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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-10 Deschutes 2040 - Results of Phase 2 Visioning Activities, and Initial Policy Review Page 1   Policy Review – November 2022 TO: Deschutes 2040 Project Management Team FROM: Andrew Parish, MIG CC: DATE: November 2, 2022 INTRODUCTION This memorandum includes existing and recommended policy language related to the following Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan topics: 1. Community Engagement 2. Land Use 3. Agricultural Lands POLICY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Table 1 lists existing policy language in underline and strikeout, along with a column of notes and discussion describing changes and their rationale. Changes are based on a review by County staff and the consultant team. Additional changes may be identified through further community engagement and/or coordination with technical advisors. This is intended to be a starting point for discussion with members of the Planning Commission. Numbering has been revised for consistency and navigation but likely will be updated again as the planning process proceeds. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 2 Table 1. Community Engagement Policies Policy Language Notes and Discussion Goal 1: Maintain an active and open community involvement program that  is accessible to all members of the community and engages the community  during development and implementation of land use policies and codes.  Promote equitable community involvement that includes all members of  the community, particularly those who are commonly under‐represented,  by ensuring access to information, encouraging community collaboration,  and promoting efficient and transparent planning processes. Drafted revised, broad goal using language from policy and  made more directive about being proactive about equity,  inclusivity, actively recruiting under‐represented groups. Split  out other existing sub‐policies into new policies.  1.2.1 This section serves as the Community Involvement Program.  The Planning Commission will be the Committee for Community Involvement,  with County support. a. Maintain funding and staffing. b. Provide regular updates, speakers, panel discussions and handouts on land  use law and policy. c. Appoint members through an open and public process to reflect the  geographic areas and diverse values of Deschutes County residents. d. Meet with the Board of County Commissioners at least once a year to  coordinate planning policies and activities. e. Complete an annual report on community involvement implementation for  the State Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee, the Board of County  Commissioners and the public.  Unnecessary policy. PC is the CIC currently, though it’s possible for another body to serve in that role in the future. Generally, recommend removing sub-policies where possible. The following sections re-arrange and update existing policy language under a second Public Involvement goal. Policy 1.1.1. Write all County planning documents to be understandable,  intuitive, and easily available to the general public, using simplified language  where possible, with acronyms spelled out and technical language explained.  Adaptation of existing (sub)policy, added “simplified language”. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 3 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 1.1.2. Hold area‐specific comprehensive plan and zoning text  amendment public hearings in locations and at times convenient and  accessible to area residents, as appropriate.  Moved to its own policy, added “accessible”. Policy 1.1.3. Provide property information to the public in an intuitive and  easy‐to‐use manner.    Formerly Land Use policy 1.3.6. generalized somewhat. Policy 1.1.4. Consult and coordinate with developers before submitting  applications as required or recommended by the County Development Code  to identify and discuss project requirements and impacts.    Retained much of the existing language with some tweaks but  separated into a broad goal and specific policies. Removed  reference to pre‐application requirements to avoid potential  duplication or conflicts with development code provisions.  Encourage community participation in planning through a variety of tools and  techniques, including:  a. Post all planning applications, decisions, projects and plans on the County  website;  b. Provide staff reports for comprehensive plan and zoning text amendments  to the public in a timely manner;  c. Write all County planning documents to be accessible and understandable  to the general public, with acronyms spelled out and technical language  explained;  d. Hold area‐specific comprehensive plan and zoning text amendment public  hearings in locations and at times convenient to area residents, as  appropriate;  e. Require pre‐application meetings for comprehensive plan and zoning text  amendments; and for major or potentially contentious projects encourage  the applicants to hold an informal community meeting before submitting an  application.    Moved relevant sub‐policies to their own policies.   DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 4 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Reach out to the community to discuss and respond to land use concerns in a timely manner.  