Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1981)
Vol. 71 No 32 Single Copy 20' City suggests policies for post office relocation b> DAN D ILLO N I understand we would like them in the core area and not on either end of A city subcommittee dealing with town.’’ relocation of the Sandy post office has That, according to City Manager e sta b lish e d a lis t of “ p o lic y Roger Jordan, is the goal of the sub statements” which it hopes the US committee “ In the best interests of Postal Service w ill consider when it Sandy, the city council subcommittee makes its selection of a new site would like to see the postal service Some councilmen disagree, however, relocate in an area to meet these what the net result of the policy criteria,” he said statements might be In lieu of that, he said, the city council Councilman Vern Richards is con would like to know the postal service cerned the policies will drive the post tried to meet the policies However, office out of the central core by their Jordan said he doesn't expect a fight restrictiveness between the city and the postal service Councilman Don Blair, who served on to occur the subcommittee, disagrees " I think “ If we hadn’t done this (drawn up the we re trying to drive them into the policy statement,» we would have no city,' he said “ We want them to recourse, Mayor Ruth Loundree said The city anticipates its participation in the site selection process to be done in a cooperative s p ir it" The recom mended advisory opinion is to used by the postal service to assist them in iden tifying a location within the city which would lx* in both parties' best interest A post office is a conditional use in all zones in the city The policies the city will take into consideration when review ing the con ditional use permit for a new post office are: Because the city sees the govern ment support services as an integral part of the community, the city will review whether the site will support the commercial core area and w hether the site is located so that it will support all core area functions The city will review whether the site has gixxl access to both east- and westbound traffic on Highway 26. and whether the site has good connecting streets in go<xl condition and of ade quate design. Because the city doesn't have local mail delivery service and business operators from the commercial core must go to the post office to pick up their mail, the city w ill review whether the location is within walking distance from the downtown business district If the site isn’t in close proximity, the city w ill want to know what the postal ser vice intends to do for local distribution Io businesses Because there is a variety of patrons who use pedestrian-oriented means to get to the post office, and because the city encourages this prac tice, city officials will hxik at whether there will be sufficient pedestrian ac cess, such as sidewalks, to connect the post office with residential areas and the general commercial area The city will review whether the site is adjacent or contiguous to a col lector street and what the load lim it is for that particular street and w hether it w ill accommodate the size of trucks the postal service intends to use for mail delivery In addition, specific emphasis w ill be placed on whether or not those trucks w ill travel through residential areas to and from the post office The city w ill review whether tra f fic will have to use residential streets to get to the post office, and whether that traffic has access to a traffic signal lor crossing Highway 26 The city will consider and ade quacy of parking as it affects the on site parking space available in the vicinity of the proposed site The city will review the proposed structure as it relates to the Design Review Board criteria and its impact on adjoining properties. “ After the postal service has taken into consideration our advisory plicy statements, they will need to file for a conditional use permit with the city,” Jordan said, “ and at that time we can be very specific about a particular site as it affects the policy statements." Carmel zone change loses court appeal by DAN D II.L D N The complex trail of Carmel Estates through the appeals process may final ly be nearing its finish The Oregon Supreme Court recently denied review of the state Court of Ap peals dismissal of the developers' ap peal I hat ends the court process w hich developers of the proposed shopping center at the intersection of Highway 26 and Compton Road may pursue However, a zone change which would allow the 26 5 acre site to house the shopping center is contained in the revised Clackamas County comprehen sive plan The plan will go to the state Land ( onservation and Development ( ommission (LCDC) for approval. That body has twice ruled that ( lackamas County erred in rezoning the farmland near Boring for a shopp ing center “ It’s easily the most complicated land use case in the state of Oregon," according to city attorneyJack Ham mond The city of Sandy has fought the shop ping center proposal since it surfaced in 1976 The city filed a lawsuit in circuit court and an appeal to LCDC, with the help of KMM) Friends of Oregon, in 1976 When the sun comes out a young man s mind turns to fishing along a cool mountain stream, t-ridav, (.reg M artin. 