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SANDY OREGON THURSDAY MARCH 4 1982
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County board approves slope amendment
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Poet Correspondent
The Clackamas County Board of
County Commissiners recently ap
proved an amendment to the County
Zoning and Development Ordinance
that allows development on slopes in
excess of 35 percent
The amendment came about after
the Mt. Hood Natural Resources
Coalition successfully argued against
a hydroelectric project proposed for
Minikahda Creek, just off of Lolo
Pass Road in Zigzag, which went
before the commissioners on Jan 6
for an appeal.
At that hearing Developer Paul
Sanders of Zigzag argued that the
Oct. 29 ruling of a Clackamas County
hearings officer, who denied the pro
ject because it would be developed on
slopes prohibited by the current or
dinance. was wrong
He a rg u e d th a t slopes a re
necessary for the generation of
hydro-power
Lynn F ra n k , director of the
Department of Energy, agreed and
urged the commissioners to change
the ordinance, which she calied, in a
letter read at the hearing, "an
unreasonable obstacle to the develop
ment of such facilities” as Sanders .
The commissioners voted against
the p ro je c t fe a rin g th a t the
C o a litio n 's a tto r n e y , E d w a rd
Sullivan of Portland, would file a
lawsuit since the action would have
violated the county ordinance.
However, they requested that the
planning staff draft an amendment to
the ordinance, which would allow
hydropower facilities on steep slopes.
The amendment to the ordinance
drafted by the planning staff,
Canby man makes 7
in county clerk race
The field in the race for Clackamas
County Clerk grew to seven last
Thursday when a Canby man an
nounced his intention to seek the
post.
Douglas Wayne Poppen, 33, ex
ecutive director at Parrott Creek
Ranch, announced that he will seek
the job his father. George D. Poppen,
currently holds
The elder Poppen announced he
will retire for health reasons at the
end of his current term
While name fam iliarity may be
helpful. Doug Poppen is running on
his record—not his father’s.
“ I recognize my own experiences
and qualifications,” he said. “ I ’m
certainly not running on his name."
Poppen has been employed at P ar
rott Creek Ranch for the past six and
one-half years He worked as a
counselor and administrative direc
tor before assuming his current role.
His responsibilities have included
management of an $800,000 annual
budget and 30 full-time employees
“ I have been informed by a t
torneys. businessmen and citizens of
Clackamas County that they view the
clerk's office to be an extremely effi
cient and well run office,” Poppen
Douglas Poppen
said
" I pledge to continue such service
to the citizens of Clackamas County
and to be readily accessible to the
public. I would continue the practice
of giving courteous service to
everyone.”
Poppen and his wife, Nikki, have
two children, Jeffrey and Kelly.
however, went beyond allowing just
hydro facilities on such slopes The
amendment submitted to the com
missioners for approval allows any
development, such as horn esites and
r e s id e n tia l p ro je c ts as co n
dominiums to be built on these
slopes
According to the Mt Hood Com
munity Plan adopted in December of
1976. the purpose of including
"hillside classification of land is to
identify areas which not only present
problems for development but also,
due to excessive slopes, constitute a
major source of erosion ”
The plan states that slopes in ex
cess of 25 percent are not suitable for
development The amendment would
allow developments on slopes ten
percent greater than this, if the
development site meets certain
engineering standards.
The plan characterizes these slope
areas as being "shallow and unstable
soils, outcroppings of rock and forest
cover.” It also referred to them as
being ‘‘an im portant watershed
area ”
“ These areas are generally un-
suited for d evelopm ent, since
development usually causes major
erosion by in c re a s in g ru n o ff
velocity," states the plan
“ Major engineering problems are
encountered with road construction,
sitings of buildings and performance
of subsurface disposal systems ”
At the Feb 22 hearing Beth Baker,
secretary-treasurer of the Rhododen
dron Neighborhood Group, told the
commissioners that her association
opposes the relaxation of the zoning
an d
d e v e lo p m e n t
o rd in a n c e
“ because of the potential effect on
those at the lower slope elevations
who could end up with not only mud
drainage slides descending on them,
but also septic contents.”
