1991-32102-Minutes for Meeting October 01,1991 Recorded 10/24/199101080011
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MINUTES"
SHIELDS PLAN AMENDMENT AND ZONE CHANGE PUBLIC HEARING`-��,
DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS w`r
October 1, 1991
Chairman Maudlin called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Board
members in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Nancy Pope
Schlangen. Also present was Kevin Harrison, Senior Planner.
Chairman Maudlin said this public hearing had been continued from
August 28, 1991, and asked the Commissioners about any ex parte
contacts they might have had concerning this hearing.
Commissioners Throop, Schlangen and Maudlin said they had hand
none.
Chairman Maudlin asked if there was anyone who wished to challenge
and member of .Board to hear this matter. Linda Crew of 51473
Hinkle in LaPine said she wanted to challenge the entire hearings
body for bias and prejudgment. As evidence of prejudgment and
bias, she mentioned incidents of August 30, 1991, and September 3,
1991. She said on the morning of August 30, 1991, she had a
conversation with Mark Mistro of Triple R Welding on Burgess Road
in Lapine. Mr. Mistro explained that he would be opening a
business in the red building at the pole yard off William Foss Road
in LaPine. He said he would be manufacturing utility trailers,
they would have a large paint booth, the business would be named
Sheltie Trailers, and he would be open for business on September 2,
1991. She and her neighbors were concerned that manufacturing
would require welding and the use of volatile chemicals in a paint
booth would create an extreme fire hazard since it would be next to
mounds of sawdust, poles, and above -ground fuel storage tanks.
Leon Shields' letter of June 24, 1991, stated that a careless
welder caused the fire at the post and pole business. She
contacted Patrick MacVicar on the August 30, 1991, and asked him
about the situation and he said he would look into the matter and
get back to her. Less than one hour later, Mr. Larry Rockenbrant,
County Inspector, called her and stated that he would have an
inspector on the site by that afternoon. At 4:06 p.m. on
September 3, she called Mr. Rockenbrant and asked about the
inspection. He said that no inspector was sent and that he was
sorry but his hands were tied. When she asked why, he said he had
contacted Glyn Scott, County Code Enforcement Officer, who in turn
contacted Kevin Harrison. Mr. Harrison reportedly stated that this
new business fell under the industrial umbrella. Mr. Rockenbrant
said that Lauren Lezell, planning staff, might be able to help and
tried to transfer her call. Mr. Rockenbrant got back on the line
and said, "I guess we won't find any help there. Lauren Lezell was
ordered to turn over anything to do with this case to Kevin
Harrison." This was further substantiated by a conversation she
had with Lauren Lezell in person on September 26, 1991, when Ms.
PAGE 1 MINUTES: 10/1/91 KtY}� C}{®M
0108 0012
Lezell said she had been ordered to turn over anything that may
have relevance to this application to Kevin Harrison. Ms. Crew
asked whether Mr. Harrison knew that the property in question was
still zoned RSC or that the conditional use enjoyed by the Shields
fell until Title 18 Article 18.100.020, Item O, lumber
manufacturing and wood processing, or that this new manufacturing
would fall under Article 18.100.030, item C, manufacture, repair,
rental, sales, servicing, storage of machinery, equipment, trailers
for manufactured homes. She felt Mr. Harrison knew a new
conditional use application would have to be submitted but ignored
it because he knew the application for rezoning to industrial would
be approved. She submitted her telephone bills to prove her calls
to Mr. Rockenbrant and advertising for Sheltie Custom Trailers
which Chairman Maudlin marked as A, B, and C.
Chairman Maudlin asked if Ms. Crew was challenging the entire Board
of Commissioners. Ms. Crew said that was correct.
