HomeMy WebLinkAboutDoc 592 - Downs Events DecisionDeschutes County Board of Commissioners
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AGENDA REQUEST & STAFF REPORT
For Board Business Meeting of October 10, 2012
Please see directions for completing this document on the next page.
DATE: October 8, 2012
FROM: Paul Blikstad Department CDD Phone # 6554
TITLE OF AGENDA ITEM:
Discussion and possible approval Document No. 2012-592, the Board's decision on a Type 2 Limited
Use Permit for six commercial events and activities (weddings) in the Exclusive Farm Use Zone (EFU)
(file no. LUP-12-2).
PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS DATE? No
BACKGROUND AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS:
The Board held a public hearing on this Type 2 Limited Use Permit application, file no. 12-2, on
August 29,2012. The written record closed on September 26. The Board deliberated and unanimously
directed staffto prepare a decision to approve the application on Wednesday, October 3, 2012, with
additional findings demonstrating how the application complies with County Code, subject to final
review.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The cost of the Board's review and decision on this application.
RECOMMENDATION & ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff recommends approval of the decision subject to the Board's final review and revisions. Board
action to approve this decision as proposed or as revised by the Board is requested.
ATTENDANCE: Nick Lelack, Paul Blikstad,
DISTRIBUTION OF DOCUMENTS:
Planning Division staff will send notice to all parties of the Board's decision on LUP-12-2.
1 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
For Recording Stamp Only
DECISION OF THE DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
FILE NUMBER: LUP-12-2
APPLICANT/OWNER: Kerry and Deborah Downs
24885 Dodds Road
Bend, OR 97701
REQUEST: The applicant is requesting a Type 2 Limited Use Permit for a
commercial events or activities facility on a 39.83-acre parcel in
the Exclusive Farm Use zone.
STAFF PERSONS: Nick Lelack, Planning Director; Paul Blikstad, Senior Planner
I. APPLICABLE CRITERIA:
Title 18, Deschutes County Zoning Ordinance
Chapter 18.16, Exclusive Farm Use Zone
Title 22, Deschutes County Development Procedures Ordinance
Oregon Revised Statutes 215.296
II. BASIC FINDINGS:
The Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) adopts the Staff’s findings, incorporated by
reference herein, except as amended below.
H. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Board adopts the Staff’s findings and adds the following:
Written comments were received during the initial comment period prior to the
administrative decision by the Planning Division. Additional written comments were
received during the public hearing process with the Board of County Commissioners
(“Board”). All written comments are incorporated into the record herein by reference.
I. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: The applicant complied with the posted notice
requirements of Section 22.23.030(B) of Deschutes County Code (DCC) Title 22. The
applicant submitted a Land Use Action Sign Affidavit, dated May 16, 2012, indicating the
applicant posted notice of the land use action on that same date. Notice of the decision
was mailed out on June 15, 2012. Additionally, notice of the public hearing in front of the
Board was sent out to all parties on July 26, 2012.
J. REVIEW PERIOD: This application was submitted on May 11, 2012. The Planning
Division sent an incomplete letter dated May 24, 2012. The applicant submitted an
REVIEWED
______________
LEGAL COUNSEL
2 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
addendum to the application, which was received on May 29, 2012. This application
was thus deemed complete and accepted for review on May 29, 2012. The
administrative decision of the Planning Director was mailed out on June 15, 2012.
The Board of County Commissioners (Board) called up for review the Planning Director’s
Findings and Decision on LUP-12-2, by Order No. 2012-031 dated June 18, 2012. The
public hearing in front of the Board was originally tentatively scheduled for July 25, 2012,
and notice of that hearing date was mailed out. However, by email dated June 25, 2012,
the applicant requested a continuance of the public hearing to a later date and the
timeframe tolled for 40 days. By email dated June 28, 2012, the applicant requested
that the hearing date be set for August 29, 2012. New notice of the continued hearing
was sent to all parties, and the public hearing before the Board was held on August 29,
2012. The oral testimony was closed at the conclusion of the August 29, 2012 hearing.
The written record on the application was left open for additional comments for all parties
to September 12, 2012. Rebuttal of the comments received through September 12,
2012 was left open to September 19, 2012. The applicant was allowed to submit final
argument through September 26, 2012.
