Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-09 - 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, OREGON 97739 DECEMBER 9, 2010 — 5:30 P.m. I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chair Chris Brown. Members present were: James Powell, Merle Irvine, Bill Rainey, Todd Turner, Ed Criss and Richard Klyce. Staff present were Nick Lelack, Planning Director; Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner; Terri Payne, Senior Planner; and Sher Buckner, Administrative Secretary. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. III. PUBLIC HEARING (continued): Ordinance 2011-003, Comprehensive Plan Update - Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner. Terri gave a PowerPoint demonstration and discussed the Comprehensive Plan. Public Testimony Teri Meyers thanked the Planning Commission for their work. She felt that South County needs a clear designation as part of the Plan and does not want the Plan to be approved without a chapter for South County. She is concerned about Deschutes County abandoning old tracts of land and declaring some unbuildable. She feels that "science" and the County should work together on any changes in the way the land is developed. Tom Bradley spoke about the recent CAG meeting and asked about the location of references to personal property rights in Chapter 2. He would endorse personal property rights being incorporated in a preamble to the Plan. Judy Forsythe requested that the Planning Commission and the Board delay approval of the Plan until a South County section is complete. She does not want to see this delayed until completion of the DEQ's work — it is not dependent on this. There are problems with obsolete neighborhoods, wetlands, etc. They would like their own South County section Quality Services Performed with Pride now, not later. She would like to see the public hearings delayed until there is one, final version of the Plan. She would like to see staff remove everything that is not being considered at this time to another page of the website and all items dated. Wendell Evers felt that things had been omitted from the Comp Plan that should not have been there from the beginning, and this was needed. There are too many Comprehensive Plans on the County website. Everything except the latest version should be omitted. Some of the policies are very ambiguous. Nick said at a recent meeting that the Comprehensive Plan is a living document, but you have administrators and lawyers making constant changes. There needs to be one version. The South County area also needs to be defined. Once this is done, South County can have a section. Nick said it would take two and a half years, which is not acceptable. Anne Gregerson agreed that we need a separate section for South County. She is also concerned about private property rights. Ken Mulenex appreciated the opportunity to give input and also supported South County having a section in the Plan. He spoke about a section of Huntington Road that is dirt and has been upgraded over the last few years; but River Road, which runs off by the golf course, needs to be paved along with the deer run section. This would increase the safety factor and should have been done a long time ago. Jay Duncan said that people cannot take ownership of the Plan in its current form, although it is supposed to be the people's Plan. Also, of the 70 parcels owned by the County, how many were acquired by the TDC or PRC programs? This should be spelled out in the document. How many properties designated as parklands are in South County? These would be retained in public ownership unless the Board determines to sell them. These should be looked at more closely. Some of the policies say to encourage properties located along rivers, springs or creeks or which contain scenic space or wildlife be designated as parklands. Selling these may be in the best interests of the public. Karen Duncan was concerned.about the LWI being reviewed by the State. She heard that at the LWI meeting in Sunriver, the audience was told that the LWI will not change the migration rules set forth by the Division of State Lands. The question is, will the subsequent wetlands plan be able to circumvent the State's migration rules regarding wetlands? Will property owners whose properties are wetlands be notified on the County's DIAL system? Will the new wetlands plan be another regulation to get people off their lands? With over 8000+ public acres in Deschutes County, has the County considered the idea of land swaps instead of more regulations? Robert Ray did not feel there is a need to delay a South County Plan until after the DEQ's recommendation. The steering committee has come up with a perimeter area for South County, and perhaps this could be used. He asked if there was a true count of the number of trucks at the intersection for the proposed Biogreen plant, and he wonders why this is not being used. Pat Murphy agreed that many people want a separate Plan for South County. One of the glaring omissions is a separate Plan for South County to cover the unique aspects of the area and environment. He noticed there are no plans for mitigation of natural disasters or economic situations such as the decline of tax revenues in this document. The business - as -usual paradigm does not work any more. 2 Pam Cosmo mentioned attending a food summit meeting where she learned that there are severe food problems in Deschutes County. The world economic fiasco right now will not go away any time soon. Retirees especially need to be able to add to their own support and grow their own food. Her land has decreased in value and may go down further. A Local -Rule required system may be worth more than her property. There are zoning, water table and other issues which separate South County from the rest of the County, so they need a separate chapter. Allan Jones spoke about the County -owned lots and illegal development. We need some resolution and the Comp Plan should not be adopted without this. Mike Neary felt also that there needs to be a South County section. The Board said to take the time to do this right. If this is sent to the Board in an incomplete form, it will fade away. The urgency will not be there. It will be much more comprehensive and we will be doing South County a big service. South County is different from the rest of the County — the wildlife migration routes, for example. He spoke about a neighbor who wanted to build a garage and had to move the location because it was in a deer migration route. Jerry Criss said he had found