Ms. Crew continued that the original hearing date for this
application was on October 2, 1990. The Shields requested a
continuance. When opponents appeared at the Planning Department to
ask if the continuance would be granted so that members of the
LaPine community would not have to make the 70 -mile round trip to
the hearing. They were told that a continuance could not be
granted until the commencement of the hearing, so they had better
show up. They all showed up at the hearing, however the Shields
and their attorney did not show up, so there must have been some
contact between the Shields and the Planning Department in which
the Shields were guaranteed their postponement. She said that
tonight's hearing was scheduled for August 28, 1991, and the
opponents requested a continuance. She said they were told by
Andrea Blum in the Commissioners Office that a continuance was not
definite until the original hearing date, and that they should
attend. Again, no representatives of the Shields attended, which
proved prior knowledge by the Shields of the Commissioners'
intention. She also wanted to challenge Commissioner Throop with
bias. Mr. Hap Davie had been an integral member of their committee
investigating this rezoning application and had discussed this
application with Mr. Throop on several occasions, plus Mr. Davie
and Mr. Throop had visited the site together. Since those
instances, Mr. Throop has had a personal, intense dislike for Mr.
Davie. Public proof of this was Mr. Throop's letters to the
Citizen newspaper published on August 20 and September 10, 1991,
indicating he thought Mr. Davie was "ridiculous and foolish." She
said that Mr. Throop had threatened Mr. Davie in public in front of
witness. She said Mr. Hap Davie said that "on April 2, 1991, in
the lobby of his office building in front of witnesses,
Commissioner Throop accused me unfairly of quoting him in the
Citizen. Later, in the hall after a hearing in the Juvenile
Justice Building, Commissioner Throop made this threat in front of
witnesses: 'Just wait 'till you come before the Board again and see
how far you get' or words to that effect. " Commissioner Throop had
PAGE 2 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0013
refused to answer Mr. Davie's letters or speak to him since that
time. She felt this was overwhelming evidence and that in
accordance with Section 22.24.1110 of the Deschutes County
Development Procedures Ordinance, the opponents requested that the
hearings body disqualify itself and withdraw.
Commissioner Throop said he had never heard of Mr. Mistro or
Sheltie Welding and had no knowledge of any of that series of
events Ms. Crew outlined. Since he had no knowledge of those
events, he had no reason to have developed a bias on that basis.
He said he also had no knowledge of any of the allegations
regarding certain parties being notified and other parties not
being notified of canceled meetings, and therefore this would not
bias him. Many years ago, maybe within the first six months he was
a Commissioner, he met with Mr. Davie who gave him a tour of some
of his concerns in the LaPine area including the Shields property.
It was not until years later that an application was filed, and
therefore did not bias him for this proceeding. He admitted that
"Hap Davie is one of the biggest jerks I've ever met in my life,
but the fact that he's going to be a witness here tonight and how
I feel about him is totally immaterial to any comments he may make
on the record this evening." He said he would consider Mr. DavieIs
testimony like anyone else who testified at this hearing. He said
Mr. Davie was one of his least favorite people who had attacked him
personally and his wife, but he would not hold that against him or
his testimony at this hearing. His personal feelings for Mr. Davie
would have nothing to do with his decision-making in this hearing.
He said it was an "absolute lie" that he had ever made any threats
to Mr. Davie in the office. He said he did not respond to Mr.
Davie at all and ignored him as if he didn't exist, however tonight
he would listen to his testimony and consider it. Therefore there
was no reason to disqualify himself on that basis either and would
sit as a decision -maker at this hearing.
Commissioner Schlangen said she had also never heard of Mr. Mistro
or Sheltie Custom Trailers before this hearing. She had not spoken
to Mr. Rockenbrant or Kevin Harrison concerning this matter except
for the packet of information prepared for the Board for this
hearing. She felt there was no reason why she shouldn't hear this
and felt she could be completely impartial.
Chairman Maudlin said that concerning the previous hearing which
was held on August 28, 1991, that he had instructed Ms. Blum to
call people in LaPine to let them know there was no need to come to
the hearing because it was going to be postponed, and he was there
when calls were made. Since only four people showed up at the
hearing, most of the people must have gotten the word. The
allegations made were about events that the Board had no knowledge
of and, therefore, did not bias them.
Chairman Maudlin opened the public hearing for testimony and asked
for a staff report.
