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1991-16647-Minutes for Meeting May 28,1991 Recorded 6/13/19910106 1648 91-16647 MINUTES JOINT PUBLIC HEARING OF THE `OESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS U1~R~F{~ME AND THE L CITY OF SISTERS e 304 MAY 28, 1991, 7:30 P.M., SISTERS CITY HALL Chairman Maudlin called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Deschutes County Board of Commissioners in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Nancy Pope Schlangen. Sisters City Councilors in attendance were: Ray Hennings, President; W. David Moyer, Mayor; Jack Cooper; Martha Hunking; and Gordon Petrie. Also present from the County were: Rick Isham, County Counsel and Kevin Harrison, Senior Planner. Also present from the City of Sisters was Barbara Warren, City Administrator. Chairman Maudlin announced that the purpose of this public hearing was to discuss an amendment to the Sisters Urban Area Comprehensive Plan to extend the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to include the subject property, and to amend the plan designation on the property from Forest to Urban Reserve/Landscape Management. Adoption of these amendments required exceptions to State Planning Goals 4, Forest Lands, and 14, Urbanization. The purpose of the amendments was to allow for the siting of the new Sisters middle/high school. Failure to raise an issue in person or in writing precluded appeal on that issue to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Failure to provide sufficient specificity to afford the decision maker an opportunity to respond to the issue also would preclude appeal to LUBA on that issue. Kevin Harrison gave the staff report indicating that the Sisters School District had applied for a series of land use action in order to site the new middle/high school along the McKenzie Highway. The applications included a plan amendment to change the zone designation from Forest to Urban Area Reserve; a plan amendment to extend the UGB to include the subject property; a zone change from Forest Use (F3) to Urban Area Reserve (UAR-10); and a conditional use permit and a site plan review for the school facility. These applications had been reviewed by the Deschutes County Planning Commission which held public hearings on April 24 and May 1, 1991. The Planning Commission had granted approval of the conditional use permit and the site plan and was the final decision maker on these applications. Since the Planning Commission was not the final decision maker on the plan amendments or the zone change, they only adopted findings and recommended approval by the Sisters City Council and the County Board of Commissioners. The City Council and the County Commissioners would jointly consider the plan amendments, while the County Board of Commissioners alone was the final decision maker on the zone change. Therefore, the only items under consideration at this PAGE 1 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1649 meeting were the plan amendments and zone change, since the conditional use permit and the site plan review had already been approved by the Planning Commission. He said the testimony should address the pertinent criteria. For the plan amendment, the pertinent criteria were in Goal 2, Land Use Planning, and Goal 14, Urbanization. The local jurisdictions had to find that the application met four tests contained in Goal 2 and the seven factors of Goal 14. In order to amend the UGB, the jurisdictions had to find that there was a "demonstrated need" for additional land within the UGB, that this need could not be satisfied with land currently within the UGB, that the environmental, economic, social and energy (ESEE) consequences were not more adverse at this site than they would be at another site requiring a goal exception, that the proposed uses were reasonably compatible with adjacent, surrounding uses, and that the proposal fostered orderly and efficient urban growth. The Planning Commissioners reviewed the application in light of these factors, and found that the application satisfied the necessary tests. The justification for the amendment of the UGB hinged upon the middle/high school being developed on the property, and the construction of the school was dependent upon the transfer of the property from the current owner, the Forest Services, to the School District. Therefore, the Planning Commission recommended in their findings that any approval be granted through a Resolution of Intent, which was a binding agreement stating that if this condition were satisfied, the jurisdictions would adopt the necessary ordinances to implement the request. The Resolution of Intent would be contingent upon the transfer of the land from the Forest Service to the School District. The Planning Commission also found that in order to meet the criteria contained in the ordinance, the School District would need to sign and record an unlimited consent to annexation agreement. Finally the Planning Commission found that in order to be consistent with the Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan and the Sister Urban Area Comprehensive Plan, the property needed to be planned and zoned landscape management. The landscape management zone would extend 200 feet from the right-of-way on the McKenzie Highway, and would carry certain design standards within it. The Planning Commission found that the site plan, as proposed, met all of the requirements of the landscape management zone. Kevin Harrison outlined the procedure to be followed for this public hearing. He recommended that the County Commission and the City Council take testimony on the plan amendments and the zone change. After the testimony had been presented, the County Commission and the City Council should review the findings adopted by the Planning Commission as well as the testimony, and then vote separately on the proposal. The two jurisdictions would both have to approve the plan amendments before the County Commission could consider the zone change. He said there were some technical problems with the Planning Commission findings and parts