a very unique community when he moved here. This area has been left alone except when the County imposed what it wanted to. They are constantly being put under the rules of Deschutes County when the area is unique. There are probably more trees in 10 miles here than the entire area of Redmond. This area needs to be looked at differently. Austin Gillette moved here five years ago from California and also agreed we need to have a separate chapter in the Comp Plan. He spoke about permits being held up by County staff for three months when he was building his house. We need to have things solidified in a document now — not in two or three years. Monte Harmon said he doesn't think people realize what property rights are. He spoke about eminent domain and collection of property taxes. He asked who is going to enforce this? Do we have a sheriff and deputies to enforce it? He wants to know what he can do to protect his property, which he paid for. Ron Sharbaugh felt there should be something saying that County Code will not affect platted lots that people already own. He does not like the Interagency Report, and feels that the language about DEQ indicating "high groundwater issues' should just refer to "groundwater issues." Sheila O'Malley said she moved to La Pine about eight years ago and bought two lots, one of which had a house. She wanted to develop the second lot but it was denied. She thinks if this happened on a lot that is next to developed lots, maybe she should get a land swap. Regular folks here are having issues and just want to go about their lives. Robert Gillette mentioned a brochure saying that people weren't smart enough to learn, which came out during the Local Rule process. There are scientists, lawyers and educated people here. The Planning Commission did not want to have input or a South County chapter until the DEQ process was completed, but hopefully that is changing. Ronald Tucker felt that there are a lot of people who are not at this meeting because they are afraid of government. He would like to see fairness, truth and justice. 3 Adele McAfee wanted to urge the Commissioners to do a separate South County Plan as soon as possible. Dennis Griffin said he had moved to South County in order to enjoy peace and quiet. They received notice from the County a year after they purchased their property that there were not supposed to be there, although when he checked, taxes had been paid. He has been in code enforcement for two and a half years. The problem seems to be that justice is not equally dispersed. He lives in Section 36 and there are people who have done things beyond the purview of the County. He should not have to put in a new system because the permits were not pulled before he bought the property. Everyone should be looked at equally. He has paid taxes on the property for the last 20 years and the property "does not exist." Vicky Jackson also felt they need their own South County section. Why has the staff not done South County yet? She would urge the Plan be delayed until a South County section is done. Planning Commission Comments: Vice Chair Criss felt that a South County section in the Plan is very important. The DEQ and committee are dealing with the groundwater issue. The obsolete subdivision report says very clearly that the Local Rule and groundwater protection are problems — the groundwater is being dealt with by the DEQ, but there are land issues that need to be addressed. Land is losing value and people are finding out that they cannot build. A land swamp program needs to be put in place. We need to come up with something sustainable soon. Land issues here are completely different than everyone else's, and there are more issues in South County than the rest of the County combined. This cannot be put off any longer. The groundwater issue is being dealt with — we need to deal with the land problem. Commissioner Powell asked how Vice Chair Criss wanted to separate land issues from water issues. Vice Chair Criss said there is some overlap, but the water issues should not dictate land issues. If there is an issue where groundwater may be contaminated by septic systems, we need to listen to the steering committee. But if people have bought their land and done due diligence, we need to look at land swaps. Commissioner Powell asked if Vice Chair Criss felt it was possible to go ahead and work on South County to make sure it gets in the process and treat it the same as Tumalo, Terrebonne and Deschutes Junction. Vice Chair Criss said he felt we could move forward with the Comp Plan while working on a South County section and spoke about trying to find information on the County website. It is obvious to him that the local wetlands inventory will affect land use, and we would just amend the Plan with that information. We can look at land use issues and ask ourselves if we want to wait while people are losing land value while their properties are being condemned. This is a unique area and there will be some areas of overlap. We can define this area and start working on land issues. There may be some revisions but we can make it 90% complete. Commissioner Turner asked if Vice Chair Criss wanted the Commissioners to consider a separate section for South County or consider what is already in the Comp Plan and rework that. Vice Chair Criss said that we could expand on what is there, but we have so many unique issues and it seems like we have more issues than Terrebonne and Tumalo which are not being addressed. We understand that the area is not defined, but we should probably have a section. 4 Commissioner Klyce spoke about a possible motion to review the South County section prior to submitting the document to the Board. Chair Brown suggested that staff come back with a recommendation at the next meeting and postpone a motion until after deliberations. Motion: Commissioner Powell, close oral and continue written testimony until December 16. Nick and Chair Brown spoke about this. Nick said the Commissioners could choose how they want to proceed. Motion did not receive a second. Motion: Commissioner Rainey motioned to continue the oral and written testimony until December 16. Seconded by Commissioner Turner. Motion passed unanimously. IV. PLANNING COMMISSION & STAFF COMMENTS None. V. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully tftfsubmitted, Sher Buckner Administrative Secretary NEXT MEETING — December 16, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. at the Deschutes Services Center, 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend, OR 97701 5