The Board held deliberations on the decision for LUP-12-2 on Wednesday, October 3,
2012. At that meeting the Board verbally indicated their approval of the application, with
some modifications to the findings, which are included in this decision. This written
decision confirms the Board’s determinations and decision on the submitted application.
K. ADJACENT PARCELS: The Board adopts the Staffs findings which included the table
on pages 4-5 of the Administrative Decision.
III. CONCLUSIONARY FINDINGS:
Title 18, Deschutes County Zoning Ordinance.
A. CHAPTER 18.16. EXCLUSIVE FARM ZONE
2. Section 18.16.042 Agri-Tourism and other Commercial Events or Activities
Limited Use Permit
B. Application. The application shall include the following.
2. A written description of:
b. The types of agri-tourism and other commercial events
or activities that are proposed to be conducted,
including the number and duration of the agri-tourism
and other commercial events and activities, the
anticipated maximum daily attendance and the hours
of operation, and how the agri-tourism and other
commercial events or activities will be related to and
supportive of agriculture and incidental and
subordinate to the existing farm use on the tract.
FINDING: In addition to the Staff’s findings, the Board finds that the proposed commercial
event and activities use must be related to and supportive of agriculture, which is addressed
below. This finding of the Board is required because, during the hearing before the Board, the
applicant's attorney said that the need for a finding of "related to and supportive of agriculture"
was not necessary because an application that meets the criteria of DCC 18.16.042(C)
automatically is related to and supportive of agriculture. The Board finds, however, that the
legislature would not have included that phrase in ORS 215.283(4) if all that was necessary was
for an application to meet the rest of the criteria in that statutory provision. Therefore, an
application for Agri-Tourism and other Commercial Events or Activities must be found to be
related to and supportive of agriculture in addition to meeting the other provisions in_DCC
18.16.042(C).
Additionally, the applicant submitted the following statement/affidavit into the record,
which was attached to an email from Timothy O'Neill dated September 11, 2012:
"I, Kerry Downs, being first duly sworn, depose and say that:
I am one of the applicants, along with my wife, in LUP-12-2. We are seeking
approval to use our property for a limited number of commercial events or
activities.
I have recently discovered that grass hay has become a common feature in a
variety of cooking recipes, and is being used in food preparation and in dishes in
restaurants across the country. In order to further incorporate the crop grown on
our farm with the events we seek to hold, we will have a caterer prepare a dish
for each one of our events which incorporates the hay grown on our property, so
that our guests may sample a dish prepared using hay. It is our hope that this
will expand another market for us to sell our farm crop."
Are weddings physically and/or economically logically connected to a farm use, and
specifically to a hay operation?
In addition to the Staff's findings, the Board finds that the applicant submitted evidence showing
that hay sales from 2009 to 2012 to wedding attendees and from contacts at weddings occurred
(Affidavit of Kerry Downs dated August 28, 2012, with attached sales figures).
Additionally, the applicant's decision to require of the caterer one dish per wedding event
(applicant's September 11, 2012 submittal/affidavit) must include one that uses hay in its
preparation, further ties the farm use to the weddings at the site. The Board finds that requiring
the use of a farm product(s) from the subject property at each event is necessary to ensure that
commercial events or activities are related to and supportive of agriculture.
The Board finds the proposed commercial weddings are related to and supportive of agriculture
for this application for the following reasons:
• People choosing to have weddings in a pastoral setting with its green fields, irrigation
sprinklers, tractors, hay balers, and associated sounds.
• Hay sales by the applicant from contacts made with potential customers from attendees
at the weddings (networking).
• The applicant's proposal to have each wedding include a dish prepared by a caterer
which is made with grass hay (seasoned like with mesquite wood).
• The weddings provide supplemental income for the farm use on the property.