She said that this has happened
elsewhere, especially in California.
M arilyn Leslie, representing the
E n v iro n m e n ta l C o m m itte e On
Suitability, agreed and said that the
35 percent amendment would create
environmental hazards because of
the instability of slopes
She said that most of these steep
areas would be along streambeds on
which the hillsides, if disturbed,
would cause erosion problems for the
area's waterways.
Leslie told the commissioners that
the Mt. Hood Community Plan
m akes m o re th a n a d e q u a te
allowance for development in the
The commissioners voted two to
one to approve the amendment Com
missioners Schumacher and Ralph
Groener voted for the ordinance
change, with Commissioner Stan
Skoko casting the dissenting vote
Boring nurse given trip to Hawaii
by GWEN BOGH
Post Correspondent
Thanks to emergency room doc
tors and nurses, Pat Swisher of
Boring, a night nurse, recently en
joyed a trip to Hawaii.
Swisher has been working the
late shift, from l p.m to 7 a m., at
the Portland Adventist Medical
Center since 1962
She had been a beds id'; nurse for
two years, and was asked to fill in
on occasion in the emergency
room. Soon after that the job she
worked on a temporary basis turn
ed into a full-time career
The years have not been easy for
S w isher. She’s ra is e d th ree
children while working nights She
said she managed to find spare
hours for sleep, but it was quite a
challenge
“ I ’m very adaptable with my
sleeping habits," she said.
For day sleepers a ringing
telephone can be annoying, so most
disconnect it. Swisher didn't. She
said, “ I can take great delight in
listening to it ring ”
The irregular hours didn’t seem
to bother Swisher when the
children were growing up. She was
glad that she could work while they
were sleeping, and be home with
them while they were awake.
Last year Swisher’s husband
died of a heart attack It was a dif
ficult period in her life Two of her
children lived at home at the time.
She said they helped her through
the crisis
Swisher recalls a dream her hus
band had of going to Hawaii. While
he was unable to go for himself, the
dream materialized for her.
A surprise birthday party in
November is marked as one of
Swisher’s most memorable days.
The usual cake and decorations
punctuated the event, but as she
received gifts of sun-tanning lotion
and visors, as well as other outdoor
items, she began to question the in
tentions of the party givers.
She asked, “ What do you guys
want me to do, start jogging?”
Then, as she flipped through n
book featuring palm trees and
poetry, she knew her friends were
up to something.
At the end of the book she found
tickets to Hawaii and a check for
$250
She said, " I looked to see if they
had gotten me a return ticket.”
and other well known spots
She said she enjoyed snorkling
the most. "W e were more in
terested in the beach," she added
The weather on Oahu was "most
ly nice,” Swisher said It was only
cloudy three or four days of the two
week trip
They stayed in a condominium,
and rented a car the first week
The next week they used a friend's
car
"It's a fantastically relaxed way
o* living.” Swisher said.
Asked why her associates
her a trip to Hawaii, Swisher
jokingly, " It was kind of a
spiracy ”
She added, though, " It
because of the friends I
around me."
The emergency room doctors
purchased the tickets and the
nurses collected the $250 spending
money
Swisher left for Hawaii Jan 5. “ I
enjoyed it much more than 1
thought I would,” she said. “ I
never expected to go.”
She made the trip with two
woman friends, and they visited
the Arizona Memorial, Punch Bowl
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area, and that there is not a need to
open up any more land for develop
ment By opening up the slopes, she
claimed that condominiums could
then be constructed
Commissioner Robert Schumacher
disagreed, claiming that the county's
guidelines for slope development are
strict enough, and that it would be
n e x t to im p o s s ib le fo r such
developments to occur
Carolyn Smith of the Coalition also
opposed the amendment and re
quested that the commissioners wait
to make a decision.
gave
said,
con
was
have
Dr Tim Evens said, "She has a
capacity for selflessness and is
always thinking of the other per
son. She’s one of those people that
comes across as sort of a monu
ment."
B ack a t w o rk now w ith
memories of her trip fresh in mind,
Swisher can’t help rem em ber
those who made it possible—her
friends at Portland Adventist.