Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
In what councilors praised as a civil meeting, marijuana continued to be the major topic of public discussion at the Dunes City Council meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
As a result of the public comments, the council agreed to review at a later date the applications submitted by marijuana grow facilities located in the city.
The facilities, which have been a focus of a heated debate in the city, spurred the council to pass Ordinance 245 in September, which banned future marijuana growing operations but kept existing grows in tact.
Of particular concern during this Wednesday's meeting was a Land Use Conformance Statement (LUCS) for a marijuana grow that was approved by the city council months earlier.
Residents at the meeting, and in a guest viewpoint in The Register Guard on Oct. 11, requested the LUCS be reviewed by the city council.
The guest viewpoint read, "A citizen contacted Jesse Sweet, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission's (OLCC) process administration director, and Danica Hibpshman, the OLCC's statewide licensing director, who are now aware of the residential conflicts presented. The Dunes City Planning Commission has been invited to contact them. The OLCC has indicated that it wants them to return the Land Use Conformance Statements for further review by the city."
After giving contact information for OLCC, the editorial urged citizens to write the commission and give their views on the effects the grows have on families, neighborhoods, property values and water.
It went on to say, "It is imperative that they hear from Dunes City residents. It was never the intent of the OLCC to thrust these commercial recreational grows into our neighborhoods."
The Siuslaw News contacted OLCC and spoke with Sweet about the LUCS.
"I think they're concerned that it's residential," he said. "State law prohibits certain license types in residential zones, but it does not prohibit grows."
OLCC does not deal with zoning issues, Sweet said. It checks for certain markers, like a grow being within 1,000 feet of a school, but they leave the zoning decisions to the city.
Of the phone call with the citizen, Sweet stated, "They were very adamant that this was issued in error. Essentially like, 'wrong box checked.' What I told her was, if it was issued in error, we would accept an amended LUCS from the city, but that would come from the city."
But, as far as Sweet could tell, there were no errors in the current LUCS.
"It looks pretty standard to me. I think the main concern was that this type of commercial operation shouldn't be allowed in R1 zoning. But, that's not a determination made by the agency," he said.
Sweet stated that Hibpshman from the OLCC is also aware of the issue, but the two have not been actively working on the Dunes City situation. Hibpshman is out of the office for the week and was unable to be contacted.
At the city council meeting, a citizen stated that they were in contact with Oregon Department of Justice Attorney Shannon O'Fallon about the issue. O'Fallon did not return calls for comment, but Sweet said he did know O'Fallon personally.
"I know that some citizen did contact Shannon via email," Sweet said. "But we haven't really worked with her on anything. We just made each other aware of the communications. I work with Shannon on an almost daily basis on a range of issues, but we're not actively working on anything from this issue."
If any further action is to be taken on the LUCS and the current marijuana grows, it will have to be done by the city council, which will have to determine whether or not the original application was issued in accordance to Dunes City regulations.
While the state law allows grow operations in residential areas, the city could review their ordinances to determine whether or not current laws prohibit them.
One such law, brought up by a Dunes City resident in the meeting, regarded the city's Comprehensive Plan.
It states, "Agricultural activity is secondary in nature and is usually restricted to small animals, horses and family gardens."
But, according a letter to the editor sent to the Siuslaw News on Aug. 19, the city's hands are tied.
The letter, submitted by Dunes City Administrator Jamie Mills, was also a point of contention in Wednesday's meeting.
A member of the public complained for two reasons. First, they said that it was inaccurate, and second, that it was sent to the Siuslaw News inappropriately.
Regarding the letter's validity, Mills stated, "The letter to the editor was written with the city's attorney. I wrote it and sent it to the attorney. The attorney made some changes so it was both of us."
Mills stands by the accuracy of the statement.
Regarding how it was sent to the Siuslaw News, Dunes City Ordinance 235 states that all written correspondence and media statements must be approved by the city council for approval prior to distribution.
