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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1981)
Vol. 71 No. 20 The Sandy Post Heliport question remains up in the air by M IC H A E L I ’ . JONES For The Post confusion According to the meeting's organizer, ( a ro ly n S m ith of R hododendron, The decision w hether or not to allow a Welches School Superintendent Ken proposed heliport to be developed in an Blackburn was selected to moderate unused 11-acre tract of Clackamas the meeting in hopes of facilitating County park land in Zigzag w ill be a dialogue between heliport developers threshold decision,” according to and its opponents County Counsel Scott Parker, because Joe Stem and Gale Peterson, both of its owners (the land is under the Zigzag, refused to attend the meeting jurisdiction of the county comm is because it was not a public hearing sioners) w ill have to decide on their They said they prefer to debate the own land Right now it's just not clear; fa c ility in a county hearing it s muddy because it's our land “ Randy P rie st, ow ner of P rie st Parker, in a telephone interview, P etroleum P roducts of P o rtla n d , called the issues surrounding the defended his role in the proposed fa c ili heliport “ m urky w ater,’ ’ because the ty and denied he would have economic landing area would be located on interests in the heliport. publicly -owned land used for “ com Hoodland Fire Chief Don A rm introut, merce and industry ' and because of who had been criticized for his role and area residents' concern for children's support of the heliport, defended his in safety in nearby Welches School volvement, saying he had no knowledge Parker also indicated that rumors of the comm ercial aspect of the fa cility, and innuendos associated with the pro adding he did not want to know. posal would not make the decision any I don't support the entire proposal,” easier A rm introut said " I know nothing about At a public meeting last Friday at the com m ercial end of it I am only con Welches School did little to clear the cerned about the emergency part of it.” Dr. Bruce Free of Welches question ed A rm introut about the use of his name on the petition A rm in tro u t replied that he had not signed the documents and that his support had been misused The fire chief added that he was “ never on the heliport com m it tee” Free contended that Em m anuel Hospital's Life F light D irector John Hopkins claimed they would have little need for a designateti heliport and that he had questioned w hether other emergencies would ju s tify construc tion. A rm introut concluded that construc tion of the landing fa cility was not w a r ranted by the mountain area's current needs Joe Stein, originator of the heliport proposal, addressed the Hoodland Senior Center Tuesday this week and explained the landing area from his standpoint as a form er helicopter pilot Stein flew a helicopter for the Oregon Journal He maintained a heliport in the 1940s fo r three years in the downtown Portland area He said that because he had made approxim ately 1,500 landings, as well as having logged more than 600 hours of flight tim e, “ to raise the question of safety was laughable." He charged that public opposition had been derived "fro m m isinform ation, vague charges, cynicism, if not outright lies.” Stein, who worked for the National Aeronautic and Space Adminstration for 17 years, contended the heliport at Zigzag is no different than any of the other changes that are occuring in the Mount Hood area. “ It's here w ith us now,” he said Helicopters are flying and landing every day in field and parking lots It's better for both the pilot and the public on the ground to have a designated place to land instead of making in decisive landings where they are now ” To many, the controversy is not bas ed on the heliport itself Reasonable people have to answer the question whether they want to resist change or go out and embrace it,” Stein said Single Copy 20* otate claims it owns Sandy River bottom Ownership of the rocky bed of the Sandy R iver would not appear to be a moot point, but the state of Oregon is very interested in establishing an ow ner of th e u n d e rw a te r acreage—itself The state is claim ing ownership to 39 miles of riv e r from its mouth upstream to Brightwood The claim is based on the federal act making Oregon a state on Feb 14, 1859. At that time, the federal government gave the state title to all submerged and submersible land and the land under navigable rivers as of that date The •‘test’’ for navigability, accor ding to an 1870 U S Supreme Court decision, is “ when they are used, or are susceptible of being used, in th e ir o r d in a r y c o n d itio n , as highways for commerce, over which trade and travel are or may be con ducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on waters '* The Sandy is navigable because it was used to float logs and railroad ties downstream from 1895 to 1926, according to the state The lower three miles were