PAGE 3 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0014
Kevin Harrison pointed out the criteria which were relevant. He
said this application was reviewable under Oregon Administrative
Rules Chapter 660 Division 4 of the interpretation of the Goal 2
exception process, Deschutes County Year 2000 Comprehensive Plan
(particularly the Rural Development section). He reminded the
Board that this application was about one year old, and therefore
all of the references in the staff report and the Hearings
Officer's recommendation were to PL -15 which had been codified into
Title 18 this last summer. The criteria were exactly the same but
the numbering system was different, so the applicable sections of
PL -15 which were applicable when the staff report was written were:
Section 4.220, Rural Industrial Zone; Section 10.025, Rezoning
Standards; and Section 4.250, Limited Use Combining Zone. The
applicants were requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan
to change the designation from Commercial to Limited Rural
Industrial and a zone change from RSC to RI on approximately 15
acres located in the LaPine Rural Service Center. The request
involved an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 14, the
urbanization goal, and it was reviewed by the Hearings Officer on
June 18, 1991. A written recommendation was issued on July 19,
1991, approving the requested amendments with the imposition of the
limited use combining zone on tax lots 1600 and 1700 to restrict
the use of those properties to "very light industrial with
significant buffering between those uses and the residential and
commercial properties to the south." The issues before the Board
were: Do the properties fall within one of the exceptions detailed
under ORS 197.732. Do the applications conform with the criteria
for a zone change. If the properties qualify for the amendments,
should the limited use combining zone be imposed, and if so, what
uses should be allowed. The Hearings Officer found in the
affirmative for all three of these questions. Staff supported the
Hearings Officer's findings. If the Board agreed with the Hearings
Officer, they needed to specify the uses permitted in the limited
use combining zone. He provided pictures that were submitted to
the Hearings Officer which were examples of the subject property
and the surrounding area. He introduced into the record a letter
which was received September 26, 1991, from Mary Fuqua which was in
opposition to the proposed amendments. He said he was at a loss as
to the allegations about the custom welding trailer shop. He said
he was not working on any other applications in the LaPine area and
was not aware of any application in this area. He didn't recall
any conversation with Larry Rockenbrant, Lauren Lezell or Glyn
Scott regarding a change of use or a new use in this particular
area.
Chairman Maudlin said that there was an extensive written record on
this issue which the Board had already read so he asked that
testimony be limited to five minutes except for testimony from the
attorney for the applicants and testimony from the primary
opponents. Chairman Maudlin asked for testimony from the
applicants first.
PAGE 4 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0015
Bob Lovlien, attorney for the applicants, pointed out that his
clients had no knowledge of Sheltie Trailer or Mr. Mistro. His
clients requested a continuance of the original October hearing.
However, for the convenience of the opposition his clients also
consented to a continuance until June, 1991, to facilitate people
who were not in the area during the winter months. He received the
phone call which Commissioner Maudlin referred to earlier,
indicating the continuance of the August 28, 1991, hearing. His
applicants supported the recommendation of the Hearings Officer and
the staff. They supported the notion of a limited use combining
zone for those two tax lots. He said the Hearings Officer visited
the property and then held a full and complete hearing on the
matter. Since the Board had already had the opportunity to review
all of the exhibits and the previous testimony and recommendations,
they didn't intend to rehash everything that had already been said.
He pointed out that the Shields were one of his first clients when
he came to the Bend, and he had worked for them since 1974. He
said Sylvia Shields had been working on this zone change for close
to ten years by trying to convince staff that there had been a
mistake made in the original zoning. The testimony of Kay Nelson,
who was a planning commissioner at the time the Comprehensive Plan
was adopted, bore out what she was trying to prove. The first
issue was whether the property fell within one of the exceptions to
the statewide planning goals. He felt his letter of June 27, 1991,
and Mr. Fitch's report addressed that. The second was, do the
applications conform with the criteria for the zone change. Mr.
Fitch found that the testimony of Kay Nelson was persuasive on the
issue of whether a mistake had been made. The third issue was, if
approved, should the limited use combining zone be appropriate on
all or a portion of the property. He said the property was in the
middle of the LaPine exceptions area so they were not requesting to
add to or expand the exception area. They felt it was irrevocably
committed to development and was at the time the Comprehensive Plan
was adopted. The Hearings Officer found there was substantial
evidence in the record to indicated that tax lots 1000, 1400 and
1500 were committed to industrial development at the time of the
adoption of the Comprehensive Plan and were irrevocably committed
to industrial development. It was impractical that the subject
properties would be used for residential and/or commercial use.
