Many of the residents of Corvallis consider Chip Ross Park to be a vital feature of our community. We go to Chip Ross Park to rest and recreate, memorialize our loved ones and enjoy the tranquility of nature. Few of us realize, however, that the peace and serenity we enjoy at Chip Ross Park will soon be lost forever.

Calvary Chapel Corvallis purchased 56 acres adjacent to Chip Ross Park at 3860 Glen Eden Drive, Corvallis, in July 2005, and plans to build the following:

• A 27,000 sq. ft. building with a capacity for 800 persons plus parking

• An outdoor amphitheater

• A "mountain-top retreat"

• A cluster housing development

• Various outdoor sporting facilities

According to Benton County planners, the 27,000 square foot church and its parking lot are "the equivalent of building a house on a residential lot" and therefore are a "use outright."

What "use outright" means is that the laws of Benton County provide no opportunity for public comment, protest or appeal of the plan. Meanwhile, the use "outright" ignores the fact that no home in Benton County attracts more than 800 people to its doors several times a week generating - among other things - traffic congestion, noise and light pollution and safety hazards to persons walking or biking nearby.

It is difficult to imagine how such a massive structure will be commensurate with the design of surrounding homes. Furthermore, the "use outright" ignores the future plans for other development of the site.

At present, Calvary Chapel is proceeding with plans for construction of the church and site preparation already has commenced. To my knowledge, no effort has been made by Benton County or the City of Corvallis to address the future planning issues that fall outside the current "use outright."

If you, like me and many of other citizens of our area, value Chip Ross Park, please voice your concern now. I urge you to write directly to the Benton County commissioners to request that the planning process be revised immediately and to ask that all planned developments for this site be put on the table for consideration now. Failure to consider the implications of allowing the current project to continue unhindered raise the likelihood that all of the planned developments will eventually come to fruit by attrition.

In the end, Chip Ross Park will go from a respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life to a front-row seat on a complex of buildings and parking. Enjoy the view.

Tara Robinson is a Corvallis resident.