Mills regretted the error, stating, "It was approved by the city attorney, but not by the city council."
About Mills, Mayor Robert Forsythe wrote, "If there were a personnel issue underway I wouldn't be able to comment. However as there is no personnel action, I can tell you that there is nothing planned at this time."
Complaints were also made against the city for not allowing community involvement in making decisions.
One city resident stated, "I want to point out to you that this council passed a resolution disbanding all of the committees and commissions in the city except for Planning Commission. So, the city didn't want any citizen involvement. Therefore, right after that, the citizens didn't show up anymore. I think the fact the council did that created a whole lot of the problems you have today because the citizens are no longer involved."
The meeting the citizen referred to took place in April 2016, with the passage of Ordinance 235.
During that meeting, Councilor Maurice Sanders stated the ordinance was appropriate because the city had a lack of volunteers to fully staff several committees, most notably the Road Commission, where a quorum had not been present to allow the commission to function properly frequently over the past several months.
Rebecca Ruede, who was mayor at the time, noted that the lack of volunteers had been a problem for other committees as well.
Video minutes of the meeting showed only one public comment was made regarding the ordinance, requesting clarification on its meaning.
It was explained that all issues that weren't covered by the remaining committees, the council could review the matter and decide if an additional committee would need to be formed to resolve the issue.
No other public comments were made, either for or against the ordinance, which was passed by the council unanimously.
In other news from the Wednesday meeting, the appointment of a new city councilor was placed on hold. This new councilor would fill the position vacated by Forsythe, who was appointed mayor after Ruede passed away in August.
While multiple applications for the position were received, Councilor Duke Wells said that there were too many good applicants to rush into a decision on that date.
Dunes City Councilors will interview the applicants to make a more informed determination at a later date.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Siuslaw News | Dunes City to revisit marijuana grow operations
Author: Jared Anderson
Contact: Contact Us
Photo Credit: Head Gear Films
Website: Breaking News from your Local News Source Leader in Florence, Oregon | The Siuslaw News
As a result of the public comments, the council agreed to review at a later date the applications submitted by marijuana grow facilities located in the city.
The facilities, which have been a focus of a heated debate in the city, spurred the council to pass Ordinance 245 in September, which banned future marijuana growing operations but kept existing grows in tact.
Of particular concern during this Wednesday's meeting was a Land Use Conformance Statement (LUCS) for a marijuana grow that was approved by the city council months earlier.
Residents at the meeting, and in a guest viewpoint in The Register Guard on Oct. 11, requested the LUCS be reviewed by the city council.
The guest viewpoint read, "A citizen contacted Jesse Sweet, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission's (OLCC) process administration director, and Danica Hibpshman, the OLCC's statewide licensing director, who are now aware of the residential conflicts presented. The Dunes City Planning Commission has been invited to contact them. The OLCC has indicated that it wants them to return the Land Use Conformance Statements for further review by the city."
After giving contact information for OLCC, the editorial urged citizens to write the commission and give their views on the effects the grows have on families, neighborhoods, property values and water.
It went on to say, "It is imperative that they hear from Dunes City residents. It was never the intent of the OLCC to thrust these commercial recreational grows into our neighborhoods."
The Siuslaw News contacted OLCC and spoke with Sweet about the LUCS.
"I think they're concerned that it's residential," he said. "State law prohibits certain license types in residential zones, but it does not prohibit grows."
OLCC does not deal with zoning issues, Sweet said. It checks for certain markers, like a grow being within 1,000 feet of a school, but they leave the zoning decisions to the city.
Of the phone call with the citizen, Sweet stated, "They were very adamant that this was issued in error. Essentially like, 'wrong box checked.' What I told her was, if it was issued in error, we would accept an amended LUCS from the city, but that would come from the city."
But, as far as Sweet could tell, there were no errors in the current LUCS.
