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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2021)
Wednesday,June9,2021 Columbia Gorge News www.columbiagorgenews.com 9 Solar moratorium lifted in Klickitat County Jacob Bertram ■ By Columbia Gorge News Klickitat County commis- sioners voted to lift the mor- atorium on solar develop- ments subject to a condition- al use permit at their regular board meeting May 24. The motion to lift the moratorium was affirmative- ly voted for in a unanimous fashion, with the condition that staff will undergo a “cu- mulative impact analysis” on potential solar development projects, and that the board of county commissioners will work on recommendations for the county board of ad- justments to follow concern- ing mitigation conditions they would use to judge a conditional use permit ap- plication for solar industrial project. In the lead up to the May 24 meeting the three commissioners listened to presentations, read through hundreds of pages of wit- ness testimony, and sat in workshops presented by the county assessor’s office to examine how large-scale industrial solar projects pay taxes to the county. At the beginning of the dis- cussion, Commissioner Jacob Anderson presented to his fellow board members a list of recommendations to give to the Board of Adjustment — a list of mitigatory actions that would be relayed to the BoA, who ultimately makes judgements on approvals and denials of conditional use ap- plications following approval by commissioners. Anderson reiterated his position that was wholly against the enactment of a moratorium on indus- trial solar development, his argument being that the state’s environmental process (through the State Environmental Policy Act) acted as a strong buffer against citizen concerns on the construction of solar farms in the county – and that should a moratorium be enacted, solar develop- ment groups may wind up going through the state’s energy development siting process conducted by the state Environmental Facility Site Environmental Council, potentially upending the local processes of undergoing an environmental impact statement and approval of a conditional use permit application. Following a conversation on potential mitigatory fea- tures established in recom- mendations to be given to the Board of Adjustment on future decisions, namely set- backs and decommissioning bond rates, Board Chair Dave Sauter argued that a morato- rium should be in place if the board agreed to create a new ordinance directly targeting industrial solar develop- ments, voicing his position that a moratorium would not be “fair” to private property owners “who are on hold” if the board chose not to take the path that would culmi- nate in a new ordinance. “I think we need to give di- rection as to what the board thinks might be too big for any projects that might come through,” said Commissioner Dan Christopher. “I think the guidance needs to be publicly given to the plan- ning director so that she’s not making it up on the fly and that conversations are not be- ing held out of the public.” While Christopher pushed back on sentiments expressed by the commis- sioners do more harm than good, he voted with the board to lift the moratorium on the grounds that at least something will be done in the future to examine mitigatory acts placed on potential solar development applicants — namely, the “cumulative impact analysis” and the list of recommendations. The vote did not finalize the list of recommendations — instead commissioners will undertake a discussion in coming weeks and eventually vote on the final list. A draft list of the mitigatory actions recommended by the board has not been re- leased. Dave McClure will be presenting to the board June 29 to talk further about the cumulative impact analysis. Oregon legislators near end of session Gary A. Warner ■ By Oregon Capital Bureau "Sine die is imminent," de- clared Senate President Peter Courtney on Tuesday, using one of the secret decoder ring-needed terms of the Oregon Legislature. Translation: We're almost through for 2021. But not so close you can't pop a last-minute bill into the hopper, which Courtney did Tuesday morning with a bill to ban horse racing in Oregon. With just 25 days left before the Oregon constitution requires the Legislature to shut down the 2021 session, Courtney's dual actions reflected the frenzy of some- times contrary activity in the House and Senate. A day after Salem hit a record 96 degrees, the House and Senate were back to turn up the heat on the pace of legal manufacturing. Gov. Kate Brown was signing bills at a steady pace, including a new concealed weapons ban for the Capitol. The announcement came as the Secretary of State issued a notification a proposed ref- erendum for the 2022 ballot that would undo the law. The House had 78 bills and resolutions scheduled for a final vote on Wednesday. House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, called a dou- ble session, with House members called to the floor at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Committee meetings began at 8 a.m. with some sched- uled to start as late as 5:30 p.m. The Senate moved at a more sedate pace, with just 16 bills handled in a morning session. But it has 22 more scheduled for Thursday. Courtney used a quote from Florence Nightingale, the nurse and social reformer born in 1820, to send the message he wanted lawmak- ers to cooperate on getting through the session without any more delaying tactics. "I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse," Courtney said. In an unusually late move, two bills were introduced. Senate Bill 871 would essentially bar horse racing in Oregon. Senate Bill 870, authored by Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, would revise disclosures on campaign finance contributions. Courtney's office did not explain how the bills might be considered this late in the session. The legislation became a blur on Tuesday and Wednesday, as bills churned out by the dozens. A tiny sample of topics included extending approval of take- out cocktail sales, residential rent assistance, extending a moratorium on foreclosures and scores of other issues. 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