of some sentences were left off and some were repeated, so he provided a complete, corrected copy for the members of the County Commission PAGE 2 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1650 and the City Council. There was nothing that was put back into the findings which was not a part of the original burden of proof statements. The final decision in these applications was the actual adoption and entry of the ordinances. Even though the City Council and County Commission could adopt the Resolution of Intent at this meeting, there would not be a final decision until the land was actually transferred, and the City and County actually adopted ordinances and recorded those ordinances. While the resolution was a binding agreement and explained what would happen in the future, the decision would not be final until the corresponding ordinances were actually adopted at which time the parties would be notified of the decision and the clock would start for any further appeals. Rick Isham clarified that the decision would be final for the County when it was recorded; with the City it would be whenever it was entered into their records. Chairman Maudlin said he would ask for testimony from the proponents first, then the opponents, and then rebuttal testimony. He asked if any members of the County Commission had had any prehearing contacts regarding this issue. All three County Commissioners indicated they had not. He asked if any members of the audience wished to challenge any member of the County Commission for bias, prejudgment or personal interest. There were none. He reiterated that they would not be accepting testimony regarding the site plan or conditional use which were before the Planning Commission, but would hear testimony on the plan amendments and the zone change. Chairman Maudlin asked for testimony from the proponents. Bob Lovlien, PO Box 1151, Bend, said he was asked by the Sisters School District to help them make the application to the County since it was such a complex application. The School District was requesting that 40 acres be added to the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary which required them to take steps mandated by the Statewide Planning Goal. Since the land was currently zoned Forest Land, it was deemed to be resource land. So to modify the UGB to encompass the 40 acres, Goal 2 required that an exception be taken to Goal 4 which meant there had to be a reason for changing the forest lands to urban lands. They also had to take an exception to Goal 14 which outlined the factors which had to be addressed to modify the urban growth boundary. In the plan amendment and zone change recommendation before the County Planning Commission, they attempted to answer each of the required factors. The next step was then to request a zone change from F3 to UAR which would allow the School District to file a conditional use permit to site the school in this area. The Planning Commission reviewed all of the materials they had submitted as part of the original burden of proof and held two public hearings prior to their adoption. The School District agreed with the conditions that the Planning Commission recommended be adopted, i.e., resolution of intent to PAGE 3 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1651 rezone that would be valid for two years which would require that the land actually be transferred. He said the transfer had been approved by the Forest Service and the appeal period was now running. If the jurisdictions approved the proposal at this meeting, construction could begin early in July. The Planning Commission also wanted a landscape management overlay zone to be imposed on the property. The School District agreed and had provided that in all of the site plan reviews. He felt the primary issue left for consideration was why it was necessary for this particular 40 acres to be used. He said that Judy May, Sisters School District Superintendent, would go through the steps they followed in selecting this site, which was a critical element in satisfying the criteria imposed by the State for this urban area change. He said that Ron Barber, the architect, and Don Ayriss, the project manager, were also available to answer questions. Judy May, Sisters School District Superintendent, PO Box 99, Sisters, said before looking for a site for the new middle/high school, the School Board identified seven criteria which they felt were necessary to determine the appropriateness of that property: (1) they wanted it to be close enough to City so that the school could also function as a community center, (2) it should be close to the city center so that work-study partnerships could be developed for students, (3) they felt there should be direct access by an existing highway and a good secondary road, (4) the school function should be compatible with surrounding land uses, (5) the school should be visible to the community and seen as the "heart" of the community, (6) the school should be close to the city for security reasons, and (7) forty acres should be available to accommodate any future expansion. There were three sites initially identified which might meet these criteria. The Camp Polk Road site was determined not to be a suitable site by the Oregon Aeronautics Division due to its close proximity to the airport. The Lungren Mill site was also within the airport approach pattern. The third site was some property which Brooks Resources offered to the school district in 1982. It was located behind the property currently being considered. However in 1986, the School District sent a letter to Brooks Resources stating they would no longer exercise any claim on the property because they felt it was not conducive to the seven criteria points previously outlined. The Board then conducted an active search for property and two parcels of land within the Deschutes National Forest Service jurisdiction were found to meet the needed criteria (Section 9 - 40 acres east of Three Creeks Road and Section 5 - the proposed site). After the City Council reviewed the two sites, they indicated a preference for