REGION
Thursday, April 7, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
UMATILLA
City denies zoning change in McNary
9-acres will remain commercial, housing development stalls
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A proposed housing
development in McNary
won’t go forward after the
Umatilla City Council denied
a request for a zoning change.
Pasco-based developer
Fastrack, Inc. requested in
March that the city re-zone
the empty nine-acre parcel
across from the Quality Inn
from commercial to single-
family residential. The devel-
oper planned to build 38 new
homes valued at $130,000 to
$160,000 each.
The request sparked a
discussion about the future
of McNary. Some councilors
wanted to stick with the city’s
vision of attracting neigh-
borhood businesses within
walking distance of McNary
homes, while others said that
it was time to try something
new after the property had
failed to attract commercial
investment for decades.
On Tuesday, after time
to think over the issue and
discuss it with constituents,
the city council unanimously
rejected the request for a
zoning change.
Councilor Mary Dedrick
said she agreed that more
housing was needed, but
PUC won’t shorten length
of small renewable contracts
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The
Oregon
Public
Utility Commission has
ruled against Paci¿c Power’s
request to shorten the length
of
federally
mandated
contracts with small-scale
renewable energy projects.
Advocates of wind and
solar power hailed the
decision, arguing that shorter
contracts would undercut
¿nancing for developers.
Paci¿c Power, however,
says the longer ¿xed-price
contracts leave ratepayers
on the hook as green energy
becomes cheaper to produce.
The issue stems from a
law enacted in 1978 known
as the Public Utility Regula-
tory Policies Act, or PURPA.
The law requires utilities like
Paci¿c Power to purchase
renewable energy from qual-
ifying facilities, so long as
the price being offered is at
or below what it would cost
to generate that same power
on its own.
Qualifying facilities vary
from state to state. Oregon
regulators previously capped
the size of eligible wind
and solar projects at 10
megawatts. Developers then
enter into standard contracts
with utilities for 20 years,
including 15 years of ¿xed
pricing.
Paci¿c Power wanted to
limit PURPA contracts to two
years in Oregon. Spokesman
Ry Schwark said the reason
has to do with the falling
prices of renewables; as it
becomes cheaper to produce
wind and solar, the long-
term ¿xed contracts prevent
customers from being able to
capitalize on those savings on
their energy bills, Schwark
said.
“Our position has been
that we like renewables
just ¿ne. What we don’t
like is our customers being
overcharged
for
those
renewables,” Schwark said.
“We need more Àexibility in
PURPA to reÀect continually
falling prices of renewables,
so customers can bene¿t
from those falling prices and
not just Wall Street bankers.”
The Oregon PUC issued
its ruling March 29, denying
Paci¿c Power’s request and
stating the current setup of
20-year contracts “continues
to have merit.”
A variety of renewable
energy and environmental
groups intervened in the
case with a different view of
Paci¿c Power’s intentions.
They maintain shortening
contracts would have made
it much more dif¿cult, if not
impossible, to get ¿nancing
for community-sized wind
and solar farms, effectively
stiÀing development.
Oregon’s two Democratic
senators, Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, wrote to the
PUC in February expressing
their concerns of the proposal
and asking for the commis-
sion to consider “the need
for contractual certainty for
community-scale
energy
development.”
“At the federal level, we
are working to maintain
PURPA as an effective tool to
put clean energy on the grid
and create jobs and infra-
structure in rural commu-
nities,” the senators wrote.
“PURPA is an important
component to our renewable
energy strategy for both the
state and the nation.”
Amy Hojnowski, senior
representative
for
the
Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal
campaign, said the PUC
decision will help spur more
homegrown
renewable
energy projects — which
will be crucial in the
coming years, since Oregon
lawmakers recently passed
a bill that commits Paci¿c
Power and Portland General
Electric to provide half its
energy generation in the state
from renewable sources by
2040. Existing hydroelectric
power doesn’t qualify as a
renewable source under state
rules.
“We will continue to work
to ensure that clean energy
solutions are protected for
all Oregonians to enjoy,”
Hojnowski said in a prepared
statement.
The PUC did grant one
concession to Paci¿c Power
in its ruling, lowering the
cap on qualifying solar
facilities under PURPA to
3 megawatts, instead of 10.
That determination came on
the heels of “unprecedented
growth”
in
qualifying
facilities within Paci¿Corp’s
service territory. Last year,
one developer entered into
¿ve contracts for 36.5 mega-
watts of solar energy in a
single day.
