A6 • Friday, July 9, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
Tension emerges over county land use planning
conjunction with the goals of
the county governing body.
“So basically you’ve out-
lined similar expectations of
a traditional job, in my per-
sonal opinion. Work as a
team for a common goal,
and that goal is economic
success, health and well-be-
ing of our county.”
Bangs said she was sad-
dened by a few emails she
saw in response to the draft,
calling the feedback “open
malice.”
Because
discussions
about Planning Commis-
sion bylaws and the com-
prehensive plan have taken
place during work sessions
— which typically do not
provide time for public com-
ment — feedback to com-
missioners has largely taken
place outside of meetings.
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County com-
missioners have taken steps
over the past several months
to tighten the reins over the
Planning Commission and
advisory committees, creat-
ing tension over the direc-
tion of land use planning.
In April, commission-
ers unanimously agreed to
pause community involve-
ment in the comprehensive
plan update. The update for
the document, which sets
planning policies that guide
land use, recreation, trans-
portation, natural resources
and housing, started in June
2019 with a countywide
advisory committee and six
citizen advisory committees
representing land use plan-
ning areas.
When
commissioners
issued the pause, eight of 18
goals were covered. Com-
missioners said they wanted
to simplify and expedite the
process. Concerns were also
raised about some of the pol-
icy ideas coming out of the
committee meetings.
During a Planning Com-
mission meeting in April,
Robert Stricklin, a planning
commissioner, was critical
of the county commission.
He said the Planning Com-
mission, which makes rec-
ommendations to commis-
sioners and some land use
decisions, had become irrel-
evant since the county began
hiring consultants to do
more of the work. Following
the meeting, county Com-
missioner John Toyooka
said the mission of the Plan-
ning Commission needed to
be restated, saying there had
been a “drift.”
During work sessions in
June, the county presented
a draft of revised bylaws for
the Planning Commission
and commissioners sup-
ported a new plan for pro-
ceeding with the compre-
hensive plan update.
Commissioners have said
the steps are necessary to
clarify roles and responsi-
bilities. But planning com-
‘Very concerned’
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Clatsop County commissioners have sought to take greater control over land use planning.
missioners and some people
involved with the advisory
committees have argued that
while the public process can
be messy, it is fundamental
to Oregon’s land use plan-
ning goals.
“In our capacity as mem-
bers of the governing body,
it’s our job to appoint var-
ious groups to fulfi ll our
mission of caring for the
people of the place,” Com-
missioner Lianne Thompson
said during a work session
in June. “Those appointed
positions are necessarily
more limited in scope and
authority.
“What I saw was that we
as a governing body had not
been clear enough in the role
defi nitions with which we
empowered you to work for
us and the people of Clatsop
County. So that’s why we
did the pause. That’s why we
said we have to clarify roles
and responsibilities.”
‘Aspirational’
The concerns raised were
mainly over policies pro-
posed in the Northeast and
Southwest Coastal advisory
committees. The county
referred to some of the pro-
posals as “aspirational” and
said the committees need to
stay within the boundaries of
the law.
Commissioner Courtney
Bangs and some in the tim-
ber industry also questioned
items in the draft of a plan-
ning goal that addresses for-
estlands. Public comments
about the goal described
the suggested policies as an
overreach and called the pro-
posed regulations of indus-
trial timberlands illegal.
Commissioners agreed
on a new framework with
a target completion date of
July 2022. Gail Henrikson,
the county’s community
development director, said
parameters will be provided
to guide the process.
The citizen advisory com-
mittees will take six months
to focus solely on updat-
ing their respective com-
munity plans. The Planning
Commission and county-
wide advisory committee
will complete the review of
the goals together rather than
separately.
In early May, Henrikson
canceled Planning Commis-
sion meetings scheduled for
May, June and July. In an
email to planning commis-
sioners, she said no appli-
cations had been submit-
ted to the county that would
require a hearing before
August.
Henrikson said that, in
the meantime, county staff
would prepare new train-
ing material for planning
commissioners and review
the Planning Commission
bylaws. A joint meeting
between the Board of Com-
missioners and the Planning
Commission is planned for
July.
The signifi cant changes
to the bylaws would include
removing variance review
from the Planning Com-
mission’s scope of author-
ity, establishing term lim-
its and allowing the removal
of a planning commissioner
for two or more unexcused
absences. Other changes
include outlining respon-
sibilities for the chair, vice
chair and staff and guidance
for conduct and appearance
of bias.
“I was pleased to see
such common-sense rules
and responsibilities basi-
cally outlined by staff at
the request of the Board of
Commissioners,” Bangs said
during a work session in
June. “You addressed atten-
dance and decorum and
respect and following Ore-
gon state rules and laws in
Some planning commis-
sioners and citizen advisory
committee members told
The Astorian that while they
are not necessarily at odds
with all the changes made by
the county, they take issue
with the approach.
Nadia Gardner, the chair-
woman of the Planning
Commission, said in a state-
ment to The Astorian that
she is “very concerned about
inclusivity, transparency and
respect for volunteers and
the diverse voices of the gen-
eral public.”
“The county has can-
celed Planning Commission
meetings for three months,”
she said. “In the meantime,
staff and the commission are
working and deciding on key
planning issues without our
input or citizen involvement
through open Planning Com-
mission meetings, where we
welcome public comments.
“Some of this work is
being done in ‘one-on-one
meetings’ and work sessions
that do not include public
involvement and comment.
Examples include amend-
ing our own Planning Com-
mission bylaws, the com-
prehensive plan update
process, aff ordable hous-
ing, and short-term rental
discussions.”
Wastewater: ‘Clearly, from my opinion, this is a no-brainer’
Continued from Page A1
region bringing their own sewage to Seaside
for processing at a price lower than alterna-
tives for disposal.
The city has not evaluated how the equip-
ment might be paid for, City Manager Mark
Winstanley said. Last Monday’s presenta-
tion was a prelude to possible action later
this year.
“One of the reasons why it’s a little bit
fl uid is because we’re in a period where
our ability to access funds that we normally
would not be able to get is a little bit greater
than it has been in the past,” Winstanley
said. “Certainly one of the things that we’re
looking at is the federal government’s inter-
est in an infrastructure bill and whether that
is a source of funding we would be able to
use. I hate to get in front of that bill, but I’d
like to be able to see what that looks like.”
“Clearly, from my opinion, this is a
no-brainer,” Mayor Jay Barber said. “It’s
got to be done. And we want our workers
to remain safe on the job and we want to
furnish a good product for the agricultural
community. ... I think it’s got to be done.”
The City Council has discussed a sludge press and dryer unit designed by Centrisys.
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