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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-08-30 - Planning Commission MinutesCommunity Development Department I 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 AUGUST 30, 2012 — 5:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chair Bill Rainey. Members present were Ed Criss, James Powell, Hugh Palcic, Todd Turner and Matt Lisignoli. Absent: Vice Chair Chris Brown. Staff present were Nick Lelack, Planning Director; Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner; Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner; and Sher Buckner, Administrative Secretary. Minutes of June 28, July 12 and August 9, 2012 were approved. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None. III. SOUTH COUNTY PLAN UPDATE — Terri Hansen Payne, Senior Planner. Terri discussed the most recent meetings and resident responses regarding which goals and policies people considered important. She also summarized the meeting with the Board yesterday, in which the Board approved the expenditure for mailing postcards announcing the upcoming public hearing. There was a fair amount of objection from residents to the idea of "dividing" South County into north and south areas for purposes of the Plan. The majority of comments indicated a desire for one area. The community also wanted the County to "partner" with the DEQ rather than "support." Policies concerning trails have been consolidated and put into one area for clarity. Staff would like the Planning Commissioners' opinions as to whether they consider the Plan to be in a form they like for public hearings. Commissioner Criss felt that staff have done a remarkable job incorporating the majority of public comments, and he has heard from many people that they are happy with responses to their questions and suggestions. Commissioner Powell asked about Policy 1.2 and whether it means to say that they want to reassess the Plan periodically but also to Quality Services Performed with Pride analyze certain things at least every three to five years, or is there some other way to read that? Terri said the language has been rearranged a lot. It means do not wait more than three to five years to reassess. Commissioner Powell also said he was confused with Policy 4.1. It is unclear whether there is a push to make the County put property on the market that it might own, but which would not be used for parks, etc. Terri said this is a request from the Property & Facilities Department. If something is declared parkland, there are state restrictions for its use. Commissioner Powell and Commissioner Criss discussed the residents of South County expecting funds from the new neighborhood to be used for improvements such as, but not limited to, septic or sewers. Peter Gutowsky said that the intent of Policy 4.3 was not to pigeonhole how the groundwater protection proceeds would be appropriated, but just to give examples and use language that residents had suggested. Commissioner Palcic said that the use of the term "upgrades" could mean an upgrade beyond a system — sewers, for example. Peter said the policy is to start with a generalized statement and then use terms such as "for example..." to help the reader understand how the example could be applied. But it in no way limits the options. The unanimous theme is that the funds should go to groundwater protection rather than some other public purpose. Chair Rainey asked for clarification about the term "proceeds from the La Pine planning area." Terri said we could add language about the sale of the land, which the County owns, but it gets complicated. Peter said that on page 27 there is an attempt to inform the reader of what we mean by a transfer development program and how it pertains to a neighborhood planning area. Right now, the neighborhood planning area consists of several quadrants. Quad 1 is mostly owned by a private party, Vice Russell owns some of the others in part or whole, Quad 2 contains Crescent Creek. A developer can plat a subdivision but has to provide incentives such as transfer development credits. With the economy being in a slump, think of the neighborhood planning area as being owned by the County, but some remaining areas need to acquire credits. Developers pay into a fund that is administered by the County to be used for groundwater. Terri said she would work on improving the language to make it clearer. Commissioner Palcic said he looked at the document and wondered how long before it is obsolete. For instance, in 3.1(k) it says "...such as Skype." Two years from now, there will be something else and Skype will be like an eight -track. This type of reference may make the document look stale. Perhaps the term "...such as videoconferencing capabilities" would be better. Commissioner Powell commented that 5.3 refers to a private enterprise phenomenon. When those developments were platted, someone was hired who was not with the County. Does the County now assume responsibility? Terri said there were comments suggesting the County take responsibility but we did not include them. Commissioner Criss felt that it should be easier and less