3 - Final Decision --LUP-12-2
4 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
3. How is the commercial event incidental and subordinate to the farm use?
In addition to the Staff’s findings, the applicant has included in the record the dollar amount of
sales of hay from the subject property for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 ($19,858, $22,516
and $20,205), respectively. The applicant states in the August 28th affidavit that he expects to
gross between $18,000 and $22,500 in hay sales from the farm use on the site, and that the
applicant will not charge more than $2,000 for a wedding or commercial event or activity on the
site. With the combined total income that would potentially range from $30,000 to $34,500 (hay
sales plus event charge), the gross income for the events will be less than 50 percent of the
overall gross income of hay sales and event charge. It would range from 35 to 40 percent of the
overall income. A condition of approval requires that the applicant submit to the Planning
Division, at the time of Limited Use Permit renewal, an affidavit from their accountant stating the
applicant’s gross income from the hay sales and commercial event fees, demonstrating that the
commercial fees (income) is less than 50% of the overall income from the site for each year one
or more commercial events and/or activities are held.
The Board finds that the wedding events will be incidental and subordinate to the farm use,
based on:
Time invested for weddings is 6 days out of the approximately 183 days spent
conducting farm use on the property (less than 5% of the overall time for farm sue
activities).
The area occupied for the weddings is approximately 3 acres, and the total area
designated for farm use is 34 acres. The wedding use occupies less than 10% of the
overall farm use area.
The gross income of the farm use (grass hay) is 18,000 to 22,500 per year and the
applicant’s charge for each event ($2,000) times the 6 events ($12,000) is less than 50%
(35 to 40%) of the overall gross farm income.
In sum, the Board finds a qualifying farm use on the subject property, and that the commercial
weddings are related to and supportive of agriculture and incidental and subordinate to the
existing farm use. The Board finds this criterion is met.
c. The types and locations of all permanent and temporary
structures, access and egress, parking facilities, and
sanitation and solid waste to be used in connection with the
agri-tourism or other commercial events or activities.
FINDING: In addition to the Staff’s findings, the Board imposed conditions of approval 2 and 12
to address this standard. The Board finds this criterion is met with the conditions of approval.
3. A traffic management plan that:
a. Identifies the projected number of vehicles and any
anticipated use of public roads;
b. Provides an assurance that one traffic control person shall be
provided for each 250 persons expected or reasonably
expected to be in attendance at any time during the agri-
tourism and other commercial event or activity. The traffic
control personnel shall be certified by the State of Oregon
and shall comply with the current edition of the Manual of
5 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
FINDING: In addition to the Staff findings, the Board finds that with condition of approval No. 6
will allow the proposed use to be consistent with DCC 18.16.042(C)(10)(d)(i)
C. Approval Criteria.
2. Type 2. Up to six (6) agri-tourism and other commercial events or
activities in a calendar year on a tract may be approved by a limited
use permit that is personal to the applicant and is not transferred by,
or transferred with, a conveyance of the tract, if in compliance with:
g. May not, in combination with other agri-tourism or other
commercial events or activities authorized in the area,
materially alter the stability of the land use pattern of the
area.
FINDING: The Board finds that there are no other authorized agri-tourism or commercial events
or activities proposed or occurring in the area, which, in this instance, includes all properties within
a 1-mile radius of the subject property. In fact, the Board is aware that this proposed event site is
one of only two approved in the entire area under County jurisdiction.1 The proposed event site is
for up to six weddings over four months. The wedding events will be temporary in nature and
practice. The existing land use pattern of the area is single-family dwellings with some farm use
occurring, as well as some dry land (such as the BLM and COID lands to the north). The Board
finds that the temporary nature of the weddings will have no impact on the land use pattern of the
area. The farm use in the area will continue as currently conducted, which is mainly grass hay
and livestock raising and grazing.
The Board finds that the proposed wedding event site and activities meet this criterion.
12. The maximum number of people shall not exceed 500 per calendar
day.
FINDING: The applicant states that the average attendance is expected to be 125-150. The
Board finds this criterion is met, and imposes a condition of approval that specifies no more than
500 people for all parts of any particular wedding, including any catering service, is permitted.
Any attendance over 250 people will require a second traffic control person, as required under
DCC 18.16.042(C)(10)(d)(i).
