UPDATE 10/8/24: The Land Use Appeal Hearing schedule to be held during our October 9th Regular City Council meeting has been rescheduled for November 20th. This change was necessary due to uncertainties in key staff’s availability to participate. The applicant has agreed to the delay and has given a written time extension on the matter.
On Wednesday, October 9 at 6 pm, the Rockaway Beach City Council will hold a public hearing of the Appeal (see agenda and meeting materials link below) that was filed regarding the RB Planning Commission’s approval of the proposed Nedonna Wave PUD (Planned Unit Development). This PUD would be in wetlands in the Nedonna Beach neighborhood, home not only to people, but several resident beavers. If they could speak, they’d thank you. After all, the wetland is their home, too. Please help to support the Appeal in any way you can.
Location for hearing: (corb.us) Rockaway Beach City Hall; 276 Highway 101
The appellant is the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and they are represented by the Crag Law Center. Attending the hearing and representing Crag will be Eric Wriston (Coastal Law Project) and Alexandria Dolezal, a legal fellow who will be taking the lead on this case. As the appellants, they have the opportunity to give a longer presentation, which Alexandria will be doing to highlight the legal issues.
If possible, please attend the hearing in person. If you cannot do that, please watch it on Zoom. You may submit written comments about the Appeal, but at this hearing, testimony is limited to the five issues the appellant raised in the Appeal. To be clear, you may submit testimony and discuss any of those five issues, but the City Council will not hear testimony regarding other issues related to the Nedonna Wave PUD. Please see the attached Appeal for more detailed information.
This Appeal is based on the following issues that Oregon Shores raised:
A. The original 2008 approval of the plan for this development has expired.
- ORS 92.040 requires the Applicant to resubmit its initial application for this development.
- RBZO 3.080 prohibits residential development in a Special Area Wetlands Zone.
- RBZO 3.142 requires the Applicant to develop evacuation measures and improvements.
- RBZO 4.150 requires the City to enforce its riparian setback for McMillan Creek pre-approval.
- The Planning Commission failed to adequately address each of these legal concerns.
How to Submit Comments:
Oral public testimony will be heard and written public comments will be accepted at/or prior to the hearing.
cityhall@corb.us. If submitting comments prior to the hearing, deliver to the City Hall at 276 Highway 101 in Rockaway Beach,or mail them to the Planning Department at P.O. Box 5; Rockaway Beach, OR 97136.
Please use file number #Appeal-24-1 on written comments, and include your name, mailing address, and phone number.If you want to submit comments about the Nedonna Wave PUD on subjects not included in the Appeal, they will still become part of the public record. To do this, submit them as “non-agenda” items. It is very important to let the City Councilors hear, in a personal way, from all of us about our concerns about the Nedonna Wave PUD. Areas of concern may include loss of wetland habitat (the land and the wildlife), detriments to water quality and quantity, and increased housing density. More areas of concern are the safety issues related to higher fire danger, as well as the lack of adequate neighborhood vehicular access both for emergency vehicles to get in and residents and visitors to get out quickly in an emergency. It should be noted that the entire Nedonna Beach neighborhood is defined as a groundwater drinking water protected area. The groundwater wells that the City uses as a secondary drinking water source are located below this neighborhood. Any additional development may have detrimental effects on this source.
Please help get the word out: talk with your friends and write letters to local media sources. We have had a groundswell of support for protecting this wetland area, ranging from neighbors to visitors.
To contact Oregon Shores with questions or information: Phillip Johnson, Shoreline and Land Use Manager, (503) 754-9303, phillip@oregonshores.org. To learn more about Oregon Shores, sign up for the newsletter, or donate to support this work, go to the website, https://oregonshores.org/.
Crag Law Center is a non-profit environmental law center that represents organizations like Oregon Shores in legal challenges over conservation issues like this one. To learn more, sign up for their newsletter, or donate to them, go to https://crag.org/.
Another upcoming North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection meeting: On Saturday, October 19 at 12 noon, NCCWP will continue our monthly “Protect Drinking Water and Foster Community Engagement” meetings in Rockaway Beach at the Parish Hall of St. Mary by the Sea. The October meeting will include brief updates on Jetty Creek Watershed Protection and Acquisition and the Nedonna Wave PUD Appeal. Also, there will be discussion of the proposed statewide ballot initiative to protect drinking watersheds. Please join us on October 19. We want to hear your questions and ideas. We encourage your involvement.
NCCWP wants no more logging and pesticide use in community water sources across all land ownership, and wants an end to pesticide applications near where people live, work and recreate.
Safe drinking water and clean air are part of the public trust that we all are entitled to have. Please help North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection safeguard and restore our drinking watersheds.
healthywatershed.org | www.facebook.com/NCCWATERSHEDPROTECTION
