Oregon Coast Alliance Newsletter
Protecting Coastal Parks and Resource Lands
Bandon Dunes/Biota Construction in Bandon SNA
 
Bandon Dunes/Biota Construction in BSNA. August 2015 Photo Courtesy OPRD 
  
Earlier this month, Parks Department personnel discovered Bandon Dunes/Biota did major construction work in Bandon State Natural Area, in the 280 acres they hope to get for a golf course. The land is owned by the Parks Department; Biota has not yet provided information to Parks to allow the Department to submit the required application to the federal Bureau of Land Management for final approval of the exchange that would transfer the land to Biota.

Bandon Dunes/Biota, in June 2014, hired Bandon Well and Pump and entered BSNA, dug two geological bore holes (234 feet and 169 feet respectively), bulldozed several roads and did substantial related damage, including land-clearing and tree-cutting. Biota's agreement with Parks allowed them to do "non-intrusive testings" for regulatory purposes. Biota did not notify Parks at the time that they were entering the land, nor did so at any time later. The Oregonian had a story about the intrusion here.

The Parks Department met with the Biota attorney on August 18th. According to the OPRD meeting notes, he said that Biota had a right to do the work they did, in the manner they did it. Parks is beginning an investigation of the destruction, including a natural resources survey and a cultural resources survey of possible harm to cultural sites known to be in the general area.

ORCA is appalled at Biota's cavalier behavior, wanton destruction, and complete disregard for public property and public values.They ignored the requirement to be non-intrusive, never told Parks they were undertaking the work at all, and now plan to continue with the exchange as if nothing had happened. ORCA believes this unwarranted construction by Biota shows clearly how untrustworthy the company is. The Parks Department should withdraw from the exchange proposal. Selling 280 acres of cherished coastal parkland to a developer for his sixth golf course was an ill-conceived venture from the outset. Now it is even clearer that Bandon Dunes/Biota is exceedingly dismissive about the values -- such as rare plants, fragile habitats, cultural resources and surrounding public lands -- that they so often in public pledged to protect if this exchange were completed.



Seaside Wants to Expand UGB by 200 Acres
 
Seaside UGB SE Hills Expansion Proposal. Courtesy City of Seaside (click image for expanded veiw) 
  
The City of Seaside is working on a plan to expand its urban growth boundary by 200 acres, in the area known as the Southeast Hills. Initial studies have been completed, and the Planning Commission continues to refine the proposal.

However, there are several major issues that make this UGB expansion questionableWeyerhaeuser is paying Otak, a consulting company, to do the necessary studies for Seaside. Why? Because Weyerhaeuser owns about 160 of the acres proposed for the UGB expansion -- in other words, they are a motivated landowner, and expect large profits from having Seaside bring some of their timberland into the UGB and designated as urbanizable.

Seaside has an approximately 37.5% residential vacancy rate. This is quite high, though perhaps understandable in a coastal vacation town. But such a high vacancy rate means there are enough existing vacation homes in Seaside to accommodate at least half of the predicted growth. State law allows them the choice. Seaside could decide to satisfy new population growth needs by putting policies in place to lower the vacancy rate and expand use of vacant properties. That way, they would most likely not have to expand the UGB. Also, state law requires that farm and forest lands be the last, not first, targets for expansions. This policy aims to safeguard the state's resource lands. With Weyerhaeuser driving this process for the sake of timberlands they want to urbanize, the Seaside expansion proposal looks increasingly dubious.

Seaside is at a crossroads. The town does not have to expand its UGB. But city officials thus far appear to be aligning Seaside's future with Weyerhaeuser's desire for profits from land development. Though residents of the Southeast HIlls area have vigorously questioned whether the UGB expansion is a wise choice, the City is ploughing ahead. However, hearings before City Council have not yet begun, and it is likely that more community engagement will make itself felt then.



Bayocean Spit Rezone Process: 
Next Hearing 
Nov.12th
    
Bayocean Spit Dunes. Courtesy Ellen Steen    
  
The initial hearing for rezoning Bayocean Spit took place before the Tillamook County planning commission in mid-August. The hearing was continued to November 12th.

Tillamook County owns more than 90% of the Spit, and manages it as a County park. Questions have arisen as to whether the Spit's private landowners would have a case for loss of property values if the Spit is rezoned to a more protective zone. Answer: extremely unlikely, because no development has been permitted on the Spit since the 1952 breach, which turned Bayocean Spit into an island, was repaired in 1956. When a zoning program was initiated in the 1980s, the Spit was zoned with several overlay zones that reflected the Spit's non-developable nature. There are several reasons for this. 

In brief: the Spit is outside the boundaries of Oceanside Water District, and thus has no potable water supply; there is no septic or sewer infrastructure, nor any possibility of developing one, due to the geology; and the Spit has no public road. Dike Road is covered by permanent easements to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is used only for maintenance of the jetty at the northern tip that keeps the Spit in place. Dike Road is not built to public standards, nor can be. Tillamook County allows very limited use to owners, each of whom have a key to the road beyond the parking lot gate. Tillamook County Assessor assesses all Spit properties at zero assessed value -- because there is no development opportunity.

The purpose of the rezone is to align all the zoning standards that apply to remove the mistaken impression that the Spit uplands are developable. This would not affect the privately-owned Bayocean Spit tidelands in Tillamook Bay  -- those tidelands could be used for appropriate activity, such as oyster culture, if allowed in the estuary zones.



Knapp Ranch Golf Course: Remand Hearing
August 31st

    
Cape Blanco Lighthouse Just North of Knapp Ranch    
  
Curry County has scheduled the remand hearing before the Board of Commissioners for August 31st on the Knapp Ranch golf course proposal in Curry County. Oregon Coast Alliance appealed the Curry County approval of this golf course to the Land Use Board of Appeals, and won a remand back to the County. 

The principal issue concerning LUBA is the nature of "design capacity" of the proposed buildings accessory to the golf course, since state land use rules prohibit large scale development near an urban growth boundary. Specifically, no structure with design capacity greater than 100 people may be approved as part of a use within three miles of an urban growth boundary. The portion of Knapp Ranch desired by the golf course applicants is adjacent to the Port Orford UGB, and the question arose whether the applicants' proposal met the requirements of state rules.

If you live in the area and can attend the hearing, please consider doing so. It will be held:

Monday, August 31, 2015 At 10:00 AM
Curry County Annex Building
Commissioners' Hearing Room
94325 Moore Street 
Gold Beach, OR



Quick Links...

Here's where you can make a difference for the Oregon coast.

Go to the ORCA website to make a donation or become a sustaining member. 

Contact Information
Contact Executive Director Cameron La Follette by email
or phone: 503-391-0210
Join Our Mailing List