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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2017)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5 Local City Planning discusses zoning Arrests CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 BY GINA K. SWARTZ Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com On Wednesday De- cember 20, 2017 the City Planning Commission held a public work session to discuss potential re-zoning of properties and devel- opment of a Residential- Professional zone. The work session agenda called for an election of officers and a review of minutes from the No- vember 29,2017 meeting, however Chair Alan Blair, Tim Collins, Shem Carlson and Brandy Bruce were not present. With only Vice Chair Ken Rockwell, Don Herman and Aaron Still present a quorum was not met and therefore official business could not be ad- dressed. Those present did hear from Planning Director Holly Kerns and Senior Planner Eva Henes about the proposed changes that included the creation of a Residential-Business zone. Kerns said that in her opinion, such a zone was needed as more and more people were requesting conditional use permits to operate businesses out of residential homes. She explained that due to the increase, she and her staff felt that perhaps it was time for the City to look at re-zoning certain areas and creating a resi- dential -business zone to meet the changing needs Gina K. Swartz/ The Baker County Press Planning Commissioners L-R Ken Rockwell, Don Herman and Aaron Still. of the community and be more attractive to new prospective businesses looking to relocate and live in the home that they oper- ate business. Kerns told the Commission that she felt it was time to “embrace the changes.” One area of concern was the area of North Main Street, where there is already a mix of residential homes and businesses. That area currently has an accounting office build- ing, a dental office building and an attorney’s office as well as several homes. Proposed changes would also include buildings downtown that had the potential to be occupied by a business on the ground floor and a home on the second floor. Kerns noted that there are several buildings downtown that are taking a long time to sell. Potential buyers it seems are more interested in buildings that can provide more than one use. There are several build- ings downtown currently that have a business on the ground floor and a resi- dence on the second, but a conditional use permit is required. That is a process that is deterring buyers. If changes were made allowing the area to be- come residential-business zoned buyers might be more likely to consider the property. Don Herman asked if due to the Historical aspect these downtown buildings that would be allowed and was advised that it would because the structure would not be changed just the overall use. Vice Chair Ken Rock- well brought up the fact that it really didn’t happen often enough, he felt, to warrant creating an actual residential-business zone. He cited a business on the corner of Main and Campbell Street that was operating with a condi- tional use permit. He recounted all the work done by planners to get that accomplished for the business but said it worked quite well. He believed the process worked well and felt it should stay in place rather than re-zoning. It was noted that once zoning is changed it is difficult to go back and often there are unforeseen consequences. SEE PLANNING PAGE 9 However, Payne continued to move behind Officer Smith until Baker County Sheriff’s Deputy Gabe Maldonado arrived on scene and stopped Payne. Payne resisted arrest and a Taser was de- ployed by Officer Smith. Deputy Maldonado was then able to take Payne Photo courtesy of the BCSO. into custody. Officer Shannon Regan Aaron Hansen. arrived on scene and was able to take the driver, identified as Aaron Ray Hansen (12/04/75) into custody for Attempting to Elude a Police Officer and Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon. Sergeant Chastain arrived on scene and using Drug Detection Dog “Capa,” conducted an open air sniff on a backpack that Payne had dropped on the ground when he walked away from the car. Capa alerted on the backpack and a search warrant was written. A subsequent search revealed approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia. In addition to the charge of failing to obey Officer Smith (Interfering with a Police Officer), Payne was also charged with: Possession of a Controlled Substance (Meth), Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Meth), Resisting Arrest, Escape III, and As- saulting a Public Safety Officer. Colton CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The horses bolted with one passenger in the carriage, which ran over Colton’s leg in the process. The car- riage is light, and Colton’s injuries were very minor. He “walked away from the incident,” said Chastain. The horses continued until one slipped on the icy intersection of 10th and Campbell. The horse suffered some abrasions, said Chief Wyn Lohner. The passenger was able to exit the carriage, and a bystander who knew his way around horse tack freed the fallen horse from the carriage. The animal stood of his own accord.
