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.
