Month: February 2017

What Conditions Would You Place on the Proposed Pipeline to the Proposed Golf Course?

~ 100friendsofportorford

The Planning Commission hearing on February 14 was only the beginning of the Conditional Use Permit process for the proposed effluent pipeline. The second round of comments ends February 21 (seven days following the hearing). Then follows a further seven days (ending February 28) for responses to the new submittals, as well as new testimony. February 28 is the last day for the public to submit comments. The applicant then has seven days to cobble together their final response to all that has gone before. They will appear at the next hearing, on March 14, to continue to make their case. Whether the hearing will close and the commissioners begin to debate at that meeting, we do not know.

View the meeting here:

Video of 2-14-17 Planning Commission Meeting

Copies of written testimony (letters and e-mails) from the first round are available from the Planning Clerk at City Hall now. Copies of what comes in tomorrow will also become available, and so on until the next hearing.

The attorney for Oregon Coast Alliance sent in the following:

ORCA Letter re CUP 16-02 and 16-03

Another substantial comment was read into the record by Planning Commissioner John Roorbach. A copy was obtained from the clerk:

Roorbach re Pacific Gales Pipeline

The City Planner’s recommendations on conditions are contained in her Staff Report. See page 10 for a summary of conditions for the pump station. On pages 17 and 21 are conditions recommended for the preferred route and the alternate route, respectively. A link to the Staff Report is here:

Staff Report

Staff Report Now Available for the Pipeline

~ 100friendsofportorford

Though two conditional use permits are being sought, only one “staff” report has been published. It was prepared by Crystal Shoji, the contract Port Orford City Planner, whose professional practice is located in Coos Bay.

View the document here:     Staff Report

You can find links to the text of the CUPs in the previous post. And, again, the meeting of the Planning Commission to consider the issues is set for Tuesday, February 14, at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. There will certainly be opportunity for comment from the public on both of the planned routes.

Is your home or business located on or near one of the routes? What will that mean for you during construction? How will your property values be affected? What if there are problems after construction — who is liable for any damages?

Residents and property owners deserve answers to these questions and many more BEFORE approval of any further actions by Elk River Property Development. Though this pipeline has been in the works for well over a year, and the Pacific Gales Golf Course since early 2014, there still has been no comprehensive scrutiny of the developers’ larger plan. Not by the city, not by the county, not by any state agency with oversight of the matters involved.

Bit by bit, the curtain has been drawn aside, but mostly we are kept guessing how big this scheme will become. At first, they said they were planning no housing for golf visitors; then they leased land next to the landfill to build luxury homes for them. What else aren’t they telling us?

Make no mistake, ERPD wants to keep us in the dark as long as possible. Let’s shine a bright light on their playing field and keep on keeping score.