CAMAS MILL DISTRICT PLAN
Discussion Draft
January 6, 2026
Planning Overlay: An Alternative Path . The Camas Earth Day Society’s Mill District Plan proposes the Council adopt an overlay. This makes clear the city’s vision for future redevelopment of this Historic Regional Employment Center. This alternative path has Camas reaping the many benefits already realized by other similarly situated cities that have successfully revitalized formerly industrial areas across the country. This is 2 creating an affordable low-carbon future. Historic Mill Regional Employment . In1980, 2/3rds of the mill’s 2,300 employees lived beyond Camas’ boundary. The mill was 4% of Clark County’s total work force. The mill was a county-wide powerhouse. Extrapolating 1980 demographics, the mill property today could have 10,000 jobs. 6,650 of those workers would live beyond Camas providing revenue to our neighbors meeting the difficult jobs/housing allocations they face. These jobs would make neighboring businesses thrive and enhance the charm of Historic Downtown Camas. The Camas Mill today has 150 workers on one remaining paper towel line. The mill could again become a jobs/housing/natural resource/recreation site of regional significance. The mill could ease state-mandated burdens on the County and our neighboring cities as they try to squeeze more density in and expand the urban growth boundaries into high natural resource areas. The Mill District Plan recognizes this historic employment background, and seeks to restore the site to a regional powerhouse. This is done by protecting the currently operating industrial areas and bringing new job producing land uses to Camas. The Mill District Plan will do this and make Historic Downtown thrive. Camas is at a crossroads . Our Camas 2045 continues failed planning models placing sprawl and resource destruction over an admittedly more difficult brownfield models. 3 The Mill District Plan’s alternative philosophy embodies the requirements of Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and our state’s strong commitment to climate change adaptation. The Mill District Plan partners with east Vancouver and Washougal growth creating a multi-city corridor enabling low-carbon affordable housing The Society includes a small sampling of cities with former industrial use areas redesignated and retooled for 2 multi-purpose use that revitalizes the downtown such as Vancouver, Washington www.axios.com/local/portland/ 2024/06/21/vancouver-waterfront-near-completion; Salem, Oregon (See https://storiesofsalem.substack.com/p/ history-column-riverfront-park and https://www.salemreporter.com/2023/04/24/plans-revealed-to-turn-shuttered- cannery-into-lively-riverfront-complex/); Bend, Oregon (https://www.oldmilldistrict.com/blog/history/a-twenty-year- journey/ ) and Oregon City https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/willamette-falls-blue-heron-paper-mill- demolition-grand-ronde/283-34fcc896-d612-4553-a119-49cc3d68c06a “Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties that may have environmental contamination. Brownfields 3 are common in communities of all sizes — they may be old gas stations, dry cleaners, industrial facilities, smelters, or former agricultural land. Negative perceptions of brownfields, along with potential environmental liability concerns, can complicate a community’s redevelopment plans. Local governments encounter brownfields as they plan to revitalize downtowns, make improvements to infrastructure, and redevelop old properties to meet community needs.” Washington Department of Ecology Page 4 of 35
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