FERC Announces Intent To Prepare Environmental Impact Statement On Oregon LNG/Pipeline

FERC Hearing tonight, 6:00 PM, Warrenton Community Center. You want to speak your mind, get your name in the record? Be there, suck it up, speak your mind on LNG Export from our community.

October 5th Discussion Scheduled On Wave Energy Development Off Camp Rilea

Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 Clatsop County is hosting a public discussion on proposed local wave-energy development and its potential impacts on the North Coast on Friday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-noon at the Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria. The discussion, facilitated by Board of Commissioners Chair Peter Huhtala, will focus on potential wave-energy installations in the waters off Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Center, and their possible impacts on commercial fishing. Representatives from crab and groundfish fisheries, economic development professionals and other interested parties are expected to participate. The public is invited to attend. Released by:Tom Bennett Community Relations Coordinator (503) 338-3622

Hearings Officer Revises Ruling On Sunset RV Park

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 A Clatsop County hearings officer whose ruling against an RV and mobile home park owner was challenged at the state level has prepared a revised order. The order, issued Sept. 21 by Hearings Office Paul Elsner, will allow the owner, Ken Hick and Resources Northwest, to maintain up to 75 permanent and short-term spaces on the roughly 4.4-acre site at Sunset Lake. In December 2011 Elsner upheld a citation issued earlier that year against Hick by the county Community Development Department. The citation listed numerous code violations on the property, including too many dwelling sites for both manufactured homes and recreational vehicles, sites located too close together and too close to adjacent Sunset Lake, and RVs used as permanent dwellings without lawful hook-ups to electrical, water and sewer service. Gray water was also being released into the lake from some sites, according to the citation. Clatsop County began enforcement action against the property in 2010 in response to a petition signed by 60 neighboring property owners. Information indicated that the park contained 90 or more mobile home and RV units. Hick appealed the county citation on the grounds that the level of use at the park predated current zoning regulations and was “grandfathered in” as a pre-existing use. Following a hearing, Elsner upheld the citation and ordered Hick to reduce the number of dwellings at the park to 16 mobile homes and 27 RVs, bring all remaining units up to code, and pay a $4,200 fine. In January the county Board of Commissioners unanimously upheld Elsner’s ruling. Hick appealed the hearings officer order to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which in May remanded the case back to the county, ruling that Elsner had not provided sufficient findings for his order limiting the number of units on the property. Elsner’s revised order allows the park up to 18 mobile home and 25 recreational vehicle spaces for use as permanent dwellings, plus 38 spaces for temporary stays, which are limited to no more than 30 consecutive days in a 60-day period. All permanent dwellings, whether mobile homes or RVs, are required to have approved utility and sewer hook-ups. The owner has until Dec. 1 to bring the property into compliance. Released by: Tom Bennett Community Relations Coordinator (503) 338-3622

Northwest Oregon Housing Authority Board Seeking Applicants

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 Applicants are being sought for an open seat on the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. The position is for a full term ending June 30, 2016. The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority owns and manages housing for low- and moderate-income people and administers various federal housing assistance programs in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties. The board normally meets once a month, the location rotates among the counties. The deadline to apply is Oct. 12 To apply, obtain an application form and return it to the Clatsop County Manager’s Office at 800 Exchange St., Suite 410, Astoria OR 97103, (503) 325-1000. Forms are available from the County Manager’s Office or can be downloaded from the county website www.co.clatsop.or.us at “Your County-Citizen Involvement.” Released by: Tom Bennett Community Relations Coordinator (503) 338-3622