There was commercial activity on William Foss Road, on Highway 97
and this property was isolated from both Foss Road and Highway 97.
The property has access through Shields Road or a BLM road which
was a public access and was surrounded by industrial property. The
Hearings Officer proposed a limited use combining zone on the two
tax lots that abutted the commercially zoned property on William
Foss Road for a buffer, and they had no problem with that. The
Hearings Officer also recognized there were two things that were
still in existence to protect the surrounding owners. The
applicants would still have to get site plan approval for any
industrial use on the property, and those uses would be subject to
the limited use combining zone. Issues of buffering, fencing, set
backs, landscaping, etc. were reviewed during site plan. He felt
PAGE 5 MINUTES: 10/1/91
I's
I - .
Mr. Fitch was strong in his findings on the zone criteria also,
stating there was substantial evidence to support the conclusion
that a mistake was made on the zoning. Mr. Lovlien said he felt
they had proven the elements of the zone change and exceptions
which were required and that they concurred with the approach taken
by the Hearings Officer in imposing the limited use combining zone
in response to the concerns of the neighbors.
Chairman Maudlin said he was aware there was animosity among the
parties and asked that the testimony be limited to the facts and
not personalities.
Sylvia Shields, applicant, P.O. Box 66, LaPine, testified that she
knew nothing about the welding/manufacturing business in their
shop. The tenant who had leased that property was at this hearing
and could testify regarding any business on this property. She
felt strongly that since their property had been used as industrial
property for many, many years, that the zone should be put back to
industrial. If this application was approved, she knew there would
be restrictions. She said they would then be able to proceed to do
the things that needed to be done to keep the industrial property
looking the way it should. At the present time, they couldn't put
money into the property because they might be told they couldn't
use the property for industrial purposes. They wanted to put up a
sight -obscuring fence but they didn't know if they would be able to
continue to use the land as industrial land. Chairman Maudlin
asked if the property where the supposed welding business was
located was leased. Sylvia Shields said yes and it had been a
long-standing business since the early 701s.
Marvin Russell, 51636 Huntington Rd., LaPine, testified in favor of
the application. He said LaPine had "growing pains" and they
needed industry to provide jobs for the young people. The retired
population was not enough. He felt that a fence along the south
side of the property could take care of a lot of the problems.
Marilyn Russell, 51636 Huntington Road, LaPine, wanted to clarify
some of the testimony before the Hearings Officer and in the
newspaper. Hap Davie wrote a letter to the Citizen stating that
Kay Nelson was not a member of the Planning Commission but was only
on the Citizens Advisory Committee. Ms. Russell said that was not
true since she was the one on the advisory committee. She said
that Linda Crew said before the Hearings Officer that William Foss
Road was not made for trucks but was a residential road. That was
not true because in 1956 there was a mill out there on the spur of
the railroad called the LaPine Stud Mill, and she was their
bookkeeper. The County improved the road at that time for the
trucks going into that mill. She felt that the people who lived in
the area year round should have more to say than the people who
come up just for vacations.
PAGE 6 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 001'7
Mark Rhoden, 1620 SW 33rd, Redmond, testified that he had worked
for the prior owner of his business who had someone in the shop who
did welding. When he took over the business, none of them knew how
to weld even though welding was essential to be able to fix the
machinery. So they hired a man to do their welding whenever they
broke down. Another man came with him who was being paid by the
state to learn how to weld. They asked him if they could build
trailers in his shop, and he didn't think there would be anything
wrong with that. He said his shop was clean inside and there was
nothing flammable. They hadn't done much so far and weren't
energetic types. Nothing had been done to the trailer they were
working on for the last month.
Chairman Maudlin asked which tax lot held his business and what
kind of business it was. Mr. Rhoden said tax lot 1000. His
business was a post peeler mill and the welder was more like a
contract employee that only worked when there were breakdowns.