expensive. Commissioner Powell said that this was created by private enterprise and there was no program where the County survey was responsible for verifying the accuracy of plats and surveys back then, in the 1970's. The County should not have to take responsibility for this but could make an attempt to help people now. Nick suggested that we could add language saying that the County would support private initiatives but does not take a role in developing. Commissioner Criss said people have paid property taxes for years and then found out they do not live where they thought they did due to the property line confusion. Commissioner Powell said that the County should 2 not take responsibility for creating this situation, because it did not. There is no current practice where the Surveyor verifies the plats are correct. Peter discussed the potential revisions and said that since this version of the Plan is the one that has been distributed, perhaps we should wait to make anything other than clarification changes before the public hearing, but keep the comments tonight on hand for future consideration. Commissioner Palcic said he had spoken to someone who has read the entire Plan and had specific comments, but we should not make any tweaks to this version right now. We need to be able to find a way to include them eventually but make sure the public has access to them first. Terri said they could be included in the staff report prior to the hearing. Commissioner Powell said he anticipated that was why we were here — as a last shot to find out about things we do not understand but not to change the document right now. Commissioner Palcic said that, regarding Goal 14; perhaps we need to build it up a little bit more. Chair Rainey mentioned working with the Red Cross which has gone out and surveyed emergency shelters in the Sisters area, inventoried backup generators, etc. There are 14 in the Sisters area, and Bend and La Pine have them also. He wondered how to tie that in with the language here. Commissioner Palcic said he thought maybe we should ask the public about that. Commissioner Rainey suggested that language about availability of adequate shelters should be the first thing mentioned. Peter mentioned that there could be some references to related items in the Comprehensive Plan to strengthen the natural hazards language. Commissioner Criss agreed that we should proceed to a hearing and consider changes after we have heard from the public. He is satisfied with what he has seen so far. Nick said that when we issue our staff report, as Terri said, we could mention some of the changes we've discussed and also invite the public to weigh in on them. Peter said we are looking at having hearings during the second meeting in October and the first meeting in November. Both the La Pine Senior Center and Sunriver Aquatic Recreation Center have availability. The postcard would announce these locations as would the CDD website and go to the registered property owners, and we would also put announcements in the paper, online, etc. Nick said we would also send out emails next week to get people started. Chair Rainey and the Commissioners thanked Terri for her work and wished her well in the future. IV. WORK SESSION AND RECOMMENDATION:' AMENDING DESCHUTES COUNTY CODE, SECTION 23.01 TO REFERENCE NEWLY ADOPTED LA PINE UGB Peter said this was a housekeeping amendment as instructed by Legal Counsel. There were no concerns or comments from the Planning Commissioners. V. PLANNING COMMISSION & STAFF COMMENTS Nick said the LCDC is scheduled to consider the La Pine UGB on September 20 in Salem. Yesterday the Board conducted the public hearing for the Downs' commercial events. The Board kept the record open for two weeks and six or seven people testified. The Board expects to deliberate on October 1 and then make a recommendation. Staff issued a second administrative decision approving events on Mike Duggan's property last week. He hosts a number of events other than weddings on his property. We continue to hear from a lot of people regarding high river flows and there is a multi -agency staff meeting scheduled in September to plan for a larger -scale public meeting a couple of weeks after that. Chair Rainey mentioned the emergency preparedness fair coming up in Sisters. Commissioner Criss spoke about the meeting with the DLCD and DEQ regarding a Goal 11 exception for South County. He also visited the geothermal plant near Paulina, just outside the national monument. The project manager and several geologists were there. They are causing microfractures in the rock and then sealing them with degradable plastic bottle pieces, which will break up by the time they go down another couple of layers. They went to the Coke plant and asked which bottles broke down the slowest and used those. They are down about 10,000 feet right now. No chemicals are being used, and Commissioner Criss was satisfied with the process, after having heard concerns from the public about what was going on. It is also twice as hot as Mammoth at 600 degrees. VI. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Sher Buckner Administrative Secretary 4