Unnecessary policy  Ensure effective, efficient planning procedures. Unnecessary policy  Goal 2: Support the activities of the Committee for Community Involvement      New goal to capture policies related to the functioning of the  CCI  Policy 1.2.1. Maintain adequate funding and staffing support for the  Committee.  Retained much of existing language; added "adequate"  funding and staffing support.    Policy 1.2.2. Provide regular updates, speakers, panel discussions, and  handouts on land use law and policy.     No change to existing language.      Policy 1.2.3. Appoint members through an open and public process to reflect  the diverse geographic regions, demographics, and values of Deschutes  County residents.     No change to existing language.      Policy 1.2.4. Meet with the Board of County Commissioners at least once a  year to coordinate planning policies and activities.     No change to existing language.    Policy 1.2.5. Complete periodic reports on community involvement  implementation for the State Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee, the  Board of County Commissioners, and the public.  Retained much of existing language; made time period for  reporting more general (periodic instead of annual).    DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 5 Table 2. Land Use Policies Policy Language Notes and Discussion Goal 1: Maintain an open and public land use process in which decisions are  based on the objective evaluation of facts a balancing of community needs  and an adequate findings of facts.  Rewording notes “adequate findings” rather than “objective evaluation” and introduces the necessary balancing of community needs. Policy 1.3.1: Protect the limited amount of privately-owned land in Deschutes County through consideration of private property rights and economic impacts to property owners and the community when creating and revising land use policies and regulations. a.Evaluate tools such as transfer of development rights programs that can be used to protect private property. Policy 2.1.1. Balance the consideration of private property rights and the  economic impacts of land use decisions on property owners with other  community goals. Recommend removing sub-policies (a, b, c) to the extent possible. New language attempts to simplify policy and specify that private property rights & economic impacts must be weighed as well as other community goals. Policy 1.3.2: Consider sustainability and cumulative impacts when creating  and revising land use policies and regulations. Recommend relocating to another section. Policy 1.3.3: Involve the public when amending County Code. Out of place/unnecessary. Recommend removing. Policy 1.3.4: Maintain public records which support the Comprehensive Plan and other land use decisions. Unnecessary. Recommend removing. Policy 2.1.2. Review the Comprehensive Plan every five years periodically and update as needed, in order to ensure it responds to address current conditions, issues, and opportunities, as well as amended State Statute, Oregon Administrative Rules and case law. Updated to make time period for updates more general.  Consider ultimately moving this policy to a set of general  policies.  Policy 1.3.6: Maintain and enhance web-based property-specific information. Moved to Public Involvement section, see Table 1. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 6 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 1.3.7 The Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan Map will be retained in official replica form as an electronic map layer within the County Geographic Information System and is adopted as part of this Plan. Kept as is. Policy 1.3.8 Implement, as appropriate, recommendations in the Final Report from the Oregon Task Force on Land Use Planning dated January 2009. Outdated policy; recommend removing. Policy 1.3.9 A list of actions to implement this Comprehensive Plan shall be created, maintained and reviewed yearly by the Community Development Department and the Board of County Commissioners. Policy 2.1.3. Implement Comprehensive Plan policies through the Community  Development Department's annual work plan and other actions by the  Department and the Board of County Commissioners.   This could potentially be described rather than enshrined in policy language. Goal 2. Promote Regional Cooperation and Partnerships on Land Use  Planning Issues.  Added “land use” Policy 2.2.1. Regularly Periodically review intergovernmental and urban  management agreements, and update as needed.    Participate in and, where appropriate, coordinate regional planning efforts.  a. Provide affected agencies, including irrigation districts, an opportunity to  comment and coordinate on land use policies or actions that would impact  their jurisdictions.  Policy 2.2.2. Help coordinate regional planning efforts and coordinate with  other agencies on land use policies and actions that impact their jurisdictions.    Made more general; removed specific reference to irrigation  districts; can call them out in other chapters, as needed.  Support non‐profit or public acquisition of lands determined through an  extensive public process to have significant value to the community.  