The
Oregon Coastal Futures Project is a project of
1000
Friends of Oregon, Oregon Downtown
Development Association,
and
Oregon Shores Conservation
Coalition
1000 Friends of Oregon is grateful for the following foundations' support of the Coastal Futures Project:
•
Meyer Memorial Trust
•
Collins Foundation
•
Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust
• Goodman
Foundation
• Over
the River and Through the Woods Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
Coastal Futures Update
December 14, 2004
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North Coast Forum on February 12, 2005 at Seaside Convention Center
Save the Date! The first public forum of the Coastal Futures Project will be held Saturday, February 12, 2005 at the Seaside Convention Center. Our keynote speakers will be Jack McGowan of SOLV speaking of building effective citizen participation, and John Berdes of Shorebank Enterprise Pacific, discussing how to build coastal economic success. The forum, entitled “Working with Treasure: The Future of Oregon’s Coast,” will include an update on Measure 37, maps of land use futures for Clatsop and Tillamook Counties, and small sessions where participants can delve more deeply into transportation, rural development and downtown design issues. Read more or register online.
Outreach Opportunities: Tell Us What you Think
1000 Friends staff has met with many groups and individuals in Clatsop and Tillamook Counties, asking about their concerns and issues in coastal matters and land use planning. We have handed out and received many questionnaires that help the Project move forward and develop useful strategies to help coastal residents plan their futures. If you have not filled out a questionnaire and wish to, tell us what you think online.
Responding to Measure 37
Measure 37 passed and now we find out how it will be implemented. At 1000 Friends, we have serious concerns about the impact of Measure 37 on coastal communities’ ability to assure their economic vitality by protecting scenic areas, productive farms and forests and thriving downtowns. Measure 37 puts these at risk because it creates a new class of landowners with special privileges who can violate zoning safeguards. These safeguards are ones that neighbors have depended on for years. Those neighbors now will have nowhere to turn if their property values are decreased due to a Measure 37 waiver. Our top priority is to restore public process in government decision-making that was removed by the measure. Measure 37 took away the normal notice and hearing process that is the backbone of Oregon’s community planning program. We will be monitoring claims, local ordinances and government decisions to make sure that the public and the legislature know about the most outrageous assaults on our communities and our working family farms and forestlands. If you want to stay current about Measure 37 activities, sign up for 1000 Friends’ Land Use Update.
Port of Astoria LNG Lease
On November 5, 2004, the Port of Astoria leased property it owns to Calpine, an energy corporation headquartered in San Jose, CA for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. The lease covers an approximately 96-acre site at the mouth of the Skipanon and Columbia Rivers in Warrenton, Clatsop County. Calpine will now start the permitting process with Oregon and federal agencies. Calpine’s project would probably include terminal and docking facilities for the ships bringing the LNG, two holding tanks, and a pipeline, which would connect with a pipe at Longview. Learn more.
EPA grant to Astoria to reclaim PacifiCorp gasification plant at Youngs Bay
Astoria is beginning the process of reclaiming the PacifiCorp gasification plant site on Youngs Bay. The city recently received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study how best to re-develop the PacifiCorp site, which was used between 1921 and 1950 for the manufacture of gas used in heating and lighting. The master planning process will look at what development the residents of the South Slope area would like. PacifiCorp will pay $1.2 million for the necessary cleanup of shoreline and bay tar deposits. Once this crucial first step is taken, other redevelopment work can get underway. Learn more.
Seaside City Council votes to sign agreement with ODOT to widen 101 in town
On November 22 the City Council of Seaside voted to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation for a project to widen Highway 101 through town. The project will cost approximately $38 million, the money coming from the Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA). ODOT stated that the money would be diverted to another project if Seaside did not act by the November deadline. The Northwest Area Commission on Transportation (NWACT), a citizen’s commission which ranks projects in an area, ranked the Seaside project first for Region 2. The project has been controversial, with backers citing the difficulties of traffic moving through own during summer months, and opponents fearing the widening will change the town’s and worsen problems. Read more.
Newport initiates Employment Lands and Conceptual Land Use Planning Project
The City of Newport is engaged in a public process related to economic development. It is called the Employment Lands and Conceptual Land Use Planning project. One part of the project is develop an economic development strategy for the city; the other is to create a conceptual land use plan for the South Beach area. South Beach is expected to shoulder much of the new growth in the future. There was an open house on the South Beach part of the project on Nov. 17. There will be future opportunities as well. For further information visit the City of Newport website, then click on the “Employment Lands” link.
Oregon Supreme Court to hear Coos Bay-North Bend water rights case
in January
In January, the Oregon Supreme Court will hear a case concerning municipal water rights. The case originates with the Coos Bay-North Bend Water Board, which in 1997 received a water right to flows from Tenmile Creek in Coos County from the Oregon Water Resources Department. The Water Board had applied for the permit in 1990 on grounds not of current growth, but expected growth. The small community of Lakeside, near Tenmile Lakes, was concerned about this action due to its own water needs; the non-profit organization WaterWatch, was also troubled because of the potential for serious water battles if municipalities can hold water rights indefinitely without using them. WaterWatch appealed the Department’s decision. In April, 2004 The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the Department, on grounds that municipalities must take advantage of water rights granted them within five years; they may not hold the water right in anticipation of longterm growth and other needs. Learn more.
Coos County considering zone change on 197 acres of forest land to residential use
Coos County received two applications in November from Indian Point Inc., for a Comprehensive Plan amendment and zone change on approximately 197 acres of forested land. The land borders both on South Slough and on Joe Ney Slough, and is zoned for Forest Mixed Use. The owner, Hank Westbrook, requested that the zoning be changed to “Urban Residential 2,” a zone applicable inside the unincorporated community of Barview, in which the land lies. Additionally, Indian Point Inc. applied for a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would allow recreational planned unit developments (RPUDs) in the Urban Residential 2 zone. This amendment, if approved, would permit RPUDs in this UR-2 zone of any unincorporated community in Coos County. The Coos County Planning Commission approved both requests at a hearing on November 4. The hearings before the Coos County Board of Commissioners on the amendment specific to the Indian Point property will be Jan. 5 and Jan. 19, 2005, at the Coos County Courthouse, 290 N. Central, in Coquille. Learn more.
Coquille Economic Development Corporation open house on sawmill property
in North Bend
In March, the Coquille Indian Tribe purchased the former Weyerhaeuser Corp. sawmill property in North Bend, through its economic arm, the Coquille Economic Development Corporation (CEDCO). The property is fifty acres, sandwiched between Highway 101 and the North Bend bayfront. Currently on the property is an abandoned sawmill and dock site. In November the Tribe held an open house to solicit opinions from area residents and neighbors. CEDCO will undergo site assessment, concept planning, setting design guidelines, and then implementation, which may be about 18 months away. There will be another public meeting, most likely in May or June. Learn more.
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Coastal Futures Update is edited by Cameron La Follette and Kate Kimball and brought to you by 1000 Friends of Oregon, a statewide organization dedicated to protecting Oregon's quality of life. To help support this work, including the distribution of Coastal Update, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.
For more information, please contact:
Coastal Advocate, 1000 Friends of Oregon
(503) 391-0210 | info@coastalfutures.org