New Clatsop County Planning Commission Brings Strong Backgrounds In Land Use Planning

Friday, June 24, 2011

NEW PLANNING COMMISSIONERS BRING LAND-USE EXPERIENCE

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners appointed seven new members to the county Planning Commission Wednesday.
On March 23 the board voted to vacate the seven positions on the panel effective June 30, and invited both current members and new applicants to apply for the positions.
On March 28 Board of Commissioners Chairman Dirk Rohne sent a letter to all seven planning commissioners informing them of the board’s actions, thanking them for their service and inviting them to re-apply.
“By serving on the planning commission you invested your time and talent into the community in which we live. Motivated, perhaps, by the desire to have a positive role in improving the quality of life for the benefit of all,” the letter stated. “It is our desire, with respect to your service, to cast a wider net to see what interest there may be in serving on the very important land planning commission.”
“This decision is not aimed at any one individual member and is not personal,” the letter added.
Clatsop County Ordinance 01-10 states that “all members of any board, commission or committee of the County shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Board of Commissioners,” and that “the Board may remove any board, commission or committee member from his or her appointment by affirmative vote of at least three commissioners.”
The county received a total of 14 applications from citizens around Clatsop County. The former members of the planning commission informed the county they would not re-apply for their positions.
On June 22 the board appointed seven of the applicants to the panel. The selection complied with the planning commission bylaws, which allow no more than two members from incorporated cities and no more than two members who work in real estate-related businesses. Members are also to be drawn from the various geographic areas of the county.
The commission will maintain the staggered terms that ensure overlap of membership. Two of the terms expire June 30, 2012, three expire June 30, 2014 and two expire June 30, 2015. The Board of Commissioners left it to the new planning commissioners to choose which member will assume which term.
The new members are:
Bruce Francis of Warrenton
Susana Gladwin of Jewell
Kay Foetisch-Robb of Seaside
Jan Mitchell of Astoria
Robert Stricklin of Warrenton
Lianne Thompson of Arch Cape
Mike Tiedeman of Astoria.
The new membership includes a number of citizens with experience in land-use planning, including two former planning commission members. Bruce Francis served on the commission for 11 years, including several years as chairperson, and chaired the panel during the lengthy public hearings over the Bradwood Landing LNG land-use application in 2007. Robert Stricklin also served as chair of the commission in 1997-98.
Jan Mitchell served as a planner for the city of Fresno, Calif. for 24 years, and led a long-term planning team. Kay Foetisch-Robb, a former Community Coordinator for the city of Gresham, was a planning commissioner for the city of Troutdale from 1978 to 1990.
Mike Tiedeman is a long-time local educator and former Knappa High School principal who currently leads the Knappa Schools Foundation. Lianne Thompson, a consultant, has served on a community development non-profit in Manzanita. Susana Gladwin, a farmer, served on a local citizens advisory board when the state’s land-use system was established in the 1970s.

Released by:
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000

Port Backs A Ken Leahy(Bradwood Landing Owner)/John Dunzer(Seaside Rabble Rouser) Alternate Energy Venture!

Read The Daily "A's" Katie Wilson Report - "Port Backs Alternative Energy Plan"

Three Questions:
John Dunzer?
Ken Leahy?
Port of Astoria?

It's amazing how "Desperation" does indeed make strange bedfellows isn't it?

Not too long ago, when Ken Leahy and his confederates, Northern Star Natural Gas, were running hot and heavy trying to ram a proposed, alleged, Liquefied Natural Gas receiving terminal down our throats, and "Perpetual Candidate" John Dunzer was pimping his proposed scrap wood electric generating facility next door presumably to aid NSNG/Bradwood in warming that LNG, the last person Leahy and friends would even consider speaking to would have been Dunzer.

And now, here they are, in bed with each other with that scheme being publicy endorsed by the Port of Astoria because it "lines up with the "Port's" stategic plan as a "Generator" for jobs"?

One other question arises; What authority does Port of Astoria have at Bradwood Landing to express any legitimate endorsement for that proposed venture at all? Would it not be more appropriate for Clatsop County to endorse or diaprrove of that proposal?

And then another question arises; What about Tongue Point and Martin Nygaard's proposed Log Processing facility accompanied by a Bio-Mass Electric Generation facility that would generate enough enrgy to electrify 14,000 homes?

Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners; Special Meeting Scheduled For June 29, 2011

Read Full Agenda Packet

Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners June 22, 2011 Regular Meeting Audio Transcript

Listen To Full Audio Transcript Of June 22, 2011 CCBofC Regular Meeting

June 22 Meeting Highlights
PLANNING COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS
The board appointed seven new members to the county Planning Commission.
On March 23 the board voted to vacate all seven seats on the commission effective June 30 and to invite both current commission members and new applicants to apply. None of the current members re-applied.
Appointed to the panel were:
· Bruce Francis of Warrenton
· Susana Gladwin of Jewell
· Kay Foetisch-Robb of Seaside
· Jan Mitchell of Astoria
· Robert Stricklin of Warrenton
· Lianne Thompson of Arch Cape
· Mike Tiedeman of Astoria
Two of the seats are for terms that expire June 30, 2012; three for terms expiring June 30, 2014; and two for terms expiring June 30, 2015. The board did not assign the new appointees to particular terms but will allow them to choose their terms themselves when the commission convenes in July.
Prior to the vote, Commissioner Patricia Roberts made a motion to rescind the board’s March 23 decision and to reinstate all the former members. The motion did not receive a second. Roberts abstained from voting on any of the appointments.
Chairperson Dirk Rohne explained that following the board’s March 23 decision he sent a letter to all of the then-current planning commissioners explaining that the board vote reflected a desire to “cast a wider net to see what interest there may be in serving on the very important land planning commission. We hope to have a balance of viewpoints represented, if you feel you have a different point of view, you may be re-selected for precisely that reason,” he quoted from the letter.

NEW DISTRICTS ADOPTED
The board voted to adopt new boundaries for the five commissioner districts. The redistricting project, required every 10 years to conform the boundaries to shifts in population, resulted in shifts in some boundaries but largely left the existing boundaries intact.
The board adopted without change a map approved in May by a citizen panel.

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS SHIFT
The board approved a resolution placing the county Community Corrections Department under the supervision of the Sheriff’s Office. The vote finalizes a reorganization plan that was given preliminary approval in February that included the closure of the Community Corrections Transition Center in April.
The board’s action included placing the Animal Control Division, which operates the county animal shelter in Warrenton, under the Sheriff’s Office, and naming the Sheriff as the sole Supervisory Authority for the county.

ZONE CHANGES APPROVED
The board approved three separate zone-change requests in Westport. They are:
· Request from Stan Egass for a rezone from Rural Community-Multi Family Residential to Rural Community Commercial for a 0.28-acre property in Westport.
· Request from Wilma Devries for a rezone from Rural Community Commercial to Rural Community-Multi Family Housing for a 1.2-acre property in Westport.
· Application by Clatsop County to rezone a property in Westport that was mistakenly zoned as Rural Community-Multi Family Residential in 2003 with the adoption of the new Rural Community zoning overlay. The county application rezones the property to Rural Community Commercial-Light Industrial.

Action on a fourth zone change application, on property on Dolphin Road near Warrenton, was postponed to allow the applicant to provide additional required information. The request is from Michael Benesch, Warrenton Fiber Co. and Waldo Veelle to rezone 13 acres – eight acres are to be rezoned from Residential Agriculture-5 to Light Industrial and five acres rezoned from Residential Agriculture-5 to Natural Uplands.

OTHER BUSINESS
In other business the board:
-Adopted the Fiscal Year 2011-12 budgets for the county, 4-H and Extension Service Special District, Road District #1, Rural Law Enforcement District and Westport Sewer Service District.
-Approved a special event permit for the 2011 Hood to Coast Relay, scheduled for Aug. 26-27. The permit includes a requirement that the event organizers reimburse the county for costs associated with the event.
The board directed staff to review the current event permit ordinance and develop language that would allow the county to act as an agent for other public entities such as fire districts that also receive reimbursement from Hood to Coast for their expenses.
-Approved a loan of $45,000 from the county General Fund to the Marine Patrol program in the Sheriff’s Office to provide operating funds until September, when the program receives funding from the State of Oregon.
-Approved the 2011-13 Public Health agreement with the Oregon Health Authority for funding of health services through the county Public Health Department.
-Approved contracts with Oregon Health Authority for addiction and mental health services and food-borne illness prevention.
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000 Ext. 1312

Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners Approves Redistricting Plan At June 22 Meeting

Thursday, June 23, 2011

BOARD APPROVES NEW COMMISSIONER DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved new boundaries for the county’s commissioner districts.
The new map leaves the five districts in their same general locations, with some shifting of households between districts to account not only for changes in population but also the new method used for counting residents.
The map adopted Wednesday is the same one approved in May by a citizen committee convened by the County Clerk.
Local jurisdictions are required to redraw legislative districts every 10 years to account for shifts in population revealed in the U.S. Census. The board’s vote affects only the commissioner districts – boundaries for Oregon House and Senate seats are set by the state legislature.
Under the county charter, commissioner districts must have close to equal population, and be contiguous and as compact as possible.
The new boundaries were drawn based on total population, versus the number of registered voters used to establish the former districts. For that reason, census blocks were used to tally the population instead of voter precincts. Census blocks generally do not follow the same boundaries as voter precincts, and in cases where a census block was divided by a district boundary, the line was redrawn to move the entire block into one district, resulting in some households switching from one district to another.
In Astoria, some areas formerly in District 4 in the eastern side of the city are now in District 3, while on the western part of the city some blocks moved from District 3 to District 1, and vice versa. Parts of Olney also moved from District 3 to District 4.
In Warrenton, the DeLaura Beach area shifts from District 1 to District 2.
In Seaside, areas in the southwest part of the city, including the Cove area, switched from District 2 to District 5.
The districts and general areas they cover are:
District 1 – Warrenton and western Astoria.
District 2 – Gearhart, Clatsop Plains and portions of Seaside.
District 3 – Miles Crossing/Jeffers Garden, Lewis and Clark, Olney and central Astoria.
District 4 – Knappa/Svensen, Westport and eastern Astoria.
District 5 – Cannon Beach, Jewell, Elsie, Hamlet and portions of Seaside
To see both the new and old district maps, go to “Redistricting Plan” at http://www.co.clatsop.or.us/.