Chairman Maudlin asked if there was a sign on his business which
advertised Sheltie Trailers. Mr. Rhoden said no, and that he
hadn't seen the advertising in the papers. He also wanted to
address the "mess" on County land. He said that when he first went
to work there, all of the "mess" was already there. They had
started cleaning it up the day they took over the business and
planned to move everything over to John Humphreys. He asked Craig
Woodward, the previous owner, if they could use some of his dump
truck to remove the material. He agreed and the trucks should be
available in a couple of weeks. Commissioner Throop asked whether
after it was cleaned up, there would be anything left on County
property. Mr. Rhoden said there would be nothing there but bare
ground. Commissioner Throop asked for a time frame. Mr. Rhoden
estimated it would be finished within one month. Commissioner
Throop said that on the outside it could take two months and Mr.
Rhoden agreed.
Chairman Maudlin asked for testimony from the opponents.
Linda Crew, 51473 Kindle, LaPine, offered into evidence a packet of
opposition letters. She said they had looked through the record
and had been unable to find them so she was submitting them again.
She said the first issue she wanted to discuss was on page 10 of
the Hearings Officer's under zone change criteria. She said the
Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan had not identified any other
industrial area than the limited rural industrial reserve. To
prove that a mistake was not made in present zoning, she referred
to a minor land partition document dated June 25, 1980 (MP -80-47).
The partitioner was Herbert Shields and the zoning was clearly
shown as RSC. She also referred to a proponent's letter received
by the Deschutes County Planning Department on September 14, 1990,
from Herbert, Sylvia, Leon, Kitty, and Mike Shields stating in the
second paragraph, that in 1981 without notifying them, the County
changed the zone to Commercial. She next referred to a letter to
the Deschutes County Planning Department dated June 24, 1991, from
PAGE 7 MINUTES: 10/1/91
Leon Shields which said that the zoning was changed without any
notice to him. Ms. Crew asserted that the zoning was made apparent
to the Shields eleven years ago on the minor partition map. She
next referred to an affidavit of a conversation she had with George
Read, the Planning Director, on July 22, 1991, in which Mr. Read
acknowledges hearing the original tapes of the Deschutes County
Comprehensive Plan Year 2000 zoning assignment. She said Mr. Read
remembered that Sylvia Shields asked that her property be zoned
commercial. She referred to staff report on file PA -91-5 and ZC-
91-3 of August 20, 1991, page 9 section 5. The applicant was Robin
Ray. It stated, "This position is reinforced by the fact that the
zoning has been in place since 1979 without action of the owner to
change it and if the preceding is true, then no error can be
claimed in the adoption of current zoning." She said the Shields
were aware of the RSC zoning, and they requested commercial zoning.
The Hearings Officer said that the plan acknowledged there was an
existing industrial area north of William Foss Road which had been
zoned industrial, and she felt it was "presumptuous" of the
Hearings Officer to claim that the Shields' property was what the
Planning Commission was referring to in 1979. She said there were
no available commercial lots on William Foss Road. The Hearings
Officer indicated there were multiple accesses to the property from
William Foss Road. She said the only access was from a narrow BLM
easement across from Hinkle Way. Title 18 of the Deschutes County
Zoning Ordinance 18.100.040 said that no use would be permitted
that generated more than 20 auto or truck trips during the busiest
hour of the day to and from the premises unless they were directly
by an arterial or collector or other improved street or road
designated to serve the industrial use which does not pass through
or adjacent to residential lots in a platted subdivision or a
residential zone. Any use on a lot adjacent to or across the
street from a residential dwelling, a lot in a platted subdivision,
or a residential zone shall not emit odor, dust, fumes, glare,
flashing lights, noise, or similar disturbances perceptible without
instruments more than 200 feet in the direction of the affected
residential use or lot. She said it continued that no use could
require the backing of traffic onto a public or private street or
road right of way. She referred to pictures in the file of trucks
entering and exiting the BLM easement to Shields' property as
examples of the significant amount of dust, fumes and noise.
