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1990-36801-Minutes for Meeting November 06,1990 Recorded 12/7/19901Os - 1407 90-36801 MINUTES OF€OAEi9 }n7- SCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS VZ 199R ` ` November 6, 1990 Ch d r Thraxp called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. Board members in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Lois Bristow Prante. Also present were Rick Isham, County Legal; George Read, Planning Director; Paul Blikstad, Planner; Kevin Smith, Planner; Mike Maier, County Administrator; and Dave Peterson, Data Processing Manager. 1. DECISION ON PP&L APPEAL Before the Board was a decision on the appeal of the Hearings Officer's approval of a conditional use requested for a transmission line in southeast Bend by Pacific Power and Light. Chair Throop reminded the audience that no testimony or public comments would be taken at this meeting but that questions might be addressed to members of the audience by the Board. Commissioner Throop said the question that Paul Speck raised at the public hearing on behalf of Helen and Stosh Thompson about whether or not a plan amendment was required in conjunction with the application was an issue he wanted to pursue. He said the comprehensive plan language concerning this 177 acre site prescribed the uses which were appropriate for the site, and Mr. Speck asserted that the application was not valid until a plan amendment was done. At the public hearing, Mr. Van Vactor, attorney on behalf of the Lewis', talked about looking at alternate corridors, but Commissioner Throop felt that unless a plan amendment was required, he did not believe that issue could be looked at. He said if a plan amendment were not required, he didn't see the grounds to look at alternate corridors or to deny the application. If a plan amendment were required, then he felt they could consider other corridors to determine which was the best. Commissioner Prante felt the issue of who would make a profit on this was irrelevant. She felt the issue was the need to provide power service to a rapidly urbanizing area. She had the utmost respect for Stosh Thompson and his commitment to preserving wildlife, however she felt, in this particular case, the Crudens were impacted the most. She said wildlife did not react to power poles and the of front on their view the way people did. She felt that it would have been difficult for PP&L to have planned farther ahead than they did due to the growth surge in the last three years. The needs of the community had to be balanced with the impact on individuals, and the needs of the expanding community could cause some power shortages without the new lines. r' PAGE 1 MINUTES: 11/6/90 11 1\ 31 10s - 1408 Commissioner maudlin said the site visit the previous day had answered a great number of his questions, and that he had reread the information in the record. Rick Isham suggested the Board state into the record their observations made during the site visit which would influence their decision in this matter so that the parties would know the basis on which the decision was being made. He said this would complete the record since the parties had agreed not to comment further on the site visit observations. Commissioner Prante that the site visit reemphasized the devastation of the Awbrey Hall fire. She was made aware of the impact on the Cruden property in a very stark way. She felt if they moved the corridor outside of the urban growth boundary, the impact would be significantly greater. She did not see how the existing line impacted the Lewis' view. She expressed the hope that the Forest Service would select the far west alternative. Commissioner Throop said that the site visit didn't change his view of the area very much because he knew the area well. He said from the east, he noticed their wasn't much impact on dwellings and private property from Highway 97 until you were within one-quarter mile of the river. He felt 75 feet from the Cruden's property was pretty close. The site visit gave him a better idea of how naked the area would be in five years when the existing trees were either taken out or fell on their own and how exposed the line would be on Bend's southwest boundary. Commissioner Maudlin said it appeared there would not be, to any great extent, a parcelization of the property. He felt the Lewis' home faced to the northwest and when you looked out the windows, you didn't see the proposed, westerly power line. He said the area where the line would cross the river would not be skylined in any way. The only concern he had was what the view would be from the Cruden property looking out their front windows at the river, because there would be a pole by the river at that site. He felt that was the best place for the pole to be even if it did have a negative impact on the property owners. He wished that it did not impact this site as much as it appeared it would, but he felt PP&L had made every effort to minimize the visual impact for the whole route. Commissioner Throop said that the language on this 177 acres in the comprehensive plan appeared to require a plan amendment, specifically when it said on Page 10 was that "to carry out the purposes and intent of the plan, the westerly 177 acres shall be designated as an area of special interest PAGE 2 MINUTES: 11/6/90 105 , 1409 and no further parcelization shall be permitted therein. The uses permitted shall be (1) those existing and (2) wildlife management." He asked Rick Isham whether a comprehensive plan amendment was required in order for this to be a valid application? Commissioner Prante also asked how the existing power line on the property affected the situation. Rick Isham said he was going to regress a little to answer their questions. He said the provisions