9, of Sandy tried his luck for a moment along the Photo by Dan Dillon Salmon River at Wildwood Park with line that had broken from an earlier unfor- tunate fisherman. Hydroelectric hearing sparks testimony bv M IC H A E L P. JONES Post Correspondent A feeling of bitterness permeated last Friday’s five and one half hour hearing on a proposed hyrdoelectric project on Boulder Creek near Brightwixxl. The hearing, conducted by the state Water Policy Review Board, con sidered a preliminary permit applica tion filed by Steven Sweitzer of Welches to study the Boulder Creek area for the possible co nstruction of a m in i hydroelectric project that would operate from Dec l to June 30, annual ly Sweitzer proposes to construct a powerhouse 2.44M) feet from the mouth of Boulder Creek where it enters the Salmon River The structure would divert 13,000 gallons of water per minute to generate enough power to supply some 250 homesites Portland General Electric has tentatively agreed to purchase power from Sweitzer for 20 30 years Sweitzer was represented by John Thompson of Thompson & Associates, a public relations firm , who stressed that the project would provide an opportuni ty for alternative power sources other than nuclear or coal Opponents, however, claim the pro ject “ would open up Pandora's box" and could spell doom for the fish which inhabit the tributaries of the Sandy and Columbia rivers Adrian Shields of SAA Realty of Rhododendron disagreed, "The highly controlled project should proceed ” She criticized the Fish and Wildlife Com mission, fisheries biologists and others claim ing the diversion structure's negative impact on fish is "the biggest fish story" she’s heard C J. Sullivan of Welches agreed that the scare tactics of some of the op ponents was dangerous " He asked to board to grant Sweitzer permission to study the project’s feasibility Pete Carlson of Brightwood question ed “ the re a l m otive s possibly involved " He said, “ When five real estate peo pie are involved, there may he ulterior motives " He hinted that the 160 clear- cut acres the plant would be con structed on could be developed later because “ Mr Sweitzer is a land speculator " Arch Diack. a Portland resident who owns property on the Sandy River, said he had twice testified to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Three charged with murder in Sandy shooting death Three men have been arrested on ac cusations of homicide in the shooting death of a man near Sandy about May 10, according to Ross Cravens, chief deputy in the Clackamas County district attorney's office Oregon City police made the arrests The victim, tentatively identified as Anthony Often, was found last Friday off a dirt road that intersects Highway 26 near Sandy He had been shot to death Otten appeared to be in his mid 50s. arcnrdint» to the Multnomah County deputy medical examiner, Duane L Bigom His addressed was not disclos ed Derrick J (¿*wis. 19, of Clackamas and Vincent D Ingberg, 18, of Oak Grove were lodged in Clackamas Coun ty Jail on accusations of murder Roger L Dow, 19, of Milwaukie was held on an accusation of intentional murder The type of gun used in the incident was not disclosed Cravens refused to discuss the victim's background or any aspect of the case, except to say that Ot ten s former wife reported him missing July 10 A Clackamas County grand jury was to have heard evidence in the case Wednesday The arrests were the result of a com bined investigation by the county district attorney's office, the Oregon State Police and the Oregon City Police Department, according to Cravens. Resources against Sweitzer who, he “ far-reaching ” claimed, was lobbying the legislature to He said that even if the developer rescind the Scenic Rivers Act for the would “ build the best fish ladder in the benefit of small hydroelectric projects world, you would still have problems.” “ If ever there was a foot in-the-door He claimed the diversion would in phony," Diack said, "this is it For if terfere with downstream migrating fish the Water Resources Department gives and the natural reproduction of fish this permit, there w ill almost certainly that rely on the habitats of small be many others to follow This opening streams like Boulder Creek of the floodgates of applications, based Marsh said the tribes were concerned on this precedent, will almost certainly because “ all these small projects have affect the entire Sandy River fishing a worse effect on the fish than one large and mark the beginning of the spoilage dam ” of the scenic-wild river concept that so John McMahan of Brightwcxxl stress many Oregonians are proud of ed the future, testifying with his two “ It is the first environmental bite that children on his lap is the worst, because it sets the stage McMahan said the spawning grounds for more abhoren, degradation and we and potential spawning grounds would simply should not tolerate that in be endangered by the dam “ As long as Oregon, ’ Diack said we can preserve the natural species, Harold Barr, a Gresham resident and it s critica l," he said He said hatchery member of the Northwest Steelheaders fish were inferior to native fish still in Association, said "Power plants at the the stream confluence of Boulder Creek and the His concern for the area's fish stem Salmon River creates a silting of this from his background as a commercial area which is in the very area that fisherman He said he lost his fishing spawning anadromous fish use and can boa, because the salmon were becom not survive under the circumstances ing an endangered species. that this plant, like the others, are Steve Post, a Wemme real estate directly responsible fo r." agent, said although he is a fisherman, Patricia Cook of Brightwoix! said a the hydroelectric project is “ the best "compromise with nature" is the solu use of the creek." He added, however, tion “ If people would really investigate that his support does not mean he would this form of power, I feel they would support sim ilar projects in the area. agree with the alternative power Post said the plant would not have the source We can have our cake— I mean environmental effects that some ex fish — and eat it too " isting projects, such as a new Welches But Charles Siecko, regional park nine hole golf course, asphalt plant or supervisor at Oxbow Park, said erosion proposed development of home sites in and sedimentation of the stream would ' ideal