Marvene Foster, Box 125, Christmas Valley, Oregon, testified that
she was a friend of Chuck and Linda Crew. She said she was a
frequent visitor to their residence on the corner of William Foss
and Hinkle Way. On numerous occasions she had witnessed semi
trucks entering or leaving the BLM easement. Since the road was
narrow, some of the trucks could not make the corner and had to
back up. There was a lot of traffic, dust, noise and fumes which
made the area unpleasant.
Linda Crew continued with here testimony. She felt it was apparent
according to Title 18 that the BLM easement was not a legal access
PAGE 8 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0019
for industrial use. The 20-30 people the proponents say they have
employed on the property constituted many more than the allowed 60
vehicle trip in addition to the industrial truck traffic. She
played a video of the site which was recorded on a nonworking day.
The property was unsightly however there was no irrevocable use
that could be claimed since with the exception of one large red
building, everything else on the property could be cleaned up by a
bulldozer. There was no substantial investment in the property,
and it could be used for other purposes. She said there was
another access easement besides the BLM easement, however she
submitted a warranty deed from Daisy Flessner granting an easement
for private residential use only.
Darrel 0. Lunda, PO Box 755, LaPine, submitted the following
exhibits: Opposition CS1, 5 pages and dated June 18, 1991;
Opposition CS2, 9 pages, dated September 12, 1991; Opposition CS3,
10 pages dated June 23, 1980; and Opposition CS4, 7 pages dated
June 25, 1991. He referred to his June 19, 1991, mailgram to Ed
Fitch stating he didn't request a continuance because the applicant
didn't address OAR 660-04-020. He requested there be a continuance
if the applicant submitted arguments relevant to this statute. In
his July 1, 1991, mailgram to Ed Fitch, he indicated that Bob
Lovl ien' s letter of June 27, 19 91, was too late for an adequate
response, and that it contained new arguments and evidence. He
requested a continuation of the hearing. In his September 26,
1991, mailgram to Dick Maudlin, he made two requests and referred
to junk trucks and added trash on county land and said that
Chairman Maudlin was responsible for protecting public property.
He asked if Chairman Maudlin had received the mailgram and if he
had granted his requests. Chairman Maudlin said he had not
considered these issues or spoken to anyone regarding these matters
because it was part of the issues before the Board at this hearing.
Mr. Lunda then read Exhibits CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS4 into the record
for this application.
Hap Davie, Box 401, LaPine, testified that three or four years ago
he was in Europe and had only been home for 2-1/2 years. On Friday
July 20, 1990, he met with Commissioner Throop in LaPine and drove
around and through the Shields property noting numerous violations
outlined in Exhibit GG in the record on this application.
Linda Crew testified again stating that this property was "land
locked" and the County should build a road from Reed Road to access
the Shields property. A lot of the problems with the neighbors
were because of the dust, noise, pollution of the trucks in the
residential areas. She still did not feel, however, that the
parcels should be zoned industrial because it was too close to the
residential areas. They would like to keep LaPine neat and clean
since it was the "gateway" to the Newberry National Monument, and
this property was visible from Highway 97. She said her property
was zoned residential and was directly across the street from the
BLM easement. Commissioner Throop asked where a road across County
PAGE 9 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0020
property would be most appropriate. There was general discussion
among the parties on possible routes. She said she did not have an
objection to TL 1000 being light industrial, however it was not
appropriate in the lots in close proximity to residential areas.
Chairman Maudlin asked for rebuttal testimony.
Bob Lovlien said this hearing had given the opponents a second
opportunity to address each of the issues and they had presented
additional new evidence, therefore any issues on procedure were
unfounded. The purpose of the application was to enable them to
get the property zoned so that it could be utilized. He felt that
because there were no commercial uses on William Foss Road, it
showed there was no demand or need for any commercial property.