the McKenzie site under consideration at this hearing. Both pieces of property were close to town, gave the school district sufficient property to build a complete campus while providing the total Sister's community with a community center and room for expansion. Both were within walking or biking distance from town and work study businesses. The School Board then entered into negotiations with the Forest Service for the site, and on PAGE 4 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1652 December 9, 1990, the Board of Directors of Sisters School District unanimously approved the McKenzie Highway site. She said the school was designed to hold 600 students but would be expandable. They were very proud of the architecture for the school, and what it would offer to the community. Bill Reed, 15000 McKenzie Hwy, Sisters, testified in favor of the application. He was the father of three students that would attend this school and was the nearest adjacent land owner to the west. He had been in the real estate business in Sisters for approximately 20 years, and had been contacted by the School District when they were attempting to find a suitable site for the new school. He said it was extremely difficult to find any potential location for the school. He felt the school made the best decision out of the two site which were available and met the criteria. This site would satisfy the transportation goal in providing for the orderly growth of the community. There was access from the McKenzie Highway and there was a potential to get a secondary access north to the Santiam Highway. Since the site south of town would not have had this access potential, he felt the McKenzie site was the better site. His family was "wholeheartedly" in support of this high school and look forward to hearing the cheering crowds. Chairman Maudlin asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in opposition to this action. Betty Marquardt, PO Box 1138, Sisters, testified in opposition to the proposed siting of the school. She was against the amendment to the comprehensive plan to revise the urban growth boundary to encompass the proposed school site. She said that 75% of the property within the urban growth boundary had not been developed. The Sisters police department had only three officers and would be required to patrol the site which was outside the city limits. In 1983 the UGB was extended to include 40 acres of the industrial area to allow for a school. If that were the case, it should have been deleted before this new UGB extension was requested. Because the area was currently in a forest zone, schools were not an allowed use, therefore she did not want the area to be rezoned to UAR-10. She did not feel it was legal to rezone the parcel and then place a school on it. In all of the previous meetings, the discussion was to rezone the property to UAR-10 and now they were requesting to rezone it to Urban Standard Residential as indicated on the Burden of Proof. She requested that the previous meetings be held again with the correct zoning designation inserted. The LCDC had amended its definition of "necessary" for a proposal to build a house in a forest zone to be whether the proposed dwelling was necessary for forest management, and schools were not "necessary" for forest management. She asked that all applications be denied and that the area be reserved for a wayside park along the scenic McKenzie Highway. PAGE 5 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1653 There being no one else who wished to speak, Chairman Maudlin asked if there was any rebuttal testimony. Bob Lovlien requested to rebut Betty Marquardt's testimony. The reason that the School Board was requesting an amendment to the urban growth boundary and an exception to Goal 4 was because schools were not allowed on forest land. These changes would make the parcel usable for a school site. The original staff report did make reference strictly to the UAR-10, and the reason for doing that was the justification for a zone change to RS, standard density residential, would have put a much greater burden on the applicant. A series a calculations would have had to be done to justify adding residential property to the UGB which they did not feel was appropriate since the intention was to rezone for a school. The UAR-010 zone specifically identified schools as a conditional permitted use, and would be a conditional permitted use in all of the zones within the City of Sisters. The school district had consented to annexing this parcel to the City whenever the City Council so requested. Although there was other land within the UGB which was not developed, there was no other site within the UGB which was suitable for the school as described. They felt that the School District had been able to meet the criteria which the state and local governments had established, and asked that the County Commission and City Council approve the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Eric Dolson, 67665 Polk Creek Road, Sisters, chair of the Sisters Urban Area Comprehensive Planning Committee and the Deschutes County Planning Commission, testified that the Urban Area Comprehensive Planning Committee voted in favor of siting the school on this parcel. The Planning Commission dealt with the issue at length, and he felt the concerns expressed by Betty Marquardt had been addressed by the Planning Commission. They felt the school was very well suited for the McKenzie Highway site. It was close to town, and it provided immediate access to the community center and two of the major population areas of Tollgate and Crossroads. Since the McKenzie Highway would be closed during most of the school year, the school would provide better utilization of this highway. There being no one else who wished to testify, Chairman Maudlin closed the public hearing. Commissioner Throop said he was ready to make a decision on the applications. They had all reviewed the file from Planning Commission process and this hearing supported the information in that file and added to that record. Commissioner Schlangen said she was