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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-09-22 - Planning Commission MinutesCommunity Development Department Planning Division Building Safety Division Environmental Health Division 117 NW Lafayette Avenue Bend Oregon 97701-1925 (541)388-6575 FAX (541)385-1764 http://www.co.deschutes.or.us/cdd/ MINUTES DESCHUTES COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION LA PINE SENIOR CENTER 16450 VICTORY WAY LA PINE, OR 97739 SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 — 6:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Merle Irvine. Members present were Vice Chair Chris Brown, Ed Criss, Todd Turner, James Powell, Richard Klyce and Bill Rainey. Staff present were Tom Anderson, CDD Director; Nick Lelack, Planning Director; Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner; Terri Payne, Senior Planner; and Sher Buckner, Administrative Secretary. 11. PUBLIC COMMENTS Tony Aceti spoke about the priority of Deschutes Junction in the Action Plan. He feels this is the bulls eye for Deschutes County Transportation. Tumalo Road has been upgraded from a collector to a rural arterial, which is changing it to more of an urban use. That area is readily being impacted with the overpass, etc., and the landowners are uncertain as to what is going to happen there, so a master plan will let them know about their future livelihoods. Vic Russell testified that he is concerned about the New Neighborhoods in conjunction with the TDC's, now pollution reduction credits. The liability is a huge hindrance in the development of this neighborhood. He would like to see what can be done, especially with the present economy. Doug White said that he wanted to provide input on the Action Plan. He submitted changes and comments. He and his wife own property up the river from the City of Bend. He spoke about Goal 12 and the TSP. The inventory of Goal 5 resources should commence first. There should be a strategic approach to this, identifying areas that need to be urgently addressed. He tried to clarify the Action Plan a bit. Quality Services Performed with Pride III. WORK SESSION/PUBLIC COMMENTS: Work Program to Create South County Plan - Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner (2 hours). Terri presented a PowerPoint with information about Oregon land use law and the 19 Statewide Planning Goals. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted August 10 and will be effective November 9. There will be a draft scope of work available at the October 27 Planning Commission meeting. Public Comments: Karen Duncan submitted written testimony. Jay Duncan said that he does not know how long the process will take, but we are at square one right now and there is no big rush. Perhaps one meeting a month would give the residents the best opportunity to be involved. Perhaps we can look at questions that have come up at other meetings. We need some bending of the rules in the area to help meet the unique circumstances here. We do not need an outside facilitator, and hopefully this time people will be heard. One initial step might be for those who will finalize this to consider it like buying a new car and work together to resolve issues. Wendell Evers felt that South County is totally different than the rest of the County with its wildlife, federal land, reservoirs and lakes. We need a committee that can be worked with to represent South County. Bob Baggett came up with a list for the groundwater issues and perhaps we can come up with a new list of folks that know this area well. One of his major concerns is overbuilding. They don't want any big corporations to come in and put 900 homes on 600 acres. What happens to the water and everything else? He does not want a referendum on building. We need real consideration through a committee to decide what residents want. Judy Forsythe submitted written testimony. Robert Ray spoke about Goal 11 exceptions near Three Rivers. This is one of the most densely populated areas, and it needs to be looked at for other options than ATT systems. We need to bypass the Goal 11 exception and move forward quickly as rural unincorporated communities. He would also like to see this in the Day Road/Burgess Road area. Regarding Goal 8, he is afraid they will be prohibited from using the river as it goes through Sunriver. There should be a river trail established all the way to Bend. Robert Sharbaugh felt that we are here because of past County actions that platted this area a long time ago. He lives in Wild River, and the Local Rule required everyone to retrofit with an ATT system. A DEQ hydrologist recently declared that there is no possible way those areas can cause contamination. He would like to see any lot that pays taxes to the County have a contract that prioritizes the owner's property rights as having a buildable, platted lot. An owner who pays a lot of fees should not have something denied at the 11`" hour because of a County designation. How do we develop these lots for people who pay their taxes and give them a fair shake. He would like to see small destination resorts and economic growth opportunities. If we start this process now, the snowbirds will not be able to participate during the winter, and we may want to extend the process until these folks return in the spring. 2 John Wurst said he is on the Parks and Rec Board and would like to know if they could combine their efforts with this process and save tax dollars. Ted Scholer asked about the Regional Problem Solving process. He would like to throw every bit of that information out the door. That process was used by staff for a nitrates study system and the information was rife with mistakes. During a realtors' seminar in Bend, a staff member mentioned that there was great drinking water. He would like to see this brought out. This staff member also said there never were any plumes, just some wells that were too close to drainfields. He feels the maps are in error and need to be corrected. Ellen Currie said she was new to the area, and she and her husband bought a lot here because they were looking for a special kind of place. They moved here from Ohio because this area is very special. They built their house about six years ago, and she can go out her front door and hear the river, the wind blowing, smell the fresh air, and those are unique assets that she hopes will be kept in mind during the planning process. They have very little light pollution where they live. They have a wonderful wildlife habitat. She understands there are issues that need to be addressed too — we need to bring jobs to the area so people can raise their families here. But we have empty houses because there are no jobs and people have had to move away. She encourages community involvement and sometimes people do not meet in large groups. Parents and senior citizens need to be involved, school bus drivers, community service groups, etc. She can drive to Bend for shopping, live music, music, and she and others value the South County community for its values. Pam Cosmo said she used to live in South Tahoe and experienced their planning process in which they attempted to keep up with Aspen. They ran out of money for projects and ruined the town with unfinished development. She hopes we do not get carried away with all of this talk about how great everything is going to be and make huge plans with no financing. We may need small stores for the far-flung homeowners so they do not have to drive as far. We may need planning for natural disasters. We may need more senior housing. She would like to see a focus on people who live here, rather than trying to get others to move to the area. IV. WORK SESSION: Overview of Draft Action Plan to Implement Comprehensive Plan - Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner. Terri and Commissioner Turner discussed the Planning Commissioners submitting their questions now. Terri and Vice Chair Brown discussed landfills in Section 3.11. Chair Irvine asked if this represents the majority of the action items or whether some were removed. Terri said when we did the first draft, it was quite a bit more complicated with too many options, some of which had been morphed into policies, so we did streamline it. But the majority are included. Staff will be coming back to the October 27 meeting with a revised version after we get comments. Commissioner Powell asked about prioritizations, and Terri said these will be incorporated into our annual work plan. Those items will be the ones we try to get to first. Dave Gillette asked if anyone had brought up having COCC classes in La Pine. Kids here have to travel all the way to Bend, and Madras and Prineville have classes. 3 V. PLANNING COMMISSION & STAFF COMMENTS. Nick mentioned that he, Peter and Terri recently attended the Oregon Planning Institute and spoke about guidelines about the public planning process. He also submitted a revised draft schedule for upcoming meetings. DLCD is going to be approving their next work plan in early October. One of the items is to initiate implementation of HB2229 with one County which is to implement the Big Look. We would go back and correct errors in the designations of farm and forest lands or change them if the conditions have changed. The County would be Deschutes County and we will provide information to help them move forward. Commissioner Turner asked about the structure of the meeting on October 13 and what information would be provided. Nick said he had asked the Board to identify the goals for the text amendments with the Planning Commissioners. Commissioner Klyce mentioned a proposal to designate portions of Wychus Creek as a wilderness area, put forth by ONDA. There was a survey taken of the residents of Crooked River Ranch. Of 658 votes, 53 didn't care, 173 would support it, and 432 would not support a wilderness designation. The Fire Board and Homeowners' Association will provide letters to both counties. VI. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Sher Buckner Administrative Secretary