STATE
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 7A
Bentz slams governor over
COVID-19 restrictions
many in my district, and
I share their frustration,”
said Bentz in a statement.
“Today, nearly 70% of
Oregon’s older popula-
tion is fully vaccinated
and many communities
across our state were well
on their way to safely
returning to some sort of
By LILIANA FRANKEL
Malheur Enterprise
Sean Nealon/Oregon State University
Oregon State University conducts COVID-19 testing at its Corvallis campus in this undated photo. OSU an-
nounced Tuesday, May 4, 2021, it will require students and staff to get COVID-19 vaccinations before fall term.
Oregon State University to
require COVID-19 vaccines
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — Oregon
State University announced
it will require COVID-19
vaccinations before the fall
term.
The university in Cor-
vallis said Tuesday,
May 4, students and
employees who study and
work onsite at the univer-
sity’s locations must be
vaccinated.
“As we advance our
plans to resume traditional
on-site and in-person activ-
ities for the 2021-22 aca-
demic year, high rates of
vaccination among our stu-
dents, faculty and staff are
needed to help improve the
safety and well-being of
our community,” Interim
President Becky Johnson
said in a statement.
OSU’s vaccination
requirement plans were
informed by state and fed-
eral guidance related to vac-
cines, advice from public
health experts, and guid-
ance from other organiza-
tions, such as the American
College Health Association,
the statement said.
Elsewhere in Oregon,
the University of Portland,
Willamette University, and
Lewis and Clark College
have also announced vac-
cine requirements as have
the University of Wash-
ington and Washington
State University.
Nationally more than
100 colleges and universi-
ties have announced vac-
cination requirements for
students and/or employees,
according to The Chron-
icle of Higher Education.
Owners get more time to rebuild
after 2020 Labor Day wildfi res
Bills pass Oregon
House, also ease
requirements for
replacement homes
and businesses
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Owners
would get more time to
rebuild homes and busi-
nesses destroyed in the
2020 Labor Day wildfi res,
without running afoul of
planning requirements,
under two bills that have
cleared the Oregon House.
Both bills passed on
56-0 votes on Tuesday,
May 4. One goes to the
Senate, the other to Gov.
Kate Brown.
House Bill 2289, which
goes to the Senate, gives
property owners fi ve years
— instead of the normal
one year — to start recon-
struction, which would not
be considered a “land use
action” under Oregon law.
It applies in areas aff ected
by wildfi res under a state
of emergency declared by
Gov. Kate Brown between
Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2020.
The Labor Day wild-
fi res destroyed an esti-
mated 4,000 homes. The
largest concentration (about
2,500) was destroyed in the
Almeda fi re in Southern
Oregon, but other fi res
were spread across Oregon.
Building permits are not
usually considered land use
actions.
But Rep. Brian Clem,
D-Salem, said a work
group he convened under
the House Agriculture
and Land Use Committee
last fall after the wildfi res
anticipated the potential of
legal challenges to recon-
struction. Clem became
chairman of the House Spe-
cial Committee on Wildfi re
Recovery this session.
“If this were deemed a
land use decision, an angry
neighbor could litigate,
some other group could lit-
igate. What we are trying
to do is give a safe harbor,”
he said.
“If you are rebuilding
basically the same footage
at the same location, it’s not
a land use decision ... and
you can proceed with your
rebuilding.”
The bill sets a deadline
of Sept. 30, 2025, for the
start of reconstruction in
these areas. It allows the
square footage of replace-
ment houses to be up to
10% more than the orig-
inal. Structures do have to
comply with building codes
in eff ect in January 2008
or at the time of original
construction, whichever is
later.
Clem said the bill has
an exception for recon-
struction in federally des-
ignated fl oodplains, where
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency can
set requirements for prop-
erty owners to take part in
the national fl ood insurance
program.
It follows up House Bill
3272, which also cleared
the House last week and
went to the Senate. Under
it, people who lost their
homes in the 2020 Labor
Day wildfi res would get
a minimum of two years
under insurance policies to
repair or rebuild, and other
insurance protections.
On a percentage basis,
Clem said, more home-
owners (25%) are in the
building permit process in
Detroit than in Paradise, Cal-
ifornia, which was destroyed
in 2018. However, the mid-
2020 population estimate for
Detroit — which is east of
Salem — was 205, the same
as in the 2010 Census. Para-
dise counted 26,800 people
in 2010; it was barely 10%
of that total in a 2019 count
taken six months after the
fi re.
