It’s a 415-acre lake used by at least 800 registered boaters. But officially,

’s favorite playground is nonnavigable.

That helps keep outsiders off the water.

When Oregon gained statehood in 1859, the state assumed ownership of all land underlying navigable waterways, setting up a conflict with property owners who surround Oswego Lake and continue to claim it as their own. Landowners have since enlarged the lake and strengthened their legal position. In 1976, then-U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield won approval of federal legislation declaring the lake nonnavigable.

Diary of a lake

1850

: Albert A. Durham secures a donation land claim, builds a sawmill and calls the site “Oswego.” The land includes a small natural lake called Waluga by Native Americans. Settlers later called it Sucker Lake, after fish inhabiting the water.

1872

: A canal connects the Tualatin River to the lake, increasing water flow and expanding the lake.

1912

: The Ladd Estate Co. begins to convert some of the Oregon Iron & Steel Co.’s 24,000 acres around the lake into residential properties.

1913

: Oregon Iron & Steel Co. successfully petitions to have the lake renamed Oswego Lake to make it more appealing to waterfront homeowners.

Early 1920s

: The Ladd Estate Co. takes over property owned by Oregon Iron & Steel after the company defaults on its loans.

1928

: A canal dug in a marshy area near the lake creates Lakewood Bay.

1940

: The Ladd Estate Co. becomes the Paul F. Murphy Co.

1942

: The Lake Oswego Corporation., a private nonprofit organization of lakefront property owners, is formed and takes over water rights and management of the lake.

1975

: Then-U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield proposes Senate bill 2315, which declares Oswego Lake a nonnavigable waterway.

1976

: The Water Resources Development Act of 1976 becomes law, which includes Hatfield’s proposal.

2005

: Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers writes a letter stating that all navigable waterways should be open to the public, even if privately owned.

2011

: The Lake Oswego Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee forms a subcommittee to examine whether the city should address lake access.

Source

:

Oswego's Iron History

(City of Lake Oswego)

This year, however, critics want to revisit the issue. They claim the state’s sovereign rights to the water supersede federal and private designations and that the city is obligated to pursue public access.

“Every 10 years or so, someone makes a challenge as to why everyone and anyone can’t come into the lake,” said Doug Thomas, board of directors president of the

. The entity manages Oswego Lake through

involving 694 lakefront and about 4,500 nearby homes, representing 12,000 to 13,000 residents.

“But the shareholders built this lake and have maintained it for over a hundred years. Why would we let everyone have access to our backyards?” Thomas asks.

The issue arose again last fall when Todd Prager, a Lake Oswego resident and member of the city’s planning commission, suggested exploring a lake access policy as part of an update to the city’s comprehensive plan. Prager said that because the current plan is based on the premise the lake is private, he asked for clarification from the

. He learned that the state claims ownership of the lake’s original footprint and maintains there is sufficient evidence the lake is navigable.

Furthermore, the state contends everyone has a right to use the lake as long as they get to the water through public land or right of way.

“I just think the lake is such an important defining feature of the community and Lake Oswego,” said Prager, who works as an associate planner for the city of Tigard. “I think the city should have a really clear policy on access, one way or another.”

In Lake Oswego, those are fighting words.

In December, the

approved forming

to examine whether the city should even consider addressing lake access. The work group’s answer was no. The Lake Oswego Planning Commission is scheduled to review the committee’s recommendation on Monday, but it’s clear there is little appetite among city officials for exploring the issue.

“I think the status quo is preferable,” said Lake Oswego Mayor Jack Hoffman. “At this point, it hasn’t risen as a community issue to warrant a change.”

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, a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, said the water in Oswego Lake is a state-owned resource and the city’s hands-off approach is a dereliction of duty.

“The state law reads that public access is available for bodies of water that are floatable by watercraft,” Blumm said. “It’s really more of a duty than an option that the city fight for its citizens and make the entire lake public.”

The

, a nonprofit legal-support organization, also contended in a Jan. 17 letter to the city that Lake Oswego is violating state law by failing to seek public recreational access to the entire lake.

Lake Oswego residents have limited access to the lake through the

at

and the

along

. The Lake Oswego Swim Park is run by the city. The Lake Grove Swim Park is run by the

and limited to residents who live within the boundary of the former Lake Grove School District and pay an additional property tax.

The Lake Oswego School District

to the city Jan. 31

saying opening the entire lake to the public would diminish property values and swim park conditions.

***

The Lake Corp., a private nonprofit organization owned by shareholders, was formed in 1942 by the Paul F. Murphy Co. to govern the lake. Murphy took over property owned by Oregon Iron & Steel, including the lake, to develop residential homes when Oregon Iron & Steel defaulted on loans in the early 1920s.

The real estate company transferred the deed for ownership of the lakebed, lake rim and property owned around the lake to Lake Corp.

All 694 lakefront property owners own shares in the corporation, which also controls 21 lake easements — residential areas where property owners have recreational and boating access to the entire lake. In addition to a board of directors, the corporation has at least six full-time employees and budgets about $2 million a year on services including lake maintenance and patrols.

Lakefront property owners pay annual dues of $2,000 to $3,500 and thousands more pay lesser amounts for recreational access. Each easement has its own governing body and can levy additional dues, such as an initiation fee ranging from $100 to $1,000. The city also has shares in the organization through property and rights-of-way it owns around the lake. Millennium Plaza Park, for example, has steps that lead right into the water.

The city does not permit boating access, however.

Thomas cited the Lake Oswego Swim Park as evidence that some public access already exists.

“We’re not exclusive,” he said. “There are homes for sale on and around the lake right now for under $150,000 that anyone is welcome to buy.”

Opening the lake more broadly would decrease property values, increase crowding and safety concerns and the likelihood of water contamination, Lake Corp. officials said.

***

Jeff Ward, Lake Corp. manager, noted that before boats and trailers enter the water they are sanitized to combat nonnative species. To use the lake, boats must be registered with Lake Corp. and operators must have at least $500,000 in liability insurance and pass a written and practical exam. A safety patrol enforces speed limits and other rules.

“We’d be hard-pressed to continue all of that if the lake wasn’t under Lake Corp.’s auspices,” said Ward.

But Lewis & Clark’s Blumm, who recently co-wrote a study on Oregon’s public trust doctrine, said all those things could be done by the city.

“You can’t deny the public from a state-owned resource,” Blumm said. “If you get this before a judge, I don’t think Lake Corp. has a leg to stand on.”

Thomas said he believes property owners would dig in their heels for a legal battle if it comes to that.

“We don’t want to sue anybody,” Thomas said. “We would much rather spend money on improving the lake, not defending it from people who want to tear it down.”

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