Mrs. Shields had been attempting to get this property zoned
industrial for several years so they could proceed. He said there
was additional access to the property other than the BLM access
road. There was a 30 -foot cinder road easement on the west which
was known as Shields Road and came off Reed Road which had access
to Highway 97. Daisy Flessner, who was Sylvia Shields grandmother,
granted additional right-of-way to the State Highway Division. The
access permits off Highway 97 were restricted to residential uses
but the access from Reed Road did not have such a restriction. He
felt the road and the issues brought up by the opponents were site
plan issues. When the Shields came to the County with a particular
use, all of these issues would have to be resolved. He said all of
the material Mr. Lunda read was already in the file and had been
reviewed by the Hearings Officer. He said Sylvia Shields was not
an "outlaw." She was president of the LaPine Chamber of Commerce
and had been active in the community. Commissioner Throop asked
him about the BLM access. Bob Lovlien said there was a 1980 letter
from BLM which documented the public use status of the road
providing access to tax lot 1000. Commissioner Throop said there
had been prior conditions imposed on this site and asked if he had
any judgement on compliance with those conditions. Bob Lovlien
said that many of those conditions were not imposed on the Shields
but on the users of the property. They recollected that the fence
was never a condition of approval but was a voluntary effort on
their part. He said there hadn't been very many uses on the
property and most predated zoning, so there had been only one site
plan that had ever been filed on uses on that property.
Commissioner Throop asked if he felt there had never been any
violations of conditions by the Shields. Bob Lovlien said he would
not go that far but would say that there had not been a "willful"
violation of any conditions, and there were no major conditions
that had not been followed. He recollected there was a condition
about paving a parking lot not an access road for one of the prior
lessees which did not carry over to a current lessee when there was
a change of use. He felt that a fence could be a condition of
approval for any uses that went on the property. There were
currently no proposals for site plans, however they had talked to
people who were interested in the property. He said Sylvia Shields
PAGE 10 MINUTES: 10/1/91
0108 0021
indicated that a fence as a condition of the zone change would be
fine. The equipment that was being stored on the site would have
to be removed in order for the Shields to advertise the property
for industrial uses. They would be willing to do some clean up as
a condition of the zone change. Commissioner Throop asked him if
all of the uses on the site were legal uses. Bob Lovlien said that
"to the best of my knowledge, yes they are." He said this issue
had been litigated in circuit court, and the judge held in favor of
the Shields. Commissioner Throop asked if the applicant would be
interested in looking at siting a new access off Reed Road if the
County were willing to grant an easement. Bob Lovlien said "no
question" they would be willing to examine alternative accesses.
Donna Reed, 50750 Masten Road, Lapine testified that the logs Mr.
Davie referred to as being on the Shields property were actually on
her property. She said that Mr. Davie had testified that her
husband "Bob" had used influence to get a letter from Midstate,
however her husband knew nothing about it, and the letter was from
Central Electric. She had lived in this area since 1956 and so had
the Shields. She had no problem with the dust. She did take
exception, however, to putting a road across to Reed Road which
would bring the traffic her way. Since Reed Road was not a paved
road, she felt that would be inappropriate unless the County was
going to pave it.
Marvin Russell testified said the Shields property did have a saw
mill in 1939 and part of 1941. He felt Reed Road should be paved
and there should be a crossing on the railroad tracks that would
take the truck traffic out of the center of LaPine and put it into
the County industrial park.
Kitty Shields, 51540 Shields Drive (PO Box 931) LaPine, testified
that she lived on the property adjacent to the property in
question. She also felt that most all the problems should be
alleviated with the proper access. She had lived in different
parts of LaPine where she had the same dust problems. If the
trucks could come into the property from a different location, the
Lundas and Crews wouldn't even hear the trucks. When her husband
drove into their yard in a tractor/trailer rig, she would not hear
him until he walked in the door. What she did hear was Highway 97
traffic and trains. She didn't feel there were any health hazards
from living in this area. She couldn't hear the pole peeler unless
she walked over into the vicinity of the peeler nor did she see any
dust. Responding to a question regarding the site of an
alternative road, she deferred to her mother. There was discussion
about possible accesses to the property.
Leon Shields said that most of the truck traffic came across the
railroad on Finley Butte Road, then through Hinkle Road. Most used
the William Foss Road because it didn't make any sense to do
otherwise. He suggested a road along the railroad tracks to
William Foss Road. A number of possible routes was discussed.
PAGE 11 MINUTES: 10/1/91
Commissioner Throop pointed out that the County would not be in a
position to pave Reed Road in the near future.