Nonconforming use reset
Senate Bill 405, which
goes to the governor, rede-
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ELGIN ELECTRIC 43 N. 8th
fi nes what a nonconforming
land use is. For example, a
retail store can operate in
an area that has become a
residential neighborhood.
Under current law, non-
conforming uses can con-
tinue indefi nitely — unless
there is an interruption in
that use, such as inactivity
or abandonment of a prop-
erty, for one year. The bill
resets the one year to start
once the governor lifts the
state of emergency that
caused the interruption.
For the coronavirus pan-
demic, Brown has imposed
a state of emergency since
March 2020 and renewed
her order every 60 days.
The latest order is sched-
uled to end June 28.
“It provides a little bit of
breathing room to ensure
that owners of noncon-
forming properties have
the time needed to gather
resources and begin con-
struction,” Rep. Pam
Marsh, D-Ashland, said.
“Aff ected landowners want
nothing more than to be
back in place. Rebuilding is
a marathon, not a sprint.”
Marsh and Rep. Jami
Cate, R-Lebanon, are from
wildfi re-ravaged areas.
“We’ve heard testi-
mony from people feeling
that their only hope of
meeting this requirement is
to choose a quicker option
— whether that is prede-
signed-building plans that
don’t quite fi t their needs,
or manufactured homes —
rather than risk waiting for
stick-built structures,” Cate
said.
“Let’s give wildfi re vic-
tims the time they need
to navigate obstacles to
rebuild their lives.”
Marsh said a diff erent
section of the bill is intended
to help organizations such
as the Oregon Country
Fair, which was unable
in July 2020 to stage its
three-day fair on its prop-
erty in Veneta. The fair has
announced that its July 2021
event also will be virtual.
Appliances you
can trust
Elgin, OR 541-437-2054
ONTARIO — Oregon
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz on
Monday, May 3, called
on Gov. Kate Brown to
reverse her decision to
impose tighter restrictions
on 15 Oregon counties
that require restaurants to
close.
The gov-
ernor last week
announced 15
counties were
moved into the
“extreme risk”
category under
her COVID-19
metrics.
The state rules
in that circum-
Bentz
stance restrict
indoor dining,
as well as lim-
iting attendance
for gyms and
churches.
Of the 20
counties that
Bentz rep-
— U. S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario
resents, eight are
aff ected by the
new restrictions.
Those counties are Baker, normal. However, Gov.
Crook, Deschutes, Grant,
Brown has now done
Jackson, Josephine,
completely the oppo-
Klamath and Wasco. Mal- site of many other states:
heur County still is under imposing yet another
the “moderate risk” des-
lockdown.”
Bentz said the
ignation, which is less
$20 million in aid Brown
restrictive.
“Gov. Kate Brown’s
proposed making avail-
decision to again lock
able for businesses suf-
down huge parts of
fering under the new
Oregon has caused
restrictions was “woe-
incredible frustration for
fully inadequate.”
“I am calling upon
Gov. Brown to reverse
this unfortunate deci-
sion and focus her atten-
tion instead on vaccina-
tions and making sure
that COVID aid sent to
Oregon by the federal
government be quickly
allocated to those in
need,” he said.
Bentz, a Repub-
lican from Ontario,
voted against the
American Rescue
Plan that Congress
approved in March.
The plan included
$28.6 billion for the
Restaurant Revi-
talization Fund to
help struggling
restaurants and bars
across the country.
Bentz noted
while it might
seem unusual for a
national represen-
tative to comment
on state aff airs,
“in recent days,
the Oregon Health
Authority actually
invited public input
from Oregon’s congres-
sional delegation.”
Charles Boyle, deputy
communications director
for Brown, said that
“our offi ce and Oregon
Health Authority hold a
biweekly meeting with
the congressional dele-
gation. Those meetings
are an open dialogue in
which we receive feed-
back from them.”
“Gov. Kate Brown’s
decision to again lock
down huge
parts of Oregon
has caused
incredible
frustration for
many in my district,
and I share their
frustration.”
We thank these Chamber Members
for their continued support
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