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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2019)
S moke S ignals MAY 1, 2019 3 Land Use Board dismisses PGE fishing platform appeal By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer May • Sunday, May 5 – General Council meeting, 11 a.m., Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2301. • Friday, May 10 – Meal Prep Training, 10 a.m., Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. RSVP to 503-879-2033. • Saturday, May 11 – Mother’s Day Tea Party, 11 a.m., Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2078. • Wednesday, May 15 – Tribal Council meeting, 5 p.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Saturday, May 18 – Fish Ceremony, 1 p.m., Willamette Park, 1100 12th St., West Linn. • Tuesday-Thursday, May 21-23 – Gathering of Grand Ronde Tilixam, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tribal gym, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2034. • Monday, May 27 – Memorial Day holiday. Government offices closed. • Monday, May 27 – Memorial Day Meal & Ceremony, noon, Tribal Community Center & West Valley Veterans Memorial, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 541-480-5932. • Tuesday, May 28 – Preparedness & Safety Fair, 3 p.m., Tribal gym, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-1837. • Wednesday, May 29 – Tribal Council meeting, 5 p.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. June • Wednesday, June 12 – Tribal Council meeting, 5 p.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, June 26 – Tribal Council meeting, 5 p.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Sunday, June 30 – Tribal Council nominations, 11 a.m., Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. Behavioral Health expansion begins The Health & Wellness Clinic is pleased to announce that expansion of the Behavioral Health Department is happening now. During the con- struction, entry to the Behavioral Health Department will be relocated near the main clinic entrance. Clothes Closet open Friday mornings The Clothes Closet is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first and third Fridays of the month and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all other Fridays on the Tribal campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Blacktail Drive. The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances, small pieces of furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean and in good condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or large furniture, but there is a community board where people can post those items. Donations are accepted during regular business hours. For more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walk- er-Hernandez at 559-847-7565. Official Tribal Facebook pages • Smoke Signals: www.facebook.com/SmokeSignalsCTGR/ • Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde: www.facebook.com/CTGRgov • Grand Ronde Tribal Council: www.facebook.com/ TheConfederatedTribesOfGrandRondeTribalCouncil • Grand Ronde Health & Wellness: www.facebook.com/GRHWC • Spirit Mountain Community Fund: www.facebook.com/ SpiritMountainCommunityFund • Youth Education: www.facebook.com/ CTGRYouthEducation • Grand Ronde Station: www.facebook.com/ GrandRondeStation • Grand Ronde Royalty: www.facebook.com/ CTGRRoyalty • Community Garden: www.facebook.com/ GrandRondeCommunityGarden • Food Bank: www.facebook.com/GrandRondeFoodBank • Youth Council: www.facebook.com/CTGRYouthCouncil • Social Services Department: www.facebook.com/CTGRSocialservices/ • Children & Family Services: www.facebook.com/CTGRCFS/ • Grand Ronde Higher Education: www.facebook.com/ Grand-Ronde-Higher-Ed • Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department: www.facebook.com/ Grand-Ronde-Tribal-Police-Department • Grand Ronde Cultural Education: www.facebook.com/ Grand-Ronde-Cultural-Education WEST LINN — As the Grand Ronde Tribe prepares to begin fishing from the removable plat- form built at Willamette Falls last October, a challenging undertaking in itself, there is one less thing to worry about. The state Land Use Board of Appeals dismissed the case filed by Portland General Electric in October, which appealed a decision by the city of West Linn that the fishing platform is not regulated by the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance. The removable platform was con- structed so Tribal members could safely harvest hatchery salmon and steelhead from rock outcroppings located near a PGE hydropower facility at the falls. The Tribe had filed a motion to intervene in the case, requesting a dismissal based on PGE not fil- ing the appeal within the 21-day time limit set forth in state law. Therefore, the Tribe argued, the Land Use Board of did not have jurisdiction in the case. The Tribe applied for and received approval of a waterway structure registration application from the Department of State Lands in Au- gust 2018. The fishing platform was completed in late October. PGE objected to West Linn’s de- cision not to regulate the structure and filed an appeal on Oct. 12, stat- ing that its attorney had not notified them until Sept. 25 that the city’s decision could be a land use decision. However, the Land Use Board of Appeals disagreed with that argument as PGE conceded it had received a copy of the Tribe’s ap- plication for the fishing platform on Aug. 23. “Having obtained a copy of the decision, petitioner may not delay the 21-day appeal period by simply failing to read the copy of the de- cision in its possession, recognize that it could be a land use decision, or timely transit a copy to its attor- ney,” the decision states. In the Tribe’s Aug. 7 waterway structure registration application, West Linn Planning Manager John Boyd said that the fishing platform project was not regulated by the lo- cal comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance. “The city’s present understanding of (Oregon Administrative Rule) 635-041-0610 is that it is intended to preempt the regulatory authority of the city with respect to structures permitted by the rule,” he wrote. Boyd was referring to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s April 2016 decision to allow the Grand Ronde Tribe ceremonial salmon and steelhead harvesting rights at Willamette Falls. The ruling also states fishing can occur from the shore or a single platform erected within the designated fishing area to be constructed in a location “mutually agreed upon be- tween the director and the Tribe.” On Sept. 21, PGE revoked permis- sion allowing Grand Ronde Tribal use of its land to access and build a fishing platform, which meant Tribal Natural Resources Depart- ment employees had to undertake the tedious and more dangerous process of hauling supplies across the river from the Oregon City side of the falls to the West Linn side. Previously, the Tribe was allowed to access the site from PGE proper- ty on the West Linn side to conduct ceremonial fishing and perform blessings, a much safer option than crossing the river. According to its website, the Land Use Board of Appeals was created in 1979 and has exclusive jurisdic- tion to review governmental land use decisions. The Board of Appeals was created to simplify the appeals process, speed up resolution of land use disputes and provide consistent interpretation of state and local land use laws. The three-member board, appoint- ed by the governor, serves four-year terms. Members, who are confirmed by the Oregon Senate, must be members of the Oregon State Bar. Grand Ronde Tribal members started traditionally fishing with dip nets from the platform site on Tuesday, April 30, after erecting the platform on Monday, April 29.