“Although
the
vast
majority of the projects
were for 5 megawatts and
above, and most were 10
megawatts, there were three
that were 3 megawatts or
less. This indicates that
(qualifying) projects located
in Paci¿Corp’s service area
as small as 3 megawatts can
be viable,” the ruling states.
The Oregon Department
of Energy supported the
use of 3 megawatts as a
breakpoint for solar contracts
under PURPA. The cap
on wind farms remains 10
megawatts.
Schwark said Paci¿c
Power will continue to
advocate for fair pricing for
customers, but there are no
immediate plans following
the PUC’s ruling.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Circuit court revamps judges’ work
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The ¿ve judges of
Oregon’s
6th
Judicial
District are reworking their
case loads.
Judge Ron Pahl has been
on the local circuit court for
Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties since 1998. He decided
not to seek another four-year
term. Two attorneys, Jon
Lieuallan of Pendleton and
John Ballard of Hermiston,
are running for the open
seat.
The winner, though, will
not inherit the family and
juvenile docket Pahl has had
for almost 20 years. Instead,
the new judge will have a
more typical mix of criminal
and civil cases.
Trial court administrator
Roy Blaine said the district’s
judges have been planning
changes since late 2015
after attending a conference
and ¿nding out what other
courts are doing. The work is
ongoing and stems not from
the upcoming election, he
said, but rather from Oregon
Supreme Court Chief Justice
Thomas Balmer’s order
for courts to ¿nd ways to
improve.
Blaine said Courtroom 2,
Pahl’s court, will switch its
docket with Courtroom 3,
where Judge Lynn Hampton
works. Hampton will take on
drug court as well.
The change in dockets
goes into effect at the start
of 2017, while other changes
are happening along the way.
Presiding Judge Dan Hill
in Hermiston is taking on all
cases coming out of the two
state prisons in the county.
Blaine said Eastern Oregon
Correctional Institution in
Pendleton and Two Rivers
Correctional Institution in
Umatilla generate their share
of criminal and civil matters.
The court also is
revamping how it distributes
cases, Blaine said. One
defendant, for example,
could have multiple cases and
different judges overseeing
each. The court is shifting to
have one judge preside over
multiple cases involving the
same party. Blaine said that
allows judges and attorneys
to be more familiar with
a situation as a whole and
could produce better legal
outcomes.
Probate matters and
mental health cases are
staying with Judge Chris-
topher Brauer in Pendleton,
and Judge Eva Temple in
Hermiston continues over
most small claims and
tenant/landlord issues.
Blaine said the court aims
to become more ef¿cient,
and whether Lieuallan or
Ballard wins does not change
his role of representing them
to the public and bringing
public concerns to them.
“I look forward to having
a new judge come on,” he
said, “and learn the ropes.”
PUBLIC NOTICE
Record of Decision
The U.S. Navy, in cooperation with the National Guard Bureau
and Oregon National Guard, has announced its decision to
implement its Preferred Alternative (Alternative 2) to increase the
types and number of certain training activities at NWSTF Boardman;
develop and enhance training facilities at NWSTF Boardman; and
create additional special use airspace to support existing aircraft
training. The Navy made its decision after carefully considering the
potential impacts training and testing activities may have on the
human, natural and cultural environment and comments from the
public on the proposal and environmental analysis. The Proposed
Action is needed to provide a training environment at
NWSTF Boardman – including ranges, training areas and
instrumentation – to better support current and future
unit and personnel training requirements.
The Navy’s Record of Decision and Final EIS are available online at
www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com, and at the following public
libraries: Multnomah County Central, Salem Central,
West Salem, Oregon Trail Heppner, Oregon Trail Boardman
and the Stafford Hansell Government Center.
thought that it should be
larger houses on larger lots.
Since the city doesn’t have
control over what size of
house developers build on a
given property, she said she
couldn’t support the zoning
change.
“People in the community
do want housing there, but
they want bigger housing,
and higher end, since it’s
across from the golf course,”
she said.
Councilor David Lougee
agreed that even if more
housing was needed the city
should proceed with caution.
“Empty lots or houses,
I’d take houses,” he said.
“However, I think we need to
be careful, and if something
doesn’t meet the needs then I
think we shouldn’t open that
door.”