also used for com mercial smelt fisherman “ Whether or not log driving is a use that establishes navigability of a stream is cu rre n tly before the federal courts,'' according to Stan Ham ilton, assistant d ire cto r for l-and and Mineral Resources “ The d iv is io n used the log d riv in g criterion as a basis for determining that the McKenzie River was a navigable riv e r.” The issue is important because the state has mineral rights to the land underneath navigable rivers. For example, anyone wishing to mine gravel from a rive r bed must get permission from the state and pay royalties That money goes into the < o m m o n S chool F u n d to be distributed to public schools I he 1973 Legislature directed the Division of State Lands to determine which rivers are navigable It also said that determination wouldn't a f fect any titles of property owners who live along the rive r It s now the Sandy R iver's turn to be studied A public hearing on the riv e r’s navigability w ill be held this Tues day. May 19. at 3:30and 7 p m in the commons at Sandy Union High School. The division of State Lands has a July l deadline to make its deci sions It is tryin g to meet that date but the Legislature may consider ex tending the cutoff to as late as Julv 1975. 3 If the Sandy River is declared navigable, the effect won’t be very n o tice a b le fo r m ost p ro p e rty owners, according to Jay Edwards of the Division of State Lands. It pertains only to the stream bed which is defined as from the or dinary high water m ark on one side (usually the vegetation line) to the high water m ark on the other side. It doesn't affect titles or change the property owners' rights People still can t trespass across private property to get to the riv e r or to get from the riv e r to a road The state w ill not try to maintain the rive r bed. Edwards said The state would get involved if so meone started a commercial gravel operation. Copies of the navigability study can be inspected at the State Forestry Department. 17710 S.E. 412th Ave., Sandy. Deputies nab Boring robbers ( lackamas ( ounty sheriff's deputies arrested two men Tuesday evening and charged them with firs t degree robbery following an incident at M cCall’s Coun try Store in Boring According to sheriff's reports. Jack Lee Wells. 23. of Damascus, and Robert Allen Phelps, ltt, address unknown, A croud of racers takes off in the first Sandy High Bike Club race Friday, part of the school s Spring Lest, Mike Sheppard ( far rig h t) went on to win the 10- mile race - . n r luya in25 m i " « , , , finishing five m in n lc .head of t r a , her Rnh Karsten .sernnd from v t im i Hearing set on Carmel shopping center - again City offers voters ‘tight, concise’ budget I he city of Sandy w ill take an austere budget to the voters this Tuesday, but that doesn t mean a drop of services is anticipated In his budget message. City Manager Roger Jordan said, “ During the budget preparation, every effort was made to streamline the existing budgets and the a p p ro p ria tio n s a re the m in im a l amounts we leel necessary to met*, our needs ' ’ Mayor Ruth Uiundree agrees She said Tuesday. * We re into this thing as tight and concise as possible and I jus, hop«> people w ill support it ” The c ity is seeking a one year operating levy of $.319.869 96. which is within the lim itations of an A' ballot I ha, sum would balance the annual budge, of $*168.880 The levy would require an estimated tax rate of $4 50 per Sl.ooo assessed valuation ( ouplcd with an estimated $2 46 per $l.ooo assessed valuation for general obligation bonds already on the books, the property taxes on a $50.000 home would be about $348 This marks the second year under the new state law controlling property taxes The law provides for the state to Carpet art pg. 3, sec. I pay up to 30 percent of the property taxes for operating purposes However, the state has se, a lim it on its participa tion That lim it is last year's levy plus inflation and growth A, the beginning of the budgeting pro cedure, it was the city's thinking that it would no, pursue a B' hallo, levy for discretionary funds A, that tim e, the c ity's thinking was that two CETA positions with the city would be phased ou, under the Reagan adm inistration. As it turned out, the program w ill be droppixl about June 30. which means the city would either have to do without them, integrate the duties in to o th e r w o rk lo a d s o r h ire replacements. The city op,«*d to do away w ith one position, at the Sandy Community Center, and reintegrate the duties of the other w ith either par, tim e help or a reorganization of jobs Thus, in order to live w ithin the A ’ ballot restrictions, the city may ex perience reductions in staff, according . to Jordan. However, under monies garnered through federal revenue sharing, the ci ty w ill be able to add a park aide for the summer A parking patrolman for the downtown area w ill pay his own way ou, of the parking fines collected Any capital outlays, such as a budgeted