of the comprehensive plan would control the decisions the Board would make under any implementing ordinance. So the meaning of the words in the comprehensive plan were usually given their plain meaning, and where they might be subject to Board interpretation, a decision made by the Board would be given some weight. A court would always interpret those works and provisions, with deference to the Board's decision. He said Mr. Bock had submitted a short memo with respect to one of the plan policies to the areas of special interest. In this memo, Mr. Bock stated that power line use did not appear to be one of uses contemplated in policy #2. The specific language on the site ends with, "the uses permitted shall be those existing and wildlife management." He said he could not answer the question of whether an existing power line was a use, since that was a matter of interpretation for the Board. He believed that when the general policies were written, the anticipated uses were developments and land divisions. The question of law for the Board to decide was whether or not the last paragraph contemplated that kind of use. If it did not contemplate the kind of use for which this application was being made, then a plan amendment would be required. If it did contemplate this kind of use, then the plan amendment would not be required, and the Board would continue with the process under the conditional use. Commissioner Throop said there was an existing distribution line on the concerned property, but that what was being proposed was a major transmission facility. Rick Isham said the second question the Board would need to answer was whether the use was still different even if power lines were contemplated in the compensation plan language. He said the first question was whether power lines were contemplated in the comprehensive plan under the term "use permitted." If the answer was no, then the Board would go to the comprehensive plan. If the answer was yes, then the Board would ask the second question of whether the power line which was currently located there was the same as the use that was being proposed. If yes, then the Board would sign the decision. If no, then you're back to some amendment of the plan. PAGE 3 MINUTES: 11/6/90 1 05 r 1410 Commissioner Prante asked if the issues would be before the Board if the power line were to be placed outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB). Rick Isham said that outside the UGB in the RR-10 it would require a site plan review. He did not believe that the term "community uses" could be limited to community sewers and water systems because they were buried in the road and wouldn't normally require a site plan when done in the right of way. He felt "community uses" was a more expansive term, and therefore, even in an RR-10 zone there would be a site plan review. He said most of the RR-10 zone was on an existing power line right of way with existing service, but he didn't think there was anything in existence on the Cruden property. Commissioner Prante said that the County had allowed the development, and therefore the County had the responsibility to enable the services to be there to support the development. Rick Isham said there was more language in the comprehensive plan regarding this 177 acres than there was for whole sections of Deschutes County. It was very unique and unusual to find that much discussion regarding a parcel, and you could conclude from this unusual treatment that there was intent to directly manage this site through a comprehensive plan policy. The issue for the Board was to interpret that provision. Commissioner Throop said he wouldn't knowingly violate the comprehensive plan to achieve the end described by Commissioner Prante. He agreed that the public facilities needed to be ahead of development, but they had to be approved in conformity and in conjunction with the comprehensive plan. He said again that a small existing power distribution line was not the same as a major transmission line. He felt it would be a knowing violation of the comprehensive land use plan to approve the application without a plan amendment. He didn't see any course of action but to deny the application and ask the parties to come forward and address the comprehensive land use plan. Commissioner Maudlin said the plan for this 177 acres may have been extensive, but it was incomplete because it didn't discuss sewer, water and power lines. He pointed out that every word in the comprehensive plan could not be defined, and anything that was not completely defined could not be permitted. He said there was an existing power lines in the proposed area, and there were similar power lines running through residential neighborhoods within the city limits of Bend. He said there were several wildlife management areas in Oregon with power lines and transmission lines running across them. PAGE 4 MINUTES: 11/6/90 105 • 1411 Commissioner Throop said the comprehensive plan was written envisioning that this 177 acres would be set aside, and there wouldn't be sewer lines or power lines. Rick Isham asked whether anyone on the planning staff had reviewed the resource documents from which this plan was developed to see if there was any guidance given. George Read said he had not been able to find Exhibit A. Commissioner Throop recessed the meeting to allow time for staff to find Exhibit A. Chair Throop reconvened the meeting, and Paul Blikstad distributed copies of Exhibit A to the Board. Stosh Thompson also gave the Board some documents which he felt were also part of Exhibit A. Rick Isham felt that the Exhibit A, which had been distributed to the Board by Paul Blikstad, was the one referred to in the plan and was, therefore, part of the plan and the record. He said it appeared to be a listing of various