"It looks pretty standard to me. I think the main concern was that this type of commercial operation shouldn't be allowed in R1 zoning. But, that's not a determination made by the agency," he said.
Sweet stated that Hibpshman from the OLCC is also aware of the issue, but the two have not been actively working on the Dunes City situation. Hibpshman is out of the office for the week and was unable to be contacted.
At the city council meeting, a citizen stated that they were in contact with Oregon Department of Justice Attorney Shannon O'Fallon about the issue. O'Fallon did not return calls for comment, but Sweet said he did know O'Fallon personally.
"I know that some citizen did contact Shannon via email," Sweet said. "But we haven't really worked with her on anything. We just made each other aware of the communications. I work with Shannon on an almost daily basis on a range of issues, but we're not actively working on anything from this issue."
If any further action is to be taken on the LUCS and the current marijuana grows, it will have to be done by the city council, which will have to determine whether or not the original application was issued in accordance to Dunes City regulations.
While the state law allows grow operations in residential areas, the city could review their ordinances to determine whether or not current laws prohibit them.
One such law, brought up by a Dunes City resident in the meeting, regarded the city's Comprehensive Plan.
It states, "Agricultural activity is secondary in nature and is usually restricted to small animals, horses and family gardens."
But, according a letter to the editor sent to the Siuslaw News on Aug. 19, the city's hands are tied.
The letter, submitted by Dunes City Administrator Jamie Mills, was also a point of contention in Wednesday's meeting.
A member of the public complained for two reasons. First, they said that it was inaccurate, and second, that it was sent to the Siuslaw News inappropriately.
Regarding the letter's validity, Mills stated, "The letter to the editor was written with the city's attorney. I wrote it and sent it to the attorney. The attorney made some changes so it was both of us."
Mills stands by the accuracy of the statement.
Regarding how it was sent to the Siuslaw News, Dunes City Ordinance 235 states that all written correspondence and media statements must be approved by the city council for approval prior to distribution.
Mills regretted the error, stating, "It was approved by the city attorney, but not by the city council."
About Mills, Mayor Robert Forsythe wrote, "If there were a personnel issue underway I wouldn't be able to comment. However as there is no personnel action, I can tell you that there is nothing planned at this time."
Complaints were also made against the city for not allowing community involvement in making decisions.
One city resident stated, "I want to point out to you that this council passed a resolution disbanding all of the committees and commissions in the city except for Planning Commission. So, the city didn't want any citizen involvement. Therefore, right after that, the citizens didn't show up anymore. I think the fact the council did that created a whole lot of the problems you have today because the citizens are no longer involved."
The meeting the citizen referred to took place in April 2016, with the passage of Ordinance 235.
During that meeting, Councilor Maurice Sanders stated the ordinance was appropriate because the city had a lack of volunteers to fully staff several committees, most notably the Road Commission, where a quorum had not been present to allow the commission to function properly frequently over the past several months.
Rebecca Ruede, who was mayor at the time, noted that the lack of volunteers had been a problem for other committees as well.
Video minutes of the meeting showed only one public comment was made regarding the ordinance, requesting clarification on its meaning.
It was explained that all issues that weren't covered by the remaining committees, the council could review the matter and decide if an additional committee would need to be formed to resolve the issue.
No other public comments were made, either for or against the ordinance, which was passed by the council unanimously.
In other news from the Wednesday meeting, the appointment of a new city councilor was placed on hold. This new councilor would fill the position vacated by Forsythe, who was appointed mayor after Ruede passed away in August.
While multiple applications for the position were received, Councilor Duke Wells said that there were too many good applicants to rush into a decision on that date.
Dunes City Councilors will interview the applicants to make a more informed determination at a later date.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Siuslaw News | Dunes City to revisit marijuana grow operations
Author: Jared Anderson
Contact: Contact Us
Photo Credit: Head Gear Films
Website: Breaking News from your Local News Source Leader in Florence, Oregon | The Siuslaw News