City selling out-of-town surplus land to state

YAKIMA — The city of Yakima is moving to sell nearly 300 acres of land along State Route 410 that it has owned since before the Great Depression.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is buying the land for $1.3 million, using grant funds from the Bonneville Power Administration.

All that is needed is a public hearing before the City Council on the city’s intent to declare the property surplus. The hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 16.

Dave Brown, city water and irrigation manager, said the city has been in talks with the agency since 2005. Fish and Wildlife plans to manage the land, located on both sides of State Route 410 west of the intersection with U.S. Highway 12, as part of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Public access will be available for fishing along the Naches River.

Brown said the city bought the property between 1926 and 1929 from Pacific Power and Light Co., which, at the time, supplied drinking water to the city from the site.

He said the land can’t be developed because the riverside property is a flood plain and the land north of the highway is too steep.

It’s not clear when the sale will be finalized.

— David Lester