also ready to make a decision. Mayor David Moyer said he was ready to make a decision and asked if there were any comments from the rest of the Council members. PAGE 6 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1654 Councilor Petrie said he had some questions on the findings. Concerning PA-91-1/ZC-91-1, he felt that somewhere in these documents it should be detailed that this school would be expandable to 1,000 students at a future date so that planning for the future could take this potential demand on services into consideration. On page 5, it said there were approximately 180 high and middle school students enrolled at the present time. He felt the words "middle school" should be crossed out so that it would read "there were approximately 180 high school students." Judy May remarked from the audience that this was a correct change. At the bottom of page 5 it said the Sisters School District would provide a well for the use of the school that may be available to the city. Mr. Petrie felt the language should be changed to say the well would be available to the City. On page 7, it referred again to middle school students in the 180 student figure. It was determined that this change had already been made on the latest version of the document. On page 7 under (b) the word middle school was there erroneously. On the last paragraph of page 7, it stated that police protection would be provided by the City of Sisters. Mr. Petrie said he did not know if the City had ever been contacted regarding this, and said there was no commitment from the City to provide this service. He had a letter from the Department of Transportation indicating that with 300 students there would be 750 vehicles per day, and he felt these figures were incorrect. He had a letter from Judy May to Dale Allen, ODOT, which included estimates of trips for buses, students, teachers and parents which came to about 178 bus and car movements per day. He felt that most of the movement would be within a one-half hour period of time, and he thought something should be done about security. Sisters did not have the police facilities or manpower to handle the increased traffic which should be addressed in the findings. On page 9 at the bottom of the page, it referred to the costs of constructing the new high school and middle school being balanced by the elimination of tuition fees per student per year that must be paid to educate those students living in Sisters. He had understood that this tuition fee was to balance out the operating costs not the construction costs. Judy May said that was correct. Mr. Petrie said that somewhere in the documents there was a formula for the number of parking spaces needed which he thought was tied to the capacity of the school gymnasium. He felt it would be more appropriate to base the parking on the seating capacity of the football stadium which he thought would be a much larger number. Mayor Moyer clarified that on Page 7 of the same document it should state that fire protection would be provided by the Sisters/Camp Sherman Rural Fire District. Judy May said the bond issue was designed to build and construct a middle/high school for a maximum of 600 students. When the community was surveyed, they asked that the building be easily expandable for future growth. So on the site plan they indicated the capability of expanding to 1,000 students. However, before PAGE 7 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1655 that could be done, the School District would have to apply for a new site plan review. Councilor Petrie said he had no quarrel with what she was saying, but he felt if the expansion capability was there, it should be indicated in the documentation so that future community planners of water/sewer etc. could take this potential increase into consideration. Commissioner Throop asked if that issue was flagged anywhere in these documents. Barbara Warren said she was not aware of any place where this was indicated. Kevin Harrison said it was raised in one of the hearings before the Planning Commission, but since the application was for a school designed to house 600 students, the Planning Commission considered the application on that basis. Bob Lovlien said that the 1,000 student number would probably not be reached during the current planning period. Councilor Petrie said there were dotted lines on the site plans which indicted an extension on the buildings which should be taken off if that was the case. Bob Lovlien said that the dotted lines would be taken off the site plan. Commissioner Throop asked whether there had been any discussion with the City regarding police protection for the school. Mayor Moyer said police protection had been discussed with the School District. There was a mutual aid understanding between the City and the County that City officers would respond to this area if the county did not have someone available. Councilor Petrie indicated that the County Deputy Sheriffs would be the primary responders and that the City would back them up, and therefore requested that the language be changed. Commissioner Throop suggested as an alternative that the language be changed to "mutual aid police protection will be provided by the City of Sisters." Mr. Petrie felt it still represented a City obligation which was greater than had been agreed. Chairman Maudlin suggested the language be changed to say that Deschutes County would provide the police protection. Commissioner Throop asked about the traffic numbers which had been questioned by Mr. Petrie. Bob Lovlien said that this issue and the parking issue were discussed extensively in site plan review. Commissioner Throop asked Mr. Petrie if he felt that these issues could be dealt with during site plan review and the conditional use process rather than at this hearing. Mr. Petrie said yes, but he didn't feel they had been adequately dealt with. Bob Lovlien said they would have to meet all of the criteria for parking which was established in the urban area zoning ordinance in order to site the school. PAGE 8 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1656 