Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Highlights Of July 11, 2012 Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners Meeting


County Code
adopted
The board adopted a
newly revised County Code of Regulations. The code contains all county
ordinances except for land-use ordinances.
County Counsel
Heather Reynolds explained that the year-long review process, conducted with the
help of a private consultant, fixed outdated and obsolete ordinances and made
code enforcement clearer. The revision also collects the ordinances in a single
location for easy access by county staff and the public.
Along with the code
adoption the board also approved an ordinance-adoption process that allows for
public hearings extended over two consecutive meetings.

Gillnet committee
formed
The board voted to
establish a committee to lead a public educational effort related to a November
2012 ballot measure that would ban the use of gillnets in the Columbia River
salmon fishery. The board voted to appoint Commissioners Scott Lee and Dirk
Rohne to the committee and authorize Chairman Peter Huhtala to appoint the
remaining members, who will include, a fisherman, fish processor and up to four
at-large members and would lead an effort to provide impartial information to
voters about the county’s Select Area Fishery Enhancement (SAFE) salmon net-pen
program and the local commercial salmon industry.
In May the county
Budget Committee voted to earmark $18,000 from the county’s Special Projects
fund to pay for educational outreach on the SAFE program.

Land-use appeal
approved
The board approved
findings of fact upholding a “vested rights” claim from landowner Dale Marshal
granting him development rights on five residential lots in the Knappa area
under the Measure 49 land-use initiative. The board originally approved the
claim on appeal in 2010, overturning a decision from the county Community
Development director, but final findings of fact were never adopted. The lack of
findings was discovered earlier this year when Marshal inquired about the status
of the property to the Community Development Department.

Hearings officer
restored
The board approved a
recommendation from the Clatsop County Planning Commission that the county
assign Type IIa land-use applications to a hearings officer. Type IIa
applications typically involve requests for conditional use permits or
variances, but do not involve changes to land-use regulations or zoning. A
hearings officer heard Type IIa applications for the county until 2007, when the
board assigned those applications to the planning commission.

Other
Business
In other business the
board:
-Approved a four-year
collective bargaining contract with the union representing deputy district
attorneys. The agreement sets salary ranges for the three position
classifications, annual cost-of-living adjustments, and minimum requirements for
promotion to the top Deputy III position. There are currently five deputy
district attorneys.
-Appointed the
following people to the Clatsop Forestry and Wood Products Economic Development
Committee: Dennis Creel of Hampton Affiliates; Eric Oien of Teevin Bros. Land
and Timber; Jim Reeb of OSU Extension Service; John Larson of Georgia-Pacific
Wauna mill; Kevin Leahy of Clatsop Economic Development Resources; Mark
Gustafson of Gustafson Logging Co.; and Michael Bunch of the Oregon Small
Woodlands Association.

Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000 ext. 1312ll July 11, 2012 Agenda Packet

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