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MEMORANDUM
DATE: November 22, 2011
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Nick Lelack, Planning Director
Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner
Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner
MEETING: December 19, 2011
RE: South County Plan Scope of Work and Public Outreach Plan
Board Direction
Planning staff seek direction from the Board of County Commissioners (Board) to initiate an eighteen
month work program to create a South County Plan. As drafted, the process runs from January 2012
to June 2013, with legislative plan amendments and the first evidentiary hearing with the Deschutes
County Planning Commission commencing in Fall 2012.
Comprehensive Planning and South County Plan
Deschutes County is initiating a process to prepare a land use plan for the South County area, which
must comply with Oregon’s land use planning regulations. When completed, the South County Plan
will be adopted into the Comprehensive Plan as its own section. The proposed boundary incorporates
the rural area south of Sunriver, with a notation that the City of La Pine and the Sunriver Urban
Unincorporated Community are not subject to the Plan.1
Draft Scope of Work and Public Outreach Strategy
Starting in September, four Planning Commission meetings included discussions on the process for
preparing a South County Plan. Emails and a notice in the Newberry Eagle were used to alert the
public. Residents were invited to comment at each of those meetings, two which were specifically
hosted in the area, one at the La Pine Senior Center and the other at Three Rivers Elementary
School. A boundary map, Scope of Work and Public Outreach Strategy were drafted to provide
structure for an eighteen month planning process. The proposed Scope of Work describes why a
South County Plan is being proposed, its land use policy emphasis, and some of the area’s land use
issues and challenges. It also contains a timeline with public outreach starting in January 2012. The
Public Outreach Plan lists ways to engage citizens and stakeholders including community and
stakeholder meetings, a web survey, interviews and a business focus group. The intent is to get a
wide variety of people involved to develop goals and policies that describe the preferred course of
action for guiding rural growth in the area.
Summarized below, the Planning Commission and residents offered the following suggestions:
1 The Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan contains Section 4.4, which specifically addresses the Sunriver Urban
Unincorporated Community. The City of La Pine has adopted its own Comprehensive Plan.
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Public Outreach
Staff a booth at Frontier Days as part of the public outreach
Include the Bend Bulletin and David Nogueras of OPB as part of the media outreach
Allow an open microphone at all meetings
Set up a committee similar to the DEQ committee
Respond to previous questions that have come up
Need to consider options besides ATT septic systems
Any lot that was approved by the County should be permitted a home
Support small destination resorts and economic growth opportunities
Ensure the process goes long enough to include snowbirds who leave for the winter
Toss out Regional Problem Solving, which was staff driven
Involve parents and senior citizens, community service groups and school bus drivers
Don’t make large plans with no financing
Local retail may be needed for far flung neighborhoods
Plan for natural hazards and senior housing
Have the Planning Commission oversee the process, possibly have a Commissioner host
community meetings
Ensure average residents are involved
Provide flexibility in the process to react to potential changes
Additionally, two letters were submitted with more detailed input on expectations for the South County
Plan and five questionnaires were returned discussing what people want to see the plan address.
On November 10, the Planning Commission recommended the Board execute the scope of work and
public outreach strategy as the basis for developing the South County Plan. It was noted that the
process is likely to evolve as staff engages residents and stakeholders.
Attachments
1. Draft boundary map for the South County Plan
2. Draft Scope of Work for the South County Plan
3. Draft Public Outreach Plan for the South County Plan