Weyerhaeuser Ready To Clear Land For New Schools

Preparations are underway to begin clearing the land where new school buildings will rise in Seaside. District Superintendent Emeritus Doug Dougherty has been leading the effort to first convince voters of the need to locate new schools on higher ground to help ensure the safety of students and staff in the event of a major tsunami event. That milestone was achieved with the bond measure passing in the November General Election by over 65% of voters.

Since January, Dougherty says, the District hired a project management firm with a strong background in involving the public in the decision-making process and an architectural firm has been working with teams of staff, parents, and community members since January. “The basic architectural designs are evolving as we clarify our dreams and expectations.” Says Dougherty.

The upland area where the new schools will be built was donated by Weyerhaeuser and that company is set to harvest the timber on that property beginning on the far eastern side on the Necanicum Mainline then move west. Dougherty says once the trees have been removed then the land will be prepared for the development.

Dr. Dougherty’s efforts to relocate Seaside schools has been years in the making and the predicament the schools were in became the subject of national news with pages devoted to the issue in the New Yorker. Dougherty says by invitation he recently gave lectures to students in seven Philadelphia high schools whose students had made a study of the Cascadia subduction zone and were familiar with local efforts to relocate the Seaside District away from the inundation zone where they currently sit. “The students and staff were engaged and amazed to learn about our great need to increase the preparedness and resilience in Oregon and Washington.”, says Dougherty.