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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-12 Work Session Minutes Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2011 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Alan Unger and Tony DeBone. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; Tom Anderson, Nick Lelack, Peter Russell and George Read, Community Development; Teresa Rozic of Property and Facilities; Hillary Borrud of The Bulletin; and approximately twenty other citizens. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. Presentation – Central Oregon Area Management Plan. Doug Parker and John Russell of the Department of State Lands gave a presentation on their Department’s plan for handling land assets in Deschutes County. Public meetings were previously held in Crook and Deschutes Counties. Two sections of land were given to the DSL many years ago, and were sold to provide funding for schools. They own about 2,500 acres in Deschutes County and about 7,500 acres in the study area (Central Oregon), and 750,000 acres statewide. Some land is urban, some is industrial or commercial, and some is rural residential or open space. Last year $50 million from the sale of State lands was distributed in Oregon. Funding is allocated to the schools on a per capita basis, based on citizens ages 4 to 20. The goal at this time is to develop a management plan for some of these properties. Some have already been developed and approved. Often trading takes place with other entities. The draft plan should be completed by the end of March, after which time there will be additional public hearings. After adoption, the Department will be tasked to implement the plan. At this time, the group referenced maps showing various properties. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 1 of 8 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 2 of 8 Pages Commissioner Unger asked what ICR land is. Mr. Parker said that is industrial, commercial or residential, which is different from resource land. Commissioner Unger stated that some might be best used as a revenue source, but others might have a beneficial use for wildlife. Mr. Parker said that a variety of court cases determined that they are not to manage these for their natural resource values, but are to achieve their highest value and use, within the parameters of State land use laws. If there is a known sensitive site or cultural resource, they have to consider this in the plan. They have met with other state agencies, and ODF&W has made some strong comments about some of the sites. They will avail the sale of the properties to these agencies at fair market value. Mr. Russell said they would sell off land and reinvest in the hope to get a better return on the land. Over the long-term, they hope to be able to generate a higher value. Commissioner Unger stated that there is no point on sitting on land that has little potential to increase in value. Mr. Russell noted tat they are looking at energy resources as well. They own the mineral rights on the land, but there is no good study that says what the value of the minerals might be. They are taking a passive approach to this issue at this time. Chair Baney asked how they approach the problem of having land that needs infrastructure or other improvements in place before reaching its potential. Mr. Parker said that they study the market and can make those adjustments if it makes sense. Mr. Russell stated that they don’t pay property taxes and pay all cash, so there is no interest expense. They can afford to sit on parcels since the cost of management is not that great, especially if it makes sense to hold the properties for a while due to market conditions. Commissioner Unger is encouraged by the fact that they are looking at investing in property. Mr. Parker asked that they maintain and grow the cooperation of the County as they move forward. Commissioner Unger stated that the 19th Street issue is being discussed at the joint City of Redmond and Board of Commissioners’ meeting tomorrow, and it might be appropriate for Mr. Parker or Mr. Russell to attend. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 3 of 8 Pages 2. Planning Division’s Update on FY 2010-11 Long-Range Work Program. Nick Lelack said that the staff report lists three changes. Actions taken late last year made this mid-year update appropriate. (The staff report is attached for reference.) At the bottom of page 2, LRP, where it states that all legislative amendments go through a public hearing is not accurate. They are required to review but the hearing may not happen except before the Board. It can be very expensive to provide notice if it is not necessary or if it is just a housekeeping item. Page 3, table 1, lists ongoing projects. He needs direction on one of them, the regional economic opportunity analysis, offering an additional source of funding up to $30,000. Commissioner Unger asked how these are handled beyond the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Lelack said that strategies are developed and items can be included as the Board feels is appropriate. They want to go through the prioritization process with the Board. The comprehensive plan update has been before the Planning Commission. Peter Russell said that two items are in the legislative hopper with the Planning Commission. Others can be reprioritized as necessary, but this involves balancing the workload. Commissioner Unger likes the regional economic opportunity item since there is work being done on this in Salem. He asked who is going to help with all of the work. Mr. Russell said that they are partnering with other agencies and the cities, but mostly the County has the lion’s share of the work. Chair Baney said it is helpful to be consistent. Mr. Lelack stated that some issues take a long time because the issues are complicated. Commissioner Unger said that seeing a part of an FTE makes him think that they are almost home with the item. Regarding Title I, they would like to see this done this year. There are other issues that are grant-dependent and have deadlines. Economic development issues often have to look at a regional perspective and other entities may have to be involved. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 4 of 8 Pages The destination resort eligibility map should be ready by the next fiscal year. The wetlands inventory should be complete soon and can be adopted into the comprehensive plan update, but could spill into the next year if they try to pursue wetlands grants and perhaps, if appropriate, open up privately owned land for development. The small wind, solar and energy program should be done this year. Mr. Lelack asked if there is anything that the Board would not want them to continue at this time, or things that need to be added or the timeframe adjusted. Commissioner Unger said the TSP update and the comprehensive plan need to be done and some of these issues are a part of that. The second table would be for prioritizing as capacity and resources allow. Long-range planning and current planning may overlap on some of these issues. Mr. Anderson said they want to know the Board’s priorities so that work can be scheduled accordingly. Mr. Lelack stated that the “Big Look” is being examined at the legislative level and it may be six months or more before they develop a plan there. Community plans will be stand-alone parts of the comprehensive plan. The South County Community Plan