In presenting the issue to
the council, city planner Bill
Searles explained that the
planning commission and
planning staff had disagreed
over whether the request met
the criteria for a zone change
in the ¿rst place. Staff felt
that there was other property
that could accommodate the
development and the plan-
ning commission felt there
wasn’t.
Councilors voted to accept
the staff ¿ndings that there
was other suitable property
available and that the request
did not meet the criteria for a
zone change.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BRIEFLY
Main Street
Cowboys wrangle
in carnival fun
PENDLETON — With
spring in the air, it’s time
to kick up your heels in the
outdoors — and the Main
Street Cowboys have the
perfect activity with their
annual Spring Carnival.
Davis Shows Northwest
will be in town, offering
everyone’s favorite rides
and “fair food” treats.
The fun gets underway
Wednesday, April 13, at 5
p.m. in the parking lot at
the Pendleton Chamber
of Commerce on South
Main Street and Frazer
Avenue. The carnival
continues daily at noon
through Sunday, April 17. It
runs into the evening with
closing dependent on how
many people are still out
enjoying the rides and food.
The cost is $3.75 per
ride, $32 for a book of 10
ride tickets or an individual
all-day ride pass for $25.
For more
information, visit www.
mainstreetcowboys.org or
call 541-276-3901.
Council approves
convention center
rate hike
PENDLETON —After
the Pendleton City Council
passed a 25 percent
rate hike for Pendleton
Convention Center,
Councilor Neil Brown
quipped that it was one
of the few times a staff
member got more than they
asked for.
Under advisement of
the convention center
commission, center
employee Kathy Marshall
originally asked for a 20
percent raise in fees, the
¿rst raise in 10 years.
Marshall said the
hike shouldn’t affect
the center’s ability to
attract business and was a
necessary measure to stay
competitive with other
event centers.
Councilor Al Plute said
the gap between rate hikes
was another example of
a city fee not meeting the
value of the service and
urged the council to raise
the rate increase to 25
percent.
EO file photo
Lights from the Octopus blur in a circular pattern in
this 8-second exposure at the Davis Shows North-
west last year in Pendleton. The Main Street Cow-
boys Spring Carnival will be in town April 13-17 in
the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce parking lot at
Main Street and Frazer Avenue.
The council agreed and
unanimously approved the
increase.
EOT expanding
¿ber network
HERMISTON —
Hermiston residents have
a chance to bring ultra-fast
¿ber optic Internet to their
neighborhood, but they
have to make their voices
heard. And doing so will
cost them $4.99.
Eastern Oregon
Telecom has identi¿ed 10
possible zones in the city
to expand its ¿ber optic
network to more homes
and businesses, but the
company wants to invest
where people are most
interested in connecting to
the network. As a result,
EOT has set up an online
voting system and will
build in the zones where
enough residents and
business owners express
interest in connecting to the
network.
Interested residents
can enter their address at
join.eot¿ber.com to see
if they live in one of the
10 zones. If they do, they
can pay $4.99 to ¿ll out a
survey adding their names
to the list of backers for
expanding the project into
their neighborhood.
EOT brought ¿ber optic
Internet to Hermiston a year
ago, and so far 475 homes
and businesses have been
hooked up to the network.
Franell said ¿ber-optic
networks help make
communities and homes
attractive just as good
water, power, transportation
and schools do. One study
shows a connection to
Internet speeds of 1,000
megabits per second
increases a home’s value by
more than $4,000.
NRCS seeks
proposals for
innovation grants
The Natural Resources
Conservation Service
is offering Oregon up
to $250,000 through its
Conservation Innovation
Grant program, supporting
projects that bolster conser-
vation while also boosting
agricultural production.
Individuals, tribes, local
governments, businesses
and organizations are
all eligible to apply for
funding. The deadline to
submit applications is 4
p.m. May 23. Proposals
must be located within
Oregon and may be
county-based or statewide
in scope.
Successful applications
must involve farmers
and ranchers who meet
eligibility for the NRCS
Environmental Quality
Incentive Program. Grants
do not pay for research, but
rather on-the-ground work
addressing resources such
as energy, air quality, water
quality, plant health and
wildlife habitat.
Applicants can ask
for up to $75,000 in
federal funds, which
must be matched through
non-federal sources. For
more information, contact
Program Manager Todd
Peplin at 503-414-3292 or
todd.peplin@or.usda.gov.