Released by:
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000

Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners Approve Measures To Finalize Transfer Of Community Corrections Department

Thursday, June 23, 2011

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS REORGANIZATION APPROVED

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a number of measures finalizing the transfer of the Community Corrections Department to the supervision of the county Sheriff’s Office.
The move is part of a reorganization plan that saw the closure earlier this year of the county Transition Center. The plan also brings the Animal Control Division under the Sheriff’s Office. Animal Control, which operates the animal shelter in Warrenton, has been administered by Community Corrections.
The final component of the plan approved by the board names the Sheriff as the sole Supervisory Authority for the county. The Supervisory Authority, which has ultimate authority on sanctions and transfers of people in the local criminal justice system, has formerly consisted of the sheriff, Community Corrections director and an appointed county commissioner.
The merger of Community Corrections, which oversees local parole and probation services, into the Sheriff’s Office was recommended by a consultant’s study that found the move could improve efficiency and cooperation and reduce duplication. The study also called for the Transition Center closure.
The board of commissioners gave preliminary approval to the consultant’s recommendations in February. Since then a management team set up by Sheriff Tom Bergin, with input from staff of both organizations, has worked to integrate the two departments’ operations. Plans have also been developed to boost services to Community Corrections clients, including expanded treatment services and alternatives to custody, as well as a new day-reporting system, funded by the savings realized from the Transition Center closure.
The 30-bed Transition Center opened in 2006 in the North Coast Business Park in Warrenton as an alternative sanction for local offenders as well as a transitional setting for people released from prison back into the local community. Budget projections forecast that contingency funds used to cover the center’s approximately $800,000 annual operating costs would run out in 2012, requiring the county to divert scarce General Fund dollars to maintain the facility.
Eight staff positions were eliminated as part of the Transition Center closure. The facility continues to serve as offices for Community Corrections staff, as well as the new day-reporting site for clients.
Under the reorganization the director’s position in Community Corrections has been eliminated and replaced with a lieutenant position, for which the county is currently in the midst of the hiring process.

Released by:
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000

Clatsop County Seeks More Than $60,000 In Attorney Fees From Oregon LNG/Pipeline

Monday, June 20, 2011

COUNTY SEEKS ATTORNEY FEES FROM OREGON PIPELINE

Clatsop County filed a motion in circuit court Monday seeking reimbursement for more than $60,000 in attorney fees incurred in the legal dispute over the county’s jurisdiction of the Oregon Pipeline LLC land-use application.
The motion claims the county should not be liable for the fees, which total $61,758, due to several legal maneuvers by Oregon Pipeline that resulted in unnecessary delays in the proceedings.
The county and Oregon Pipeline recently went to court on a “writ of mandamus” motion by the company. The motion claimed the county had exceeded the legal deadline for issuing a final decision on the company’s consolidated land-use application for construction of 41 miles of natural gas pipeline.
Following a hearing in Clatsop County Circuit Court last month, Judge Phil Nelson denied Oregon Pipeline’s mandamus motion. The company has appealed that ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners originally approved the Oregon Pipeline application in November 2010. That ruling was appealed by project opponents, and in January the board, with three new members, voted to withdraw the November decision, and in March gave preliminary approval to findings denying the application.
The county’s motion seeks the reimbursement under state law allowing a judge to award legal fees to the prevailing party in a mandamus action.
In a letter in support of the county’s motion, attorney Harlan Jones of Jordan Ramis PC of Portland, Clatsop County’s legal counsel for the Oregon Pipeline application, argues that the company’s own actions are the cause of the county’s high legal bills for the mandamus proceedings. The company, Harlan states, waited almost two months to file the mandamus petition, opposed an expedited hearing on its request, and sought a change of venue, among other actions.
“Oregon Pipeline has for quite some time itself been the main cause of unnecessary delay and complexity in this case,” his letter states.
The board of commissioners was scheduled to finalize its denial of the company’s application on March 30, but was blocked by a temporary stay issued by the Oregon Supreme Court on a motion from Oregon Pipeline. The board is awaiting the outcome of the mandamus issue, including the appeal to the Court of Appeals, before taking further action on the application.

Released by:
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000