Revised to eliminate reference to "extensive public processes."   DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 7 Policy Language Notes and Discussion   Policy 2.2.3. Support the use of high value natural resource and recreational  lands for public purposes, whether through acquisition, easements, or other  means.     Support implementation of the Bend 2030 Plan and incorporate, as  appropriate, elements from the Bend 2030 Plan into this Plan.    Policy 2.2.4. Support the implementation of long‐range plans of Deschutes  County jurisdictions, incorporating elements of those plans into the County's  Comprehensive Plan as appropriate.     Made more general, recognizing potential need to do so with  other community plans and that specific Plan names change  or are replaced over time.    Goal 3: Manage County owned lands efficiently, effectively, flexibly and in a  manner that balances the needs of County residents.    Goal 3: Manage county‐owned lands to balance the needs of the  community.     Eliminated the words "efficiently, effectively, and flexibly."  Those are important goals but also words that can be  subjective and can be used to question or oppose specific  County actions.  Where feasible, maintain and manage County owned properties as follows:  a. Manage designated park lands to preserve the values defined in the park  designation;  b. Permit public access to County owned lands designated as parks unless  posted otherwise;  c. Encourage properties located along rivers, streams or creeks or containing  significant wildlife, scenic or open space values to be designated as park land.    Split into individual policies and revised to improve clarity.    Policy 2.3.1. Manage lands with a park designation consistent with the goals  and policies in Section X (Natural Resources)    Reference specific parks/open space policies in separate  section, if this policy is still relevant.   DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 8 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 2.3.2. Continue to identify additional properties along rivers, streams,  or creeks, or containing significant wildlife, scenic resource, or open space  resources to designate as park land.     Revised to describe as part of a continuing/ongoing course of  action.  DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 9 Table 3. Agricultural Lands Policies Policy Language Notes and Discussion Goal 1: Preserve and maintain agricultural lands and uses the agricultural  industry.  Revised to focus on agricultural uses, rather than the "industry." Policy 3.1.1: Retain agricultural lands through Exclusive Farm Use zoning. No change recommended. Policy 3.1.2. Continue to apply Exclusive Farm Use sub‐zones shall remain as  described in the 1992 Farm Study and shown in the table below, unless  adequate legal findings for amending the sub‐zones are adopted or an  individual parcel is rezoned as allowed by Policy 2.2.3. consistent with the  County's most up‐to‐date adopted studies of agricultural land and as  implemented through the County Development Code.  Exclusive Farm Use Subzones   • Subzone Name , Minimum Acres , Profile   • Lower Bridge , 130 , Irrigated field crops, hay and pasture   • Sisters/Cloverdale , 63 , Irrigated alfalfa, hay and pasture, wooded grazing  and some field crops   • Terrebonne , 35 , Irrigated hay and pasture   • Tumalo/Redmond/Bend , 23 , Irrigated pasture and some hay   • Alfalfa , 36 , Irrigated hay and pasture   • La Pine , 37 , Riparian meadows, grazing and meadow hay   • Horse Ridge East , 320 , Rangeland grazing   Removed specific descriptive language which could change  over time; referred to more general adopted study. Consider  including specific info in the Comp Plan narrative if it is still  relevant. Policy 3.1.3. Allow comprehensive plan and zoning map amendments,  including for those that qualify as non‐resource land, for individual EFU  parcels as allowed by State Statute, Oregon Administrative Rules and this  Comprehensive Plan.  No change recommended at this time. Research intent and possibly consider refinements during subsequent rounds of policy review. Policy 3.1.4. Develop comprehensive policy criteria and code to provide  clarity on when and how EFU parcels can be converted to other designations.  No change recommended at this time. Consider refinements to address status of this work during subsequent rounds of policy review. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 10 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 3.1.5. Uses allowed in Exclusive Farm Use zones shall comply with State  Statute and Oregon Administrative Rule.  Policy not needed; all allowed uses must comply with state law. Recommend removing. Policy 3.1.6. Regularly review farm regulations to ensure compliance with  changes to State Statute, Oregon Administrative Rules and case law.  No change recommended. Policy 3.1.7. Encourage water projects that benefit agriculture. Recommend moving to a different section of the Plan that addresses water resources policies, given that water use is such a large issue in the County and likely warrants its own section or chapter. Policy 3.1.8.  