Benny Westcott
On Tuesday, Sept. 21, Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker approved, with conditions, a land-use proposal that would allow a plan map amendment and zone change on about 109 acres on Crawfordsville Drive southwest of Sweet Home.
The action would allow owner Lynn Merrill to create housing on the property, which is located on the north side of the Calapooia River. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife has designated much of it as big-game habitat.
The meeting, held at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, was a continuation of an Aug. 3 “remand” hearing, meaning it focused on a single issue: the proposed development’s effect on wildlife.
The commissioners had allowed written comments and accepted them into the record. Written comments for Tuesday’s hearing can be found at: http://www.co.linn.or.us/index.php?content=planning/Comments/RemandHearing.
The conditions include:
— If the property is subdivided, it will be limited to a residential subdivision with a maximum of 10 dwellings within the habitat designation area.
— Residential improvements limited to one acre per parcel.
— Land uses restricted to residential and wildlife, no farming, grazing or commercial forestry outside the one acre footprint.
— Fencing will be wildlife friendly.
— Domestic dogs will be restricted to within electronic fences, kennels or on leash.
— Shooting of firearms or fireworks prohibited.
— Operation of landscaping equipment restricted to one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset.
— Use of common trails limited to one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset.
— Nighttime exterior lighting shall be minimized and activity by motion sensor with a shutoff feature when not in use.
— Roads and driveways will be minimized.
Verbal comments were not allowed at the hearing, although informal protests were made by community members in attendance.
“You can choose to prolong this and get this all right,” said Corby Wilson, a neighbor of the project. “You can do a site visit and make sure it’s all done right. If you look through everything that has gone on so far, it hasn’t been fair to us at all.”
“We can’t get a voice in edgewise because (applicant Lynn Merrill’s) lawyers have stopped us,” Wilson added. “It’s just crazy. I was the one that went around to my neighbors to get all the letters signed in opposition to this. We should have a voice. We just don’t.”
“I’ll leave,” he continued. “I was threatened to be Tazed before. That’s the kind of thing that’s been going on through this process.”
Nyquist responded to Merrill: “State statutes require bodies like us to meet timelines for applicants. There are also requirements for public hearings and public comments and giving notice for that. Had we set up a process that would have allowed for public comment on this matter, we would have been in violation of the statute requiring that we make a decision within X number of days.”
“I get the angst with this,” Sprenger added. “There’s not very many things outside family and friends that are more near and dear to our hearts than our home. I get how impactful this is. Trust me, if there was a way to change the process – and it’s land use laws largely set up by the lawyers of Oregon years ago – I probably would work really diligently to do that. But we have what we have. And we have laws and codes that we’ve got to follow.”
After the decision, Wilson asked Nyquist “Are you totally ignoring the Department of Fish and Wildlife in all of this now? You guys are overriding the Department of Fish and Wildlife?”
He later said, “I’m just trying to understand the rules. Because through this whole process, the rules have been violated, by the developer, by the commissioners, and by other people.”
The decision can be appealed.
In other business during the board’s regular session, the commissioners:
— Were asked by Sweet Home City Councilman Dave Trask to include input from Sweet Home City Council members when considering the fate of the former Willamette Industries mill site property. The commissioners recently rejected four Requests for Proposals for the property’s development. Board Chair Nyquist said he would gladly give the property to the city and that sentiment was echoed by Commissioner Tucker. The commissioners said they would like to set up a meeting to discuss the matter with City Council members in the next few days.
— Were informed by Public Health Officer Dr. William Muth there were 54 births – 29 females and 25 males – and 124 deaths in August. Of the deaths, 31 were related to tobacco use, eight were related to alcohol use, 18 were diabetes related and one was drug related.
— Approved an agreement between Linn County Public Health Services and the University of Southern California in which Linn County will provide practicum learning experiences for Master Level interns in the Social Work Program.
— Approved accepting funds from the Oregon Health Authority to purchased two trailers to be used for temporary evacuations and a shower unit for mass care, sheltering and consumable supplies.
— Approved the Linn County Sheriff’s Office request to seek Requests For Proposals to provide fleet vehicle maintenance.
— Approved agreements with the Senior Citizens of Sweet Home and the City of Albany regarding funding for the Linn Shuttle and Albany’s Call-A-Ride programs.
— Thanked Transportation Coordinator Mark Volmert for his 17 years of service. Chairman Nyquist praised Volmert for “connecting all of the dots” in the extremely challenging field of transportation funding and Commissioner Tucker added that Volmert has done an excellent job reviewing mounds of government regulations and presenting board members with clear, concise information.
— Accepted an Oregon State Parks grant to build new restroom-shower unit at Sunnyside, apply for a grant to build a new restroom-shower at Waterloo County Park and apply for a grant to renovate the Crawfordsville Covered Bridge.