police car and vehicle for the building department, w ill also come out of revenue sharing, instead of property taxes The Sandy area w ill be reassessed bv the County Assessor's office this year and that could have an effect on the local rate The city's population grew 16 percent during the pas, two years That factor, coupled with inflation, has made it d if ficult for the city to keep up the same level of services The larg«>st portion of the propos<*<1 budget would be used to maintain the 24 hour police service That depart ment would receive $285.000 The second largest portion of the budge, would go to the Public Works Department. $235.186 The department pools the personnel and equipment costs and resources for maintenance and improvement of water, sewer, streets and off-street parking into a central fund and the various funds are charged a pro rated portion for the Sandy sweep pg. 2, sec. i n allegedly entered the market at approx im ately 7 p m and. wedding a double- barrel shotgun, demanded money A fter being given un undisclosed amount of currency, the two fled on foot An area resident directed deputies to the approxim ate location where they were last seen They were then arrested in a forested area by deputies ( lackamas County Commissioners w ill hold two omnibus public hearings next Thursday. May 21, to determine the use of 17,500 acres of "contested" rural land, including the controversial Carmel Estates development at the in crews' tim e and expenditures tersection of Highway 26 and Highway The res, of the city's general fund 212. would find these allocations: city The 1:30 and 7 p m hearings w ill be manager's office. $85.205; lib ra ry . at the Carpenters Union Hall. 276 $77,370, senior citize n s pro g ra m , Warner Milne Road in Oregon City $54.792; building department. $44.427; The hearing comes on the heels of the debt service, $41,374; non department I-and Conservation and Development funds, $37,740; planning department, Commission’s decision May 1 tha, $30.587. general services. $28,567; Clackamas County violated state land recreation department, $24.833; legal use goals due to inadequate findings to and ju d icia l. $14,910. city council, su p p o rt its c o m p re h e n sive plan $3,750; comm unity center. $2,770, and designations and zoning fo r these parks. $2.300 areas The so called RUPA contested The city plans some street im areas were part of the county’s 1979 provements under the budge, Schedul ru ra l plan amendments 1 ooo Friends of ed as par, of this year's improvements Oregon and the Metropolitan Service are North B luff Road, installation of a D istrict challenged the zoning saying it walkway along Meimg Avenue and oil allowed non farm and non fores, uses ing of Hood Street. on a g ricu ltu ra l and fores, lands without The city w ill attempt to continue a adequately dem onstrating that the number of other services with the areas were irrevocably com m itted to or budge, including an increase in lib ra ry n»“cd«*<l for non farm and non fores, services to residents by increases in the uses number of books and periodicals and The appeal also alleged tha, the im steps toward implementation of an pacts of ru ra l housing on the regional a u to m a te d check in system The urban growth boundary was no, ad lib ra ry currently serves some 12.000 dresses area residents when it was originally The c ity of Sandy has battled the pro established for in-city service posed Carmel Estates shopping center. near Heidi's, on the grounds tha, it would bur, the c ity ’s economy and re quire city sewer service three miles ou, into a ru ra l area, I he 30-acre site was zoned com m er cial by the county, bu, tha, zoning was overturned twice because the county could no, show a n«»ed for the center on wha, is now a g ricu ltu ra l land The Rural Plan Amendment, adopted by the county in June 1980, amended the comprehensive pain for non-urban por tions of Clackamas County A fter its adoption, petitions filed with the Land Use Board of Appeals challeng«*d the com m ercial designation The p e ti tioners, including 1000 Friends of Oregon and the city of Sandy, alleged violations of state goal 2, land use plan ning. state goal 3. ag ricu ltu ra l lands, and ,4. urbanization LUBA and I.CDC agreed and ruled tha, the county's designation violated these goals According to Ardis Stevenson. En vironm ental Services assistant direc tor. “ People can present facts which they feel clearly demonstrate tha, pro per,y is no longer available for fores, or agricultural use They can tell the commissioners about present uses, parcel sizes and ow nership p a tte rn s, neighborhood characteristics, natural boundaries and any inform ation they feel is relevant,” Stevenson said Index SECTION I Keeping Posted __ Public Notices Editorials. Letters School Menus Senior Center News SECTION II Area News .. . 2 5 r 7 7 About People Hoodland Happenings Bits A Pieces SECTION II I Sports Recreation 12 Classified Advertising 3-8 Television Directory Inside Tab