species that would be preserved on the site and was entitled "Wildlife of the Thompson Wildlife Sanctuary Deschutes County Principle Target Species." He said it did not deal with any background development for the plan policies. George Read said he did not believe that the information submitted by Stosh Thompson was part of the exhibit since the context of reference to Exhibit A referred to wildlife that existed on the property. Commissioner Maudlin said there appeared to be new telephone lines in the area. Stosh Thompson said they were new because they were replacing existing poles which had been burned in the fire. MAUDLIN: I feel that the impacts on the property in question have been addressed in the best possible manner, not perfectly, but in the best manner possible, and I would move that the hearings officer's decision be upheld and the line most westerly designated or a compromise there in between 4A and 4B, and I'm talking about the two most westerly lines, be the line site so designated. PRANTE: Second. Commissioner Prante asked if the Board had any jurisdiction over the lines which crossed Forest Service land. Commissioner Maudlin said he put that condition in the motion because he felt that was where the line should go because it would have the least amount of impact. PAGE 5 MINUTES: 11/6/90 105 -a 1412 Commissioner Throop said he thought the Forest Services would give deference to the Board's recommendation. Commissioner Prante said she would also strongly recommend the most westerly route. Rick Isham said there was a joint management agreement with the Forest Service where they are required to take into consideration and explain why they would not follow the Board's decision which would give the County party status in any decision that the Forest Service would make. However, the Federal Government could make an independent decision and may not be bound by what the County did. Commissioner Prante said she would like to recommend to the Forest Service that the most westerly line be used, but she wanted the decision to be separate. Commissioner Maudlin said it was the intent of his motion to condition the approval on use of line 4A or 4B or a compromise between the two because he did not wish to place the line in any other location. Commissioner Prante asked if the Board passed the motion indicating it was only valid if one of the two westerly lines were used, and the Forest Service would not use one of those two line, then would the Board's decision to uphold the hearings officer's decision be invalid? Commissioner Maudlin said that was his intention. Commissioner Throop said he thought the motion was in violation of the comprehensive plan and he didn't support it. PRANTE: I would move to amend that we support the hearings officer's decision and strongly recommend to the Forest Service that the westerly boundary or route be utilized. MAUDLIN: I will second. Rick Isham said the Board did need to address the F2 zone even though the Federal Government's preeminent authority may take precedent over the Board's decision. He said Deschutes County had taken the position that it could zone federal lands, and he felt the Board had to make a decision not just a recommendation. Commissioner Prante asked if the Forest Service decided to use the easterly boundary, which the Board did not recommend, would that invalidate the Board's decision to uphold the hearings officer's decision? Was one dependent on the other? Rick Isham said no. PAGE 6 MINUTES: 11/6/90 105 a-1413 2. Commissioner Throop ask if the Board could condition the approval to be invalid if the line did not follow the course that Commissioner Maudlin addressed in his motion? Rick Isham said yes. Commissioner Maudlin withdrew his second on Commissioner Prante's amendment and, therefore, the amendment failed for lack of a second. He said the reason his motion included the most westerly designated route or a compromise therein between 4A and 4B was because there might need to be some movement because of archeological or other situations. Mark Heidecke, consultant for PP&L, said the most westerly route in the environmental assessment for the Forest Service was 4B, the next route was 4A, and both had the low crossing in the northwesterly direction across the river rather than the higher crossing which went directly north and south. Alternative 3A went directly north to the angle point and 3B went diagonally over to the Midstate line. The question was called for on Commissioner Maudlin's motion. VOTE: PRANTE: YES THROOP: NO MAUDLIN: YES George Read said there were a couple of issues left to be resolved. One was the question of whether site plan review was required and the second that the hearings officer had not addressed the landscape management issue, and he felt it should be clarified. He said the staff recommendation was that a site plan be required and that the landscape management review occur concurrent with the site plan. Commissioner Maudlin said that the attorney for PP&L had indicated that a site plan was not a problem for them. The Board agreed that Rick Isham should conform the decision to include site plan review with concurrent landscape management review. PURCHASE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT Before the Board was a request to go ahead with the purchase of a new computer system. The Board, Mike Maier and Dave Peterson had met last week to discuss the option on the purchase of new computer equipment. Since then, Dave Peterson had been able to negotiate a lower lease/purchase price and a reduction in the interest rate. The prices quoted were assuming no involvement by 9-1-1. Mike Maier said the previous first year figure was $130,000 over the operating capital costs and $153,000 for the next four years. With the PAGE 7 MINUTES: 11/6/90