FEBRUARY, 2004 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
FEBRUARY 24, 2004
1. Call to Order: Chair Balen called the
meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
2. Swear in Commissioner: City Clerk Quinlan administered the oath of office to
Dave Perry. Commissioner Perry then took his seat at the table.
3. Roll Call: Commissioners Perry, Meatzie, Balen, Uhl, Cutter and Cvar answered
the roll. Commissioner Milligan was excused. A quorum was present.
4. Citizen Comments: Chair Balen invited the applicant to explain a change in
the request. Mr. Cottier explained that he will pursue the street vacation with
the City Council, and if that does not work, will then pursue the variance with
the Planning Commission. Chair Balen noted that if the vacation works, then the
variance would not be necessary. The applicant indicated that at this time he
was asking for a continuation of the hearing. Chair Balen indicated that a
letter waiving the 120-day requirement would be in order, and Mr. Lewis
responded that this has already been taken care of.
5. Commission Comments and Concerns: Commissioner Cutter reported on the Lincoln
County Economic Development Alliance meeting that he had attended. He noted that
it appeared Newport and Lincoln City were considered the economic "strongholds"
of the County. He felt that telecommunications did not get a great deal of
attention this year but that Waldport could take some opportunities to establish
industrial uses based on the presence of that system. The group reviewed issues
such as health care for small businesses, higher education through the Oregon
Coast Community College to train the general workforce and ODOT plans for
improving the Dundee bypass on Highway 18. Chair Balen stated that he had
occasion to drive through that area recently, and it took about 45 minutes or so
to go from Newburg to the Highway 18 turnoff. Commissioner Cutter noted that
ODOT was asking Lincoln County for ways to assist in funding the project. He
provided literature from the meeting and encouraged the Commission to visit the
website. Commissioner Uhl thanked Mr. Lewis for arranging to have Dale Jordan at
the last meeting, and noted that a lot of good information had been provided.
Chair Balen stated that one of his ideas had been to couple education with
medical and health care facilities at the Forest Service Center to build up a
small medical facility in Waldport and try to use the facility to train local
citizens to be technicians as a way of taking back some of currently
"outsourced" jobs. Commissioner Meatzie explained that he had been absent from
the last meeting due to a death in the family. He had also attended the Economic
Development Alliance meeting and noted that the existence of the fiberoptic
cable system was good for local businesses. Commissioner Perry gave a brief
biography, indicating that he had attended high school in Waldport and had moved
back to the community a year ago. He has been a professional planner for about
20 years, and was looking forward to serving on the Commission, working from the
"other" side of the table.
6. Consideration of Minutes: The Commission considered the minutes from the
January 27, 2004 meeting. Commissioner Cutter moved to approve the minutes as
presented, Commissioner Uhl seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on a
voice vote.
7. Correspondence: None.
8. Public hearing: Continued indefinitely
9. Discussion Items:
A. Planning Report: Mr. Lewis suggested that, if no planning
action items come in during the next two weeks, the Planning Commission could
focus on the amendments to the Development Code at the next meeting. He then
reviewed his planning report, and indicated that he would be following up on the
West Coast Bank signage issue.
B. Chair Balen reviewed the previous discussion regarding the
Development Code revisions. He indicated that this process will likely result in
a major revision to the code.
Mr. Lewis reported that the Transportation Enhancement Grant process is
proceeding, with an upcoming meeting to be held with members of ODOT, the
engineers, and City staff. In response to a query, Mr. Lewis clarified that the
Transportation Enhancement Grant work will end at the north end of the seawall,
but it was his understanding that ODOT was planning an overlay from that point
south to Ten Mile Creek.
10. Adjournment: At 7:10 p.m., with no further business to come before the
Commission, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Reda A. Quinlan
City Clerk
APPROVED by the Planning Commission this 27th day of April, 2004.
SIGNED by the Chair this 27th day of April, 2004.
Samuel Balen, Chair