June 28, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
Clear Lake: Subdivision poses difficulties
Continued from Page 1
variance on the less than
half-acre of wetlands he pro-
posed to fill and appealed the
requirement to construct a
fence between his property
and the conservancy’s land
and to improve the existing
gravel road for an emergency
vehicle turn-around.
“This piece of property …
was never partitioned from
the parent parcel. It’s not a le-
gal lot or unit of land that can
be subdivided at this time,”
said Jeff Kleinman, a real es-
tate attorney hired by Rod
Gramson.
Kleinman argued that the
city’s code places a 200-foot
limit on the length of a cul-
de-sac and the project would
make the Kalmia cul-de-sac
1,500 feet long.
“It’s somewhat insane,
frankly,” Kleinman said. “It’s
Future
Fort Pointe
Development
clearly a self-imposed hard-
ship. It’s the most extreme
case I’ve seen. There’s been
one variance, another vari-
ance, another variance and
they’re all his variances.”
Local contractor Terry Mill-
er said other homes in the
area built by Gramson have
been an asset for the city.
“There’s a real need for
more housing in
our area,” Miller
said. “It’s a model
development, in
my opinion. It just
makes the city look
good.”
Lynn Miller, who
has lived on the
banks of Smith
Lake for 35 years,
said any filling of
wetlands is likely
to cause problems
for his property.
Skip Urling, the city’s for-
mer community development
director who’s now working
as a consultant on the project,
said there’s no way to build a
second access road without
impacting wetlands.
Concerns about land par-
titions and legal lots can’t be
answered until decisions are
made about road widths, wet-
OSU hemp seed certification program first in U.S.
Oregon State University has
launched the nation’s largest
research center devoted to
the study of hemp.
OSU will begin certifying
hemp seed for planting in Or-
egon.
The Global Hemp Innova-
tion Center will be based in
OSU’s College of Agricultur-
al Sciences, with research
taking place across the state
and world. Currently, there
are more than 40 OSU facul-
ty representing 19 academic
disciplines engaged in hemp
research, teaching and exten-
sion services.
The center will serve as a
research hub connecting fac-
ulty and researchers engaged
in plant research, food in-
novation, pharmacy, public
health, public policy, busi-
ness and engineering.
Oregon State’s decision to
launch the new hemp center
follows Congress’ adoption
of the 2018 Farm Bill that re-
moved hemp from the list of
controlled drug substances
and initiated the creation of
a framework for hemp to be-
come a fully legalized com-
modity in the future.
The university collaborates
with the Oregon Department
of Agriculture and various
state commodity commis-
sions to certify seeds for as
many as 48 agricultural com-
modities grown in Oregon.
As it launches its seed cer-
tification services for hemp,
the seeds will be for use by
farmers that are registered
by the state. OSU is currently
the only university in the na-
tion to certify hemp seed.
5
lands variances and access
roads, he said.
“There’s been no ill intent on
the applicant’s part,” said Erik
Hoovestol, a consultant work-
ing for Sandridge. “That’s just
the normal process of doing
things.”
Commissioners declined to
take any action on the project,
but closed the public hearing.
The project will come back be-
fore them in late July or early
August.