Deschutes County to seek limited state grant for disputed RV campground; board makes case for 710-acre housing rezone

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County commissioners returned to two recent controversies on Wednesday, first agreeing to apply for a limited state parks planning grant for a proposed RV campground off Fort Thompson Lane, north of Bend = but focused on whether Highway 97 access is even possible.

After that debate and 3-0 vote, they dove into the details and again approved on a 2-1 vote (with Phil Chang opposed) a long-disputed 710-acre farmland-to-rural housing rezoning proposal west of Terrebonne, sent back by the state Land Use Board of Appeals for more work.

On the RV campground, Strategic Initiatives Manager Jen Patterson brought a possible application for an Oregon State Parks and Recreation County Opportunity Program grant for a master conceptual plan, expected to cost $150,000 to $200,000. The project that could also provide park and trail areas has drawn strong neighborhood opposition.

Commissioner Tony DeBone said he’d instead support seeking a grant just to study if the parcel could have a connection to busy Highway 97. He called a master plan process “a big step” when it's “still not clear we can get in or out” from the highway with all the RV and visitor traffic.

Commission Chair Patti Adair agreed: “This could have serious traffic implications on Highway 97,” which she said “should be a freeway,” considering the traffic volume and speeds. She said she didn’t want to spend any money, instead doing as she has before and just ask ODOT some questions.

“I really want to wait a year,” Adair said, which with ODOT’s budget on “unstable ground at this moment,” it could by then be more “clear in what direction we could take” such a project.

Chang noted that some Bend Park and Rec board members and trail organizations are in support of exploring the possible RV campground/park and trail site, and that even some formerly opposed neighbors were interested in learning more.

But Chang’s motion to seek the state grant to fund such detailed planning died for lack of a second. DeBone suggested instead a motion for a more limited access assessment that he guessed could cost just $10,000, which Chang said would be used up too fast, just in administrating it, and didn’t make sense.

“That is your opinion,” Adair said, soon adding, “What the heck, I’ll second it (the motion).”

Still, Chang said there are many related issues to access, including access rights, what potential access points might be, the number of trips, times of day and size of vehicles.

“I got an answer just by writing a letter,” Adair said.

Without including a dollar figure cap, Chang agreed to back drafting a state grant application focused on the access assessment.”

The discussion took much longer on a long-debated 710-acre rezone sought for farm-zoned land west of Terrebonne by an applicant seeking to change the zoning to rural residential, meaning about 70 10-acre home lots. The board’s approval was appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, which remanded (sent  back) the issue to the county.

LUBA found, among other issues, that the county failed to show why the lower-quality soil meant the exclusive farm use (EFU) parcel could not be used, for example, in conjunction with an adjoining farm property’s operation.

DeBone said he understood the LUBA remand to mean the county needed to do a better job of “showing its work.”

Chang sided with opponents, noting at one point, “Clearly, if one of the adjacent farmers or ranchers is saying that it could be used as part of their operation, it could be used.”

But Adair noted, “The people who said it could be used bought other things.” As for this property, she said, “It grows rocks.” Chang warned that if the county’s more detailed re-approval are deemed insufficient, the rezoning could be appealed again – and sent back again by LUVA.

“We will show our work,” DeBone said, showing “the logic of our conclusion, with help from professionals and information in the record.”

As Associate Planner Haleigh King led commissioners through a matrix of nine issues and decision points, Planning Manager Will Groves told the board, “You’re on the right track here.”

The vote went as expected, with Chang the lone "no" vote. There will be fine-tuning as the revised county approval is drafted to meet an Oct. 24 deadline.