was to begin with a work program. Some in the area want this to be addressed sooner. Doing the plan itself will be more labor intensive and requires more FTE’s. Commissioner Unger stated that there are also DEQ and water quality issues to be considered. Mr. Anderson said that there are elements of land use involved, but are perhaps not primary issues. There will be outcomes that result in a crossover. This is part of the CDD work plan, but not in the planning process. Commissioner DeBone said he’d like to get the comprehensive plan moving along, and get public input through a hearing on what is important to the local citizens. Commissioner Unger stated that there is less funding available so it would be hard to add more FTE’s. Chair Baney said that there might be a problem getting agreement on a bulleted list. The community has to be able to make a decision on many issues and not take months to plan what to plan. Mr. Russell stated that he could present a way to approach this issue. It has to come from the citizens. It has been done before but has to start at a very local level. Commissioner Unger asked about looking at multi-year planning efforts so capacity can be more easily gauged. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 5 of 8 Pages Applying for Certified Local Government grants usually happens in the summer months. The historical consultant may be able to help with this. A Goal 5 inventory update was discussed and the desire is to do it right. It has not been done for a long time, and is a significant undertaking, so probably will be addressed in the next fiscal year. A scope of work would be a beginning. Most previous updates were done in the early to mid-1990’s. There could be significant costs involved because there will need to be biologists and other experts involved. It could be a long-term project. Commercial use of farmland is a big issue, relating to how to clarify activities and events to be permitted on farmland. This is a policy issue for the Board and not a staff decision. It was hoped that what others are doing around the State would provide some clarity, such as through the AOC task force. CDD needs to know if this is a priority, and whether to start at the beginning. Chair Baney would like to see the options. The County has waited for AOC and the legislature to do something, but it is taking a long time, so the County should investigate going forward to offer clarity and some kind of resolution. Commissioner Unger said it is a property rights issue and there will be citizens pushing from all directions. Mr. Russell stated that they could bring back a plan to the Board on how they could move forward. This could be done on February 2, per Mr. Kanner. Regarding a solar Ordinance, this could result in a fair amount of work or be simple. This would not be known until they get into it. Mr. Anderson said that they don’t hear much about this issue, but it usually is fairly high profile when it does come up. A current planner may be able to handle it. Mr. Lelack said it is a public process involving public hearings and sometimes it is not known ahead of time how much public interest there will be. In regard to historical preservation, communities are beginning to separate from the County process. Amendments could be drafted, which would go to the entities and through a public process. The cities would be responsible for some of the costs, but there could be grant funds available. There would have to be some planner involvement in this process to coordinate the various entities. The Historic Landmarks Commission could be asked how they might want to be involved in this process. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 6 of 8 Pages Commissioner Unger asked if everything on Table 1, now underway, could still move forward. Mr. Lelack said they could. Table 2 shows projects that are pending or not yet started. Chair Baney said that the Certified Local Government grant item might wait, as well as the Goal 5 update. She asked if it is possible to package some of them. Commissioner DeBone noted that some items might generate a lot of public interest and it isn’t known how complicated they might be. He asked if there is a way to gauge this in the community, especially in regard to commercial, solar, wildfire and code violations. Mr. Russell said that it appears that the Regional Economic Opportunity Analysis is a priority. On February 2, they could present a plan to do this if the Board wants to go forward. Long-range staff needs to be able to state what each item might require. Limitation and capacity issues can be brought up so adjustments can be made. Commercial, solar, wildfire and code violations might be a lower priority. Commissioner Unger stated that these are important but can be addressed as time permits. Commercial events on farmland and south County issues are a priority. The others could be medium priority, with details provided on what they might entail. Chair Baney said the REOA work is critical, but asked if the south County community plan is only being scoped and has not begun. Commissioner Unger thinks that the Deschutes River Woods and Deschutes Junction community plans are important, too. These might come about after the comprehensive plan update is complete. Chair Baney stated that these affect what is in the comprehensive plan. She sees these as different. The south County community plan needs to be done before the comprehensive plan is finalized. Commissioner Unger feels that this is important for the other communities as well. Chair Baney said that this requires an investment on the part of the County. She’d like to see some kind of investment set up in advance for the next time a comprehensive plan update is needed. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Page 7 of 8 Pages Mr. Anderson quoted the top priorities as the REOA, south County and events on farmland. The comprehensive plan is a priority. Some work might be farmed out to a consultant. Commissioner DeBone said he’d like to see the events issue addressed before the south County issue. Mr. Anderson said they could come back on February 2 with an approach on how they can do these things given the limitations of time and staffing. It may include part of the south County plan. 3. Update of Commissioners’ Meetings and Schedules. Two Commissioners will be out of the office between February 28 and March 9, so the meetings that would be held during that time are to be canceled. 4. Other Items. Mr. Kanner said a discussion regarding video conferencing is scheduled for February 4. He is waiting for sketches. At the work session of January 26, Bill Watkins of California Lutheran wants to talk about the economic forecast scheduled for January 27. He would like to offer free advice for budgeting purposes, and encouraged the cities to have representatives there if they are interested. January 27 is the date for the economic forecast meeting. The County gave $2,000 to the Deschutes Economic Alliance for the Thousand Day Roadmap program. This group had asked about additional grant funds previously to support the forecast presentation. There are a lot of the same players but different moving parts, all wanting funds. And they get funds from other sources. Dave Inbody said that California Lutheran has not submitted a request for economic development funding. Chair Baney will let those who asked know. Erik Kropp, Chair Baney and Commissioner DeBone will attend the forecast meeting.