Don Ayriss, Sisters School District, said that he had worked with Dale Allen regarding the traffic movements per day in the area. In the period of one working day, the total vehicle movements were estimated to be 248. Bob Lovlien said that on the issue of the well, the word may was inserted at his request because he thought the agreement read that the City could take over the well when and if they wanted, but that there was no obligation for them to do so. It would be the City's choice. Betty Marquardt stated that on the two pages of the printed application there was not a number of the school, and she recommended that a number be inserted. Commissioner Throop asked if anyone had any further changes or issues in the findings that needed to be changed by this proceeding. Cliff Clemens said that because of the increase in traffic, there might need to be a double line on the road. With the attraction of the llama ranch on the south side, people heading west would turn into the parking area on the south site. Commissioner Throop pointed out that the McKenzie Highway was a state highway and that as soon as the school was built, the Highway Division would automatically review it. Don Ayriss said he had met with Dale Allen, ODOT Senior Engineer for Region 4, regarding that question. Mr. Allen asked that in July 1992, the School District issue a letter of request for a speed limit investigation from the State Highway Division. There was usually an eight-week waiting period before they could conduct the survey, so the survey would be conducted after the school opened to include its impact on the highway. Then the Highway Division would determine the distance for the speed limit, what the speed limit would be, and would post a 20 mph limit while children were present. Councilor Petrie felt that if there were not enough parking spaces within the school boundaries for football games, people would parallel park along the highway at night, which he felt was a very dangerous situation. He reiterated that enough parking should be provided within the school grounds. Kevin Harrison said that parking requirements had been reviewed against the current language in the ordinance, and that the designed parking far exceeded the requirements of the ordinance. The Planning Commission could have increased the parking requirements had this issue been raised during their hearings. However these site plan review factors were not before the City Council and the County Commission this evening. PAGE 9 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1657 Eric Dolson said the Planning Commission reviewed the parking in light of the current ordinance and found that the parking provided met the obligation of the ordinance. The reserve parking was close to the football field and would be the most likely area for overflow parking so it should not overflow onto the highway. Commissioner Schlangen said there was a future parking site for over 160 cars designated on the plan right next to the football field. Mayor Moyer and Chairman Maudlin asked what the capacity of the gymnasium and the football stadium was. The gymnasium capacity was 1,000 and the football stadium was 600. THROOP: Mr. Chair, I would move approval of Resolution 91-043, a resolution which established the intent to (1) amend the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary to include this 40 acre parcel subject to these applications into the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary, (2) to adopt a plan amendment from Forest to Urban Area Reserve, and (3) to approve a zone change from F3 to UAR 10, and that this intent be contingent upon transfer of the land from the U.S. Forest Service, that there be a consent to annexation agreement with the City, that the landscape management zone as outlined by staff be included, and that our County decision be contingent upon the City decision, and upon a second, I have a little bit of discussion. SCHLANGEN: Second. Commissioner Throop said felt the UAR-10 zoning was the appropriate zone for the reasons the attorney for the applicant outlined and believed that the basic findings as outlined by the Deschutes County Planning Commission with a few changes should be adopted. Including that these applications are consistent with the Sisters Urban Area Comprehensive Plan as outlined in pages 3-6 in the basic findings, that the applications are consistent with the Deschutes County Year 2000 Comprehensive Plan as outlined on pages 6-3, that the applications meet the test for the reasons exceptions from Goals 2, 4, and 14 as outlined on pages 12-16, and that the applications satisfy the zone change criteria for the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary Ordinance as outlined on pages 6-18. He asked that the following changes be made: on page 5, line 2, would read, approximately 180 high and 120 middle school students; on page 5 subsection 6, second paragraph, line 2 would read, school that will also be available for City use; page 7, last paragraph, police protection will be provided by Deschutes County; page 9, last paragraph, Economic, the cost of operating the new high and middle school are balanced by the elimination of the tuition fee. PAGE 10 MINUTES: 5/28/91 0106 1658 VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES Councilor Petrie asked what had been decided about the potential for 1,000 students at the school appearing in the documents. Chairman Maudlin said that the dotted lines indicating this possible expansion were being eliminated. Mayor Moyer asked for a motion from the City Council. Councilor Petrie said that since Commissioner Throop had so much more experience in this area that the Council members, he suggested that the City Council use his motion except to put in the City of Sisters instead of Deschutes County where appropriate. Rick Isham said that would be adequate. PETRIE: I so move. HENNINGS: Second. VOTE: PETRIE: YES HUNKING: YES COOPER: YES HENNINGS: YES DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS , commis s i angen, Commissi ner Di61c Mfu' Alin, Chairman BOCC:alb PAGE 11 MINUTES: 5/28/91