SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019 | 9A
WOAHINK from page 1A
advice of our attorney, it was
brought before this current
city council for approval
to comply with the court
order. They did that. The
court order tells what has to
happen, and it’s more like a
laundry list of actions that
have to take place. The city
doesn’t have the ability to
tell them ‘no,’ other than the
documentation that was re-
quired by the court. We can
require that it be brought
up to current standards and
codes, but that’s about the
only thing we would be able
to do.”
The question before the
Planning Commission is
not whether or not the de-
velopment can be stopped,
but if the development
meets code. This is what the
members of the Woahink
Lake Association want the
planning commission to be
aware of.
“We just want the develop-
ment to be within the accor-
dance of what state, county
and city codes require,” said
Aaron Bowen, who spoke
to the association on Satur-
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day during the associations
meeting at Honeyman State
Park.
Bowen is realistic about
the development, believing
that the developer has a right
to recoup investments.
“I understand him trying
to maximize the number of
lots, but let’s be diligent that
it won’t destroy the environ-
ment,” Bowen said.
In a presentation made to
the association, Bowen list-
ed a number of points that
he believes the Dunes City
Planning Commission and
the developer should keep in
mind.
The largest issue has to do
with the water quality of Lit-
tle Woahink itself, which ex-
isting homeowners get their
water directly from. Bowen
was concerned with runoff
from the development site
into the lake, particular-
ly during the construction
phase. He fears that con-
struction materials, such as
glues, diesel, oils and other
toxic chemicals such as ce-
ment could seep into the
lake.
He is also concerned
about the required setback of
the development, and wants
the Planning Commission to
ensure that enough space is
left between the lake and the
development.
After construction, Bow-
en is concerned with just
general runoff from the de-
velopment.
“It’s going directly into
the lake where these people
drink water from,” Bowen
said. “There are several plac-
es in town that are moving
runoff into a little settling
pond that is allowed to filter
into an aquifer. That’s the
kind of thing that’s smart
about doing runoff.”
The Woahink Lake As-
sociation is also concerned
about the septic systems the
homes would use, stating
that the development area is
designated as “unsuitable” by
Lane County Underground
Sewage Land classifications.
Bowen added that the city
should require the developer
to use alternative treatment
technology, such as pumps
or filters, to protect the aqui-
fer.
He also called for a con-
servation strategic plan to
protect the wildlife popula-
tions in the area, pointing
out that the lake has two
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quality Darlingtonia bogs,
native salmon pass over Lit-
tle Woahink Dam to spawn,
beaver exist just downstream
and is home to bald eagles,
ospreys and blue herons.
“Just please be careful,”
Bowen said. “We all love this
place for a reason. We don’t
want to be another Flint,
Mich.”
The Woahink Lake As-
sociation is encouraging
Dunes City residents to sub-
mit written comments to the
city. The process for public
comments for this issue is
different than previous land
use issues, a circumstance
that arises from the develop-
ment’s unique legal history.
“There has been some
confusion on the process to
use, since the whole situa-
tion is more than 10 years
old and, had the City Coun-
cil done what it was required
to do back then, this would
all be a non-issue,” Mills
said.
There had been some
complaints that the com-
ments were required to be
written, and that residents
could not voice their con-
cerns directly to the com-
mission during the meeting.
Some at the Woahink Lake
Association believed the city
was attempting to squash
public opinions on the mat-
ter, which Mills disputed.
“Dunes City Code Section
155.4.3.160 provides for a
Type II process for final plat
approval,” she said. “A Type
II process is an ‘administra-
tive’ process, unlike a Type
III process which is a qua-
si-judicial process. Note that
the Type II process simply
means that the Planning
Commission is the decision
maker and it does not re-
quire a public hearing.”
She noted that there is a
difference between a public
hearing and a public meet-
ing. The Planning Commis-
sion meeting will be public,
open to all, while a public
hearing is a formal legal
term allowing for public
comment during the meet-
ing. In this instance, ORS
197.153 requires “us to send
out a notice with the cri-
teria and provide a period
for folks to submit written
comments,” Mills said. “Af-
ter the comment period has
expired, the Planning Com-
mission meets to make the
final decision.”
Generally, a final Plan-
ning Commission would be
subject to appeal to LUBA
if there were objections,
but Mills was unclear as to
whether or not this partic-
ular decision could go to
LUBA, since the appeals
board had previously made
a decision.
However, an appeal could
be moot if the Planning
Commission is able to satis-
fy the concerns of residents
like Bowen and the needs of
the developer.
Written comments are due
by Friday, July 19, by 5 p.m.,
and can be mailed to the
Dunes City Planning Secre-
tary at PO Box 97, Westlake,
emailed to the Planning Sec-
retary at planning@dunesc-
ityor.com, or faxed to 541-
997-5751. Comments can
also be dropped off at Dunes
City Hall itself, including
on Friday when the office is
closed. In that instance, res-
idents are instructed to slide
their comments through the
mail slot.