Support a variety of methods to preserve agricultural lands, such  as:  a. Support the use of grant funds and other resources to assist local farmers;  b. Work cooperatively with irrigation districts, public agencies and  representatives and land owners;  c. Encourage conservation easements, or purchase or transfer of  development rights programs;  d. Control noxious weeds;  e. Encourage a food council or ‘buy local’ program.  Delete from this section but retain most of this policy language under a new and updated set of policies under Goal 2 of this chapter. Goal 2. Promote a diverse, sustainable, revenue‐generating agricultural  sector.  No change recommended. Policy 3.2.1. Encourage farming by promoting the raising and selling of crops,  livestock and/or poultry.  No change recommended. Policy 3.2.2. Support stakeholders in studying and promoting economically  viable agricultural agriculture through the use of grant funds, research, and  other resources dedicated to agricultural community members and  stakeholders, including but not limited to farmers, agricultural researchers,  farm bureaus, and other organizations in studying and promoting  economically viable agricultural opportunities and practices.  Expanded to add more specific language about stakeholder  groups. Incorporated language from policy 3.1.8.a above. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 11 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 3.2.3. Support and encourage small farming enterprises through a  variety of related strategies and programs, including, but not limited to, niche  markets, organic farming, food council, buy local, farmers markets, farm‐to‐ table activities, farm stands or value‐added products, or other programs or  strategies.  Expanded to add additional examples to reflect current  practices and incorporated language from Policy 3.1.8.e  above. Policy 3.2.4. Work cooperatively with irrigation districts, public agencies and  representatives and land owners to promote and support agricultural uses  and operations, including through use of conservation easements, transfer of  development rights programs, and other preservation strategies.  New policy incorporating language from policy 3.1.8.a and  3.1.8.b above. Policy 2.2.5. Support efforts to control noxious weeds and invasive species. New policy incorporating language from policy 3.2.8.d and  adding reference to invasive species. Policy 3.2.6. Continue to review County Code and revise County Code as  needed and consistent with state rules and regulations to permit alternative  and supplemental farm activities that are compatible with farming, such as  agri‐ tourism or commercial renewable energy projects. When a preferred  alternative or supplemental use identified through a public process is not  permitted by State regulations work with the State to review and revise their  regulations.  Revised to make a continuing course of action, include  language about consistency with state rules, and separate the  two policy ideas currently listed into individual policies. Policy 3.2.7. Work with the State to review and revise their regulations when  a desired alternative or supplemental use identified by the County is not  permitted by State regulations.  Revised to separate the two policy ideas currently listed above  into individual policies and to clarify this should be done when  the County has identified an activity as a desire use. Goal 3. Ensure Exclusive Farm Use policies, classifications and codes are  consistent with local and emerging agricultural conditions and markets.  No change recommended. Policy 3.3.1. Identify and retain accurately designated agricultural lands. No change recommended. DRAFT Policy Review – November 2022 Page 12 Policy Language Notes and Discussion Policy 3.3.2. Explore new methods of identifying and classifying agricultural  lands.  a. Apply for grants to review and, if needed, update farmland designations.  b. Study County agricultural designations considering elements such as water  availability, farm viability and economics, climatic conditions, land use  patterns, accepted farm practices, and impacts on public services.  c. Lobby for changes to State Statute regarding agricultural definitions specific  to Deschutes County that would allow some reclassification of agricultural  lands.  No change recommended at this time. Consider revising  during subsequent round of review to make a continuing  course of action. Policy 3.3.3. Address land use challenges in the Horse Ridge subzone,  specifically:  a. The large number of platted lots not meeting the minimum acreage;  b. The need for non‐farm dwellings and location requirements for farm  dwellings;  c. Concerns over the impact on private property from off‐road vehicles,  facilities, and trails located on adjacent public lands.  No change recommended at this time. Consider revising  during subsequent round of review to make a continuing  course of action or to move to an action planning document. Policy 3.3.4. Continue to work with the State to review and revise accessory  farm dwelling requirements to address the needs of local farmers.  Made minor wording change to make a continuing course of  action. Policy 3.3.5. Encourage coordination between agricultural interests and fish  and wildlife management organizations, including public agencies, non‐ governmental organizations and others.  Made minor wording changes for clarity.