Developer, Neighbors Appeal Land-Use Ruling

BETH CASPER
Statesman Journal
March 17, 2007
Property owners with approval -- under one of the first Measure 37 claims in Marion County -- to build on 217 acres in the hills south of Salem won't break ground anytime soon.
Both the owners and neighbors near the proposed subdivision have appealed the county planning commission's decision, which reduced the number of lots from 43 to 28.
LeRoy Laack, one of the property owners, said he is frustrated with the interference by government -- partly because the delay is costly. He said the process has cost thousands of dollars.
"I am very much opposed to too much regulation from any municipality," he said. "The thing that has made America a great country is people have a say in what they do."
Neighbors around the proposed development worry mainly about the new wells affecting existing groundwater supplies. They also are frustrated by the county's decision because they have spent close to $20,000 fighting the development.
"It seems to me the cost should be on the developers," neighbor Laurel Hines said. "They should have to explore the resources before they allow the new use."
The new development is on land zoned exclusively for farm use. But Laack and another one of the four owners qualified for the development under Measure 37, which requires local governments to pay for value reductions caused by land-use regulations or waive the regulations.
After three packed hearings, the county planning commissioners approved the subdivision as long as the landowner reconfigured the parcels so that there are no more than 28 lots of at least five acres each, and one 80-acre lot. The owners originally proposed 43 lots.
Owners also have to review the area's available groundwater. A review is a less intense effort because it considers existing wellwater data and does not require scientists to collect new data.
bcasper@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6994