IV. CONCLUSION:
Based on the foregoing findings, the Board concludes the proposed limited use permit
can comply with the applicable standards and criteria of the Deschutes County zoning
ordinance if conditions of approval are met.
V. DECISION:
1 The only other approved commercial event site is located at 3836 NE Smith Rock Way, Terrebonne;
applicants Michael and Diann Duggan; file no. LUP-12-4.
6 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
APPROVAL, subject to the following conditions of approval.
VI. CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL:
1. This approval is based upon the application, specifications, and supporting documentation
submitted by the applicant. Any substantial change in this Limited Use Permit will require
review through a new Limited Use Permit application. No more than six (6) commercial
events shall be conducted each year beginning on the date of this approval. The six (6)
commercial events shall occur between June 1 through September 30.
2. The six (6) commercial events shall be limited to six (6) calendar days each year,
excluding set-up and take down. No activity for a commercial event shall be conducted
before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m., and be in compliance with DCC 18.16.042.
3. Prior to initiation of use, the applicant shall:
a. Provide in writing a consent to allow law enforcement, public health, fire control
officers and code enforcement staff to come upon the premises for which the Limited
Use Permit has been granted for the purpose of inspection and enforcement of the
terms and conditions of the Permit, and Chapter 8.08 of the county code, noise
control.
b. Provide notification of the weddings as prescribed under DCC 18.16.042(C)(5).
c. The sanitation facilities shall be reviewed and approved by the Environmental Soils
Division prior to the first event. The Environmental Soils Division may require
additional sanitation facilities if the number of expected attendees exceeds the
maximum capacity of the existing on-site facility.
4. The noise emanating from the site shall at all times meet applicable state regulations. A
standard sound level meter or equivalent, in good condition, that provides a weighted
sound pressure level measured by use of a metering characteristic with an “A” frequency
weighting network and reported as dBA shall be available on-site at all times during the
weddings.
5. All lighting on the subject property shall be required to comply with Chapter 15.10 of the
Deschutes County Code, the Outdoor Lighting Control Ordinance. All exterior lights
shall be sited and shielded so that no direct light projects off-site.
6. One traffic control person, certified by the State of Oregon, shall be required for up to the
first 250 persons in attendance at the site, including any persons involved in conducting
the wedding. A second traffic control person shall be required if more than 250 persons
are reasonably expected to be in attendance at the site, including any persons involved
in conducting the wedding.
7. No more than 500 people shall be in attendance for any wedding at the site, including
persons involved in conducting the wedding and caterers.
8. No overnight camping shall be allowed.
7 – Final Decision – LUP-12-2
9. Catering is subject to licensure and inspection at the caterer’s base of operations only,
including transportation vehicles and equipment per Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 333, Division 150. Food prepared on site requires a Public Health plan review
through Deschutes County Environmental Health, and obtain a Foodservice License.
10. All permanent and temporary structures shall comply with the State of Oregon’s adopted
building code and the Deschutes County Building Safety Division’s fire, health, life
safety, accessibility, and occupancy requirements at all times.
11. Agriculturally exempt structures are prohibited from occupancy by the public.
12. Water served to the public/guests must be from an approved water system that meets
the Oregon Public Water Drinking Program requirements.
13. All events at the site shall include some form of direct connection between the crop
grown on the site and food served at the events (such as producing a food dish using
hay in the preparation of it).
14. The applicant shall submit to the Planning Division at the time of Limited Use Permit
renewal an affidavit from their accountant stating the applicant’s gross income from the
hay sales and commercial event fees, demonstrating that the commercial fees (income)
is less than 50% of the overall income from the site for each year one or more
commercial events and/or activities are held.
VII. DURATION OF APPROVAL:
The applicant shall complete all conditions of approval and initiate the proposed event
facility within two (2) years of the date this decision becomes final, or obtain an extension of
time pursuant to Section 22.36.010 of the County Code, or this approval shall be void.
Dated this _______ of ___________, 2012
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
______________________________________
ANTHONY DEBONE, CHAIR
______________________________________
ALAN UNGER, VICE CHAIR
ATTEST:
______________________________________
Recording Secretary
______________________________________
TAMMY BANEY, COMMISSIONER