeal process, halted the efforts and progress made over the decades and halted actual trail development.
     

  • 2025 The YWT project could return with a future Board of Commissioners simply requesting that the land use permit be considered again and take the whole record into account when looking at the conditions of approval. To get to that position will be up to the voters of Yamhill County and how important they view the value that a recreational trail system could bring to their community and that of greater Yamhill County.     

     

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