blacktail deer habitats" will occur during construction activities in have. which “ the resulting alterations in the He favors the temporary permit so stream bed characteristics and water Sweitzer can adequately study the temperatures have been shown to be creek and potential environmental im d e trim e n ta l to anadromous fish pact reproduction “ Bonnie Coulding of Brightwood urged He told the board that it must ex the board to kill the project before it amine the anadromous fish contribu ever gets off the ground tions to Oregon's economy through “ The hat goes on and on We have no, commercial and sport fisheries, as well yet begun to curtail our existing pro as tourism He said that during 19«o. blems and I seriously question the need Oregon's sport fishery alone generated or benefit from the proposed hydroelec an estimated 1260 million with the tric plant, especially when Oregon is Salmon River generating 3443,000," selling power to California," she said Fisheries biologist John Marsh, The Water Policy Review Board will representing the Columbia River Inter continue the hearing next Wednesday, Tribal Fish Commission, claimed the AuI U. giving the members a chance p ro je c t's e ffe c t w ould be to visit the site I he city claimed the shopping center would destroy its plans to revitalize Sandy's downtown commercial core The city lost its lawsuit, but won with 1<MM> Friends before LCDC in 197H The state commission ruled that Clackamas ( ounty has failed to makes findings on statewide goals. Early in 1979, the county commis sioners again approved the zone change Sandy followed with its second appeal to LCDC This time, the city had free legal counsel from 1000 Friends' a t torney Richard Benner, who has pur sued the case since. The Metropolitan Service District also entered the fight, arguing that the shopping center was not a rural use and did not belong within Metro’s or Sandy’s boundary. The proposed shopping center would have contained 90,000 square feet of retail floor space, including a super market, a furniture store, a clothing store, a music and record store, two restaurants and a five acre motel Monday evening the Sandy City Coun cil agreed to send Benner a resolution of appreciation for his work on behalf of the city fighting the shopping center and zone change Citizen’s group plans suit against county by M IC H A E L P. JONES Post Correspondent The Clackamas County planning staff has indicated it will be more careful in the future when notifying property owners located with 250 feet of proposed developments after being forced to re hear two conditional use permit ap plications recently. Bu, that may not lx* enough, as the Environmental Committee on Suitabili ty (ECOS) has indicated it w ill sue to recover lost expenses In the span of a month, two hearings concerning developments opposed by ECOS, were ruled illegal because pro perty owners weren't notified by county officials or weren't notified within the time allowed by law Members of ECOS say the chain of events were of “ no real surprise." bas ed on past experiences with the County Over recent months, the citizen's organization has criticized the planning staff for such things as withholding p ub lic in fo rm a tio n on proposed developments and siding with land speculators, rather than the Mt Howl area residents opposed to certain developments based on their suitabili ty- Andrea Cabral of ECOS said the re cent hearings on the Alderwood Mobile Home subdivision and Boulder Creek hydroelectric project tha, were ruled il legal raise a number of questions because each involved her organiza tion She said the coincidence “ makes one stop and think " " I f you consider the time and trouble that we went through." she said, “ not to mention the babysitting costs and the lost wages incurred by working people who attended the hearings, it's jus, no, fair that the County could do this to us twice Is this wha, we are paying taxes for?" ECOS chairperson George Sheets said his organization is no, going to dismiss notification problems as com puter errors “ They were human er rors. pure and simple," he said “ Due to the County's mistakes, it has cos, us a lot of money in unnecesssary legal expenses, no, to mention our time Sheets said “ We are now seriously examining the possibility of recovering these losses." Scott Parker, Clackamas County counsel, said he is “ not aware of any lawsuit filed against the County" bu, added tha, ECOS attorney Ed Sullivan had called and threatened that the group might file such a suit Parker referred to the notification problems with the Alderwowl and Boulder Creek hearings as being “ jus, a flu rry' and added that new precau tionary procedures are being im piemen,«! at the staff level. Planner Mike Clihum of the subdivi sion section said there would fx* no new procedures for notifying property owners of hearing dates, bu, they would study recommendations by the Citizens Involvement Action Committee which reviewed the recent problems Cliburn said the notification mistakes were the first in the pas, couple years and that it is amazing more problems haven', arisen because the County holds three hearings a week with a, least three agenda items "W e don’t like to make these mistakes and we don', like to make organizations like ECOS spend money for an attorney, when they don', have to," said Cliburn. “ I, was unfortunate " Meanwhile, attorney Sullivan con firmed tha, his clients w ill proceed with a suit against the County He said. “ We w ill pu, the County on notice sometime during the middle of this month." Index SECTION 1 Keeping Posted Inside Business Senior Center News Obituaries Editorials. Letters Sports. Recreation 6 . 7-8 SECTION II Area News .. Hood land Happenings,. Around the County .. About People ... Classified Advertising 1 ... 2 3 3 »12 2 3 4 5 SECTION III Television Directory Inside Tab 1 1