Linda Crew reiterated to the Commission that William Foss Road
could not be used for an industrial road according to Title 18 the
Deschutes County Zoning Ordinance (Article 18.100.040 under use
limitations) which stated that industrial streets could not pass
through streets adjacent to residential lots or a residential zone.
The BLM easement required the backing of traffic onto a public or
private street or right of way which was also not allowed on a
residential street. She referred to a Community Development
Department letter of May 5, 1988, from Craig Smith to Velda Lunda
in which it stated that "Mr. Shields was advised that the upkeep
and repair of the fence is indeed his responsibility." "Mr.
Shields had been advised to repair the others in a timely and
workman like manner." Also under SP 87-1, the Shields were ordered
to put in a paved parking lot which was never done. She based this
upon a State Corporation Division statement that there were no
corporations listed under the name of Great American Wood and
Charcoal. When the Planning Department was contacted, they were
told that Great American Wood and Charcoal was the applicant for SP
87-1. Since this company did not exist, they questioned the
Planning Department and were told "we don't really issue a permit
to a company, we issue it to a property owner." Therefore, she
understood the Shields were responsible for paving the parking
area.
Chairman Maudlin asked who had given her that information, and she
said she had talked with Kevin Harrison about it and also Mr. Ed
Fitch at the hearing. Chairman Maudlin asked if Ms. Crew had a
copy of a letter to the Shields indicating the fence was their
responsibility. Ms. Crew said the May 5, 1988, letter from Craig
Smith indicated that someone from the Planning Department had
spoken with Mr. Shields. It said, "Mr. Shields has been advised to
repair the others in a timely and workman like manner." "Mr.
Shields was advised that the upkeep and repair of the fence is
indeed his responsibility." She brought up again the issue of
oder, dust, fumes, and noise perceptible without instruments 500
feet from the property line. She said that her property, Lundas,
Johnson, Vedidoes, and Sealys were all within 500 feet from the
Shields' property line. She felt that a six-foot fence would not
be sight obscuring in this situation and would not be acceptable to
the neighborhood. She suggested a minimum of a ten -foot fence.
Commissioner Throop asked Bob Lovlien to respond to the allegation
that the fence was the responsibility of the Shields rather than
the tenant. Bob Lovlien said to the best of his knowledge, there
was never a requirement imposed by the County that the fence be
built. It was built voluntarily by the Shields. After it was
built, Mr. Lovlien felt it was their obligation to maintain it. He
said there had been a lease with the Great American Charcoal
Company, and he thought it was a California Corporation which would
PAGE 12 MINUTES: 10/1/91
explain why the Oregon State Corporations Division did not have it
listed. Commissioner Throop asked Mr. Lovlien to get a copy of the
lease to the Board and assert that the paving responsibility was
Great American's and not the underlying property owner.
Commissioner Throop then asked if there was anyone in attendance
who could prove that the fence was a condition of some approval for
the Shields.
Leon Shields said that the fence was on his property and there had
never been a site plan on it. He put the fence up on his own and
the County never requested it. The fence eventually started
rotting and falling over, so he finally gave up on it and started
tearing it down. He never finished tearing it down because he ran
out of time. They would like to put up a fence with metal posts
that wouldn't rot off. Commissioner Throop asked what his reaction
would be to a fence that would exceed six feet in height which
would require it to be engineered. Leon Shields said he didn't
"think anything would make these people happy, but we can do that
and try anyway."
Mr. Lunda said Leon Shields had admitted that his property was tax
lot 1700 and that it had no industrial history.
Chairman Maudlin said that wasn't the case and that Mr. Shields had
only said there had not been a file made on it.
Mr. Lunda reiterated that Tax Lots 1600 and 1700 had no industrial
history. He suggested that the Commission investigate who the
recipient of a site plan permit was ---the applicant or the land
owner.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Maudlin closed the
public hearing and announced that the Board would make their
decision on this issue at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, in the
Board's Conference Room in the Deschutes County Administration
Building. He explained that no further written or oral would be
accepted,but that everyone was welcome to attend the meeting on the
9th.
DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
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PAGE 13 MINUTES: 10/1/91