July 3, 2008

Panel progresses on charter draft
Members reach accord on issues related to land use

By RODGER NICHOLS
of The Chronicle


     The Wasco County Home Rule Charter Committee made progress at its June 26 meeting. The provisional rough draft of the charter has seven articles. Prior to the meeting, the committee had approved specific language on Article I: Names and Boundaries, and three of the four sections of Article II: Powers.
     Last Thursday’s meeting saw agreement on the language for all of Section V: Ordinances — but not before a lot of give and take, and an amendment.
     Two key issues were on the minds of committee members: whether to include a higher level of notification for ordinances involving land use, and whether new ordinances could be enacted at the first meeting where they are proposed.
     Land use ordinances are hot buttons. As Ron McHale put it, “Those are the ones we always worry about — the ones that take your land away, or cost you a lot of money.”
     He and other committee members with land use concerns pressed for inclusion of a provision in the charter that would require direct mail notification of affected property owners.
     Other members argued that the charter’s purpose is to set broad policies, and such provisions belong in the text of ordinances rather than embedded in the charter.
     That issue was ultimately settled by a phone call to the Wasco County Planning Office, which confirmed that such notifications were already required by state law, following the passage of Measure 56.
     “They have to notify everyone who owns property in a zone if there’s going to be any change in the ordinance that changes the uses or would devalue or upzone your property,” reported Georgia Murray.
     The second issue occupied most of the meeting.
     Several committee members argued strongly that ordinances should be read at two separate meetings in order for citizens to have a chance to understand potential changes and how it might affect them.
     Lewis Flint suggested including a paragraph under the public hearings section modeled after one in Jackson County:
     “Before an ordinance can be adopted,” it reads, “it shall be read fully and distinctly in a regular open meeting of the board on two days, at least 13 days apart.”
     Julie Kruger, who also serves as The Dalles City Clerk, said that could introduce unnecessary delays.
     “If it’s a simple ordinance that could have been dispensed with and business could carry on, now we’re going to have to have it come back to another meeting and read again,” she said, noting, “If you put it in the charter that way, you must do it that way every time.”
     She also suggested that there be a way for a long ordinance to be read by title only.
     “What if no one comes to testify and there are five commissioners and a staff person sitting there and someone has to read a 20-page ordinance clearly and distinctly because no-one gives a rip about it?” she asked.
     She also suggested that there were times when ordinances needed to be passed quickly due to emergency situations.
     Others argued that emergency clauses were often added to ordinances not because there was a true emergency, but because commissioners wanted the ordinance to take effect immediately.
     “I think the nondiscrimination ordinance had an emergency clause in it,” said Georgia Murray. “I don’t think that’s a real difficult thing for them to do.”
     Ultimately, the committee added a further section from the Jackson County charter, dealing with emergency ordinances:.
     That allows such ordinances to be created at a single session if the ordinance is read in full at least once, and a second time by title and if the vote is unanimous among all the board members present.
     Furthermore, it reads, “This subsection shall not be used by the board in adoption of an ordinance that provides exemptions from, or that imposes a tax, assessment or charge for the purpose of raising revenue. An emergency ordinance shall be deemed automatically repealed 120 days from the date of its enactment.”
     The only other alteration was to remove the minimum 13-day spacing from the two-meeting rule, considering the possibility that boards in the future may decide to meet on a weekly basis. Committee members were more concerned that the meetings be regular than the distance between them.
     With those modifications, the wording in Article V was passed unanimously.
     The next two meetings will take place in Maupin July 10 at the Community Center and Mosier on July 17 at the Mosier Grange. Both meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m., so people who work during the day would be able to attend.      The agenda for the Maupin meetings includes an address by Chairperson Keith Mobley on home rