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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-26 - Planning Commission Minutes0 SES 0, I. CALL TO ORDER Community 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 DESCHUTES SERVICES CENTER 1300 NW WALL STREET, BEND, OREGON, 97701 APRIL 26, 2012 — 5:30 P.M. Meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chair Merle Irvine. Members present were Vice Chair Chris Brown, Ed Criss, James Powell and Todd Turner. Absent: Bill Rainey. Staff present were Nick Lelack, Planning Director; Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner; and Sher Buckner, Administrative Secretary. Minutes of January 12 and January 26, 2012 were approved. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. III. PUBLIC HEARING AND RECOMMENDATION: CDD Work Plan and Comp Plan Action Plan — Nick Lelack, Planning Director. Public Testimony Dorlee Kingen spoke in favor of co -housing. She knows it is in the development plan and would like to say that it is still a good option for people in rural areas. This is a good idea for all age groups. Health care costs are extensive and could be reduced by camaraderie and living in proximity to others who can help. Traditionally, co -housing is a condo -like setting, but she feels there is also a need for single-family housing,in close proximity where people can share meals, work, etc. People get isolated as they grow older and this affects health. Living in a community that you've chosen, with others of a common interest should be considered by the County and State. She knows this would not be allowed on EFU, but some MUA land here is an acre or less and could support a few houses. Nick said the Commissioners may consider adding an item in the Planning Division work plan to explore options for additional housing types. We would need to conduct a Code audit to see where it might fit in and where we could amend some exception areas. Quality Services Performed with Pride Dorlee wanted to clarify that just taking a subdivision and using that housing is not the same — a co -housing involves a choice to live with others with common interests and goals. Vice Chair Brown said we spent three and a half years discussing agricultural events and activities — he wonders if what we are talking about here should be discussed with small destination resorts. Nick said the challenge would be that small destination resorts are limited to overnight lodging. Dorlee felt that owning your own footprint was important. Katie Lighthall testified as the Program Director for Project Wildfire. They are pleased that the Commissioners are addressing some of the natural hazard issues in the Work Plan. Joe Stutler could not be here tonight and they wanted to extend their appreciation for this effort. We are changing the culture to a community that thinks about living in a fire -prone environment. Tony Aceti provided maps and said that the smaller map showed a traffic count just obtained by ODOT at Deschutes Junction as you come off 97 and go over the overpass. He submitted written testimony and said that the area with the red dot has increased 300% in the last six years. He hopes for a recommendation to the Board that Deschutes Junction be included in the Work Plan. The reason ODOT did the traffic study is to provide information for a frontage road from 61St up to Deschutes Junction. We have the property owners here tonight who want to work with the County and be part of the process. Nick said this is #4 under "Comprehensive Plan," and would be initiated if funded by a TGM program grant. The issue is that we have limited staff and resources, so the question is whether to move, for example #2, the ag policy program, down, and this one up. We will continue to work on the South County Plan. Commissioner Turner and Nick discussed listing this as a priority and what would happen if we do not receive funding. It likely would not be initiated without funding. We do not have a response yet from our initial TGM submittal/intent to submit. The formal grant is due in early June and ODOT staff does not feel this will be high on the list. Vice Chair Brown asked if there were other sources of funding if the TGM/ODOT is thumbs down. Nick said the next opportunity would be a technical systems grant in 2013 and they are extremely competitive. Vice Chair Brown asked how much money we;are talking about. Nick said that he and Peter will be coming up with estimates for all of the projects per the Board's request so they know what they will be paying for. We did have an estimate for this project of about $75,000. Harry Fagen said he would like to work with the County and State and we need to move forward to do something. He has 1-7/10 acre of commercial land, and the rest of his property is MUA-10. We need to change the zoning because they are tied down. Vice Chair Brown said that Harry had made an offer about six months to a year ago as he recalled, where he offered to donate his own land if that would help. Harry said he felt the same way now and would just like to work with us so that the land is not hashed up like Tony's. He even had offered to put the road in except for paving. Our forefathers worked with the government to get things done but that doesn't happen nowadays. Rick Coffin testified about the safety issues at Deschutes Junction and wanted to go on record as supporting a frontage road. He think that since we do not have funding, why not give the owners a chance to master plan. Something eventually will happen and it will be smart to have all of the citizens have a stake. This needs to be moved to a higher priority 2 and if there isn't funding, we need to do something ourselves. ODOT has proposed a barrier north to Redmond. Rick and his wife are very concerned about access to their property. They are supportive as long as there is a solution so they can get to their property. If everyone has to go down to Ewe avenue there will be a traffic problem. Commissioner Powell asked Nick if considerations have to be looked at under the Big Look process, or where there is enough existing flexibility to allow master planning and zone changes in a area like Deschutes Junction? Nick said it is not allowed under EFU zoning. We have submitted a couple of pilot projects to DLCD but Deschutes Junction is not one of them. There are really two questions: What is the boundary area, and what are the assumed land uses? We may not be able to get over State hurdles to change EFU use. You have to have a legal way to get there, even if you come up with a great plan. Bob Fair said he had seven acres that he did not know were unzoned until they went to the County. Regarding the $75,000 to plan the area — what area does this include? Is the "planning" just writing reports? What is involved that the County needs $75,000? This seems like a lot of money just to say we need a frontage road. Nick said that defining the boundary is the first part, extensive public input to define proposed use, drafting concept plans and refining them, creating policy, etc. We did not have a specific boundary when we submitted our initial proposal. Bob said it seems like there is always money for other things. It is horrible to get on and off the highway and this has gone on for years. Nick clarified that the Work Plan does not say that this will not be done if there is no funding, just that there are also other priorities. Nick provided a letter from the AOCPD to the State addressing the monitoring and participation of the State in the Endangered Species Act. Vice Chair Brown said he felt he was unqualified to make decisions on Work Plan priorities without budget numbers. Nick said he will have some numbers for Tom Anderson next week but not in as much detail due to time constraints. Chair Irvine and Nick spoke about the Commissioners prioritizing tasks this evening. Nick said that some estimates may look high due to their being connected with multi-year projects. •Y Commissioner Turner motioned to close the oral and written testimony and begin deliberations. Seconded by Commissioner Criss. Motion passed. Commissioner Turner wanted to comment on the entire Work Plan, although only the Planning Division section is under the Commissioners' purview. He said that under Long - Range Planning, page 15, he sees them as goals and objectives. Under "discretionary," Item 7 regarding small destination resorts, he would like to move that up to a priority project. Regarding Deschutes Junction, he would like to change Page 16, Item 4, leave it as a priority but submit that we say "initiate a Deschutes Junction master plan process. Seek funding by the TGM program or other funding as may become appropriate." Scratch the last sentence. Motion: Commissioner Turner motioned as stated above to rewrite Item 4. Seconded by Vice Chair Brown. Motion passed. Motion: Commissioner Turner motioned as stated above to change Item 7 on page 15 from discretionary to priority. Seconded by Vice Chair Brown. Commissioner Powell asked how this affects (page 16) the third priority item. Destination resorts are in that item, so is this inclusive of small destination resorts? Nick said that right now they are separate. Commissioner Powell mentioned effects on the project to update wildfire protection standards on page 17. Chair Irvine asked about priorities for Transportation in relation to the Road Department, and Nick said that the Senior Transportation Planner's salary is 50% funded by the Road Department. We also usually come back midyear and check on priorities with the Board. Commissioner Turner spoke about the realities of a priority project taking a backseat to a discretionary project due to lack of funds - i.e., the discretionary project would be completed first although it is a lesser priority. Motion passed. Vice Chair Brown spoke about funding and wondered if we need a statement of understanding between staff/Board/landholders will move these projects around. There should be a statement saying that the Planning Commissioners are making decisions without knowing how much projects will cost. Nick said that they could certainly say that — funding sometimes becomes available down the road. Commissioner Powell wondered how priorities are decided if an unrestricted grant comes in. Vice Chair Brown felt that we might be able to expand staff with additional funding. One of the things we have in the document is developing a work plan for Deschutes River Woods. Everyone might be able to kick in $10 and come up with enough to do the project. A consultant could be hired rather than additional staff. Commissioner Criss asked Nick if requests to change priorities mid -year would come back to the Planning Commission or go directly to the Board; Nick said they would go to the Board. Commissioner Criss spoke about HB2229 and Doug White's letter and Nick said we would be meeting with DLCD. Motion: Vice Chair Brown said he would like to see a statement reminding the Board that the Planning Commissioners realize that funding can change. Seconded by Commissioner Turner. Motion passed. Motion: Commissioner Turner motioned to forward the draft Work Plan to the Board for consideration as amended this evening. Seconded by Vice Chair Brown. Motion passed. 4 IV. UPDATE: South County Plan, Upcoming May Community Meetings, Tour for Commissioners, and Summer Schedule — Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner. Peter submitted a draft plan for the road trip to South County on May 24. Chair Irvine and Nick discussed the timing of appointment of replacements for his and Commissioner Klyce's positions. The Commissioners felt that the start time of 4:30 might not be early enough to allow time at each stop. Commissioner Turner asked Commissioner Criss to describe the purpose of the trip, and Commissioner Criss felt it would increase the diversity of the area, especially as it relates to the dynamics of the river. Chair Irvine said he had driven through the area but not spent much time there, and this would be a good way to become more familiar with it. Commissioner Turner said he would be absent at that meeting (week before Memorial Day). The other Commissioners agreed that 1:00 would be a good start time. Peter said he would also double check with Commissioner Rainey. Peter gave a PowerPoint presentation regarding the South County Plan. Commissioner Turner and Peter spoke about a definition for South County. Peter said it should be defined in the PowerPoint right at the beginning and he would do that. It excludes La Pine and Sunriver but acknowledges they have a significant effect. Commissioner Turner, Vice Chair Brown and Peter spoke about North Klamath County being involved. Peter said that some residents do know about our project and have participated. Commissioner Powell felt that residents outside the area may have valuable suggestions. Nick added that we may want to coordinate some policies with Klamath County. Vice Chair Brown thought that there should be a focus group review of the document — residents can give us the "first exposure" reaction. V. PLANNING COMMISSION & STAFF COMMENTS Nick mentioned the May 10 meeting being cancelled. The REOA is hopefully in the stages of a settlement and the Historical Landmarks commission is starting up. Nick VI. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, .Y Sher Buckner Administrative Secretary 5