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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2017)
30 Wednesday, December 6, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon MARIJUANA: Rural residents wrestle with compatibility Continued from page 1 The approval carries con- ditions; Tewalt will have to complete an electrical upgrade, and provide proof from Oregon Water Resources that they are meeting require- ments for water to be deliv- ered to the property. Commissioner Tammy Baney, who voted for approval, told The Nugget that the Goodrich Road appli- cation had raised concerns typical of the debate over marijuana growing operations in rural Oregon. Opponents believe cannabis should not be considered an agricultural crop and note that it remains RATES: Some light users’ rates could actually go down Continued from page 1 services increases. The water-rate study pro- posed changes in billing approaches resulting in the removal of the 1,000 cubic feet (c.f.) allowance currently built into the City’s base rates. With this change, customers will pay the volume rate of $1 per 100 c.f. on all water usage. The current base rates will be reduced to account for the increased revenue from vol- ume charges. The change in billing approaches means that water customers will be paying for the actual amount of water they use, hopefully encour- aging water conservation and allowing customers to impact their usage charges. Those whose consumption is low could conceivably see their water bill reduced. The water-rate updates will take place January 1, 2018. As recommended by the study results, City Council estab- lished the following rates for water service. For five- eighth- and three-quarter-inch meters, the base charge will be reduced from $20.50 to a federally prohibited sub- stance. They raise concerns about traffic and crime and the fear that operations “will increase unsavory individuals in the community.” Such issues, however, are not under the purview of county land-use action. “Most of the concerns raised were not land-use- actionable concerns,” Baney said. “You start peeling the onion and all of a sudden you’ve got a lot of layers. We tackled the things we have jurisdiction over.” Traffic, it turns out, was not much of an issue, as Goodrich Road is well below traffic levels that would be pushed to extremes by a new operation. Power, noise, water and odor must be addressed. In addition to requiring that the applicant demonstrate $15.50. One- and one-and- a-half-inch meters will be charged a new base rate of $17.38, down from $23.09. Two-inch meters will have a base rate of $19.25 compared to the former rate of $25.58. All meters three inches and larger will be charged a $46.96 base rate, down from $62.40. All customers will be charged $1 per 100 c.f. for all water consumed, on top of their base rate. The sewer rate study resulted in a change in the rate structure methodology. In the past, the City used the amount of water used in the winter months of January-March to determine a commercial user’s average water use outside of the irrigation season, and thus their equivalent dwelling units (EDUs), which are the basis for sewer charges. The City Council adopted new sewer rates and expanded the “win- ter average” evaluation period to include October, November, December, and April. The sewer rate updates of $37.77 per EDU will take place on July 1, 2018 and reflect a decrease of $1.23 a month. Each single residen- tial dwelling is one EDU. The commercial EDUs are based on one EDU per 501.337 cubic feet of “winter average” water use. that they meet requirements regarding water and power, they must mitigate noise and odor. The greenhouse will be contained inside another structure, which should help mitigate noise from the opera- tion. Baney notes that “if they can’t mitigate the odor, we can pull their permit. If we can smell it at the property line, it’s not working is the bottom line, essentially.” Phil Henderson, who cast the dissenting vote, told The Nugget that he wants to see more detail in such applica- tions as to exactly how odor control systems will work — and for applicants to provide tested documentation to show that it does. “If these are legitimate businesses that are going to make a good amount of money, it’s not too much to Effective July 1, 2018, “winter average” shall be measured as average water use between the preceding November billing period through the April billing period. Effective July 1, 2019, “winter average” shall be measured as average water use between the preceding October billing period through the April billing period. Prior to recommending the changes in the water and sewer rates to the Council, City staff met with the largest commercial customers who would be impacted by the changes to explain the study findings and the rationale for the necessary adjustments. Those users were generally understanding of the need to support infrastructure, accord- ing to Council President Nancy Connolly. Connolly also pointed out the need for equity for residen- tial users. “The changes will help offset the general public subsidizing the businesses.” Notification of the changes will be included in the December water and sewer bills from the City. Home Ownership Brings Quality of Life If you are currently renting a home, come by and see us. Perhaps you might be able to buy an affordable home in Central Oregon! Sisters HomeLand Realty Ali Mayea Principal Broker/Owner 541-480-9658 Jill A. Jarkesy Principal Broker 541-588-0558 Greg Johnson Broker 541-408-3344 Located in the historic Hardy Allen House | 401 E. Main, Sisters ask that they specify what they’re going to use and how they know it’s going to work,” Henderson said. “They don’t do that; they just kind of talk about it in general.” Baney noted that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has an entirely separate licensing pro- cess. While the County has approved 28 marijuana pro- duction facilities, OLCC has added their approval to only nine of those. Both land-use approval and licensing are required for a legal growing operation. Baney noted that the County isn’t hearing about negative impacts from legally approved operations. r our ho Bring y However, not everyone who is growing marijuana locally has a license and land-use approval. “We are working to get aggressive on code enforce- ment,” Baney said. “We know that there are illegal grow operations that we need to address.” The Commissioner told The Nugget that marijuana growing is a challenging and emotional issue. “A lot of people who are very pro-property-rights are very much against this,” she observed. She called it “one of the most challenging compat- ibility issues” she has seen in land-use regulation. ses! 10 acres with Irrigation Power and water to property. Ready for your dream home and horses! Cloverdale area. Priced to sell at $385,000 Winfield Durham, Broker 541-420-9801 LICENSED BROKER IN THE STATE OF OREGON 625 N. Arrowleaf Trail, Sisters CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS John P. Pierce 541-549-9764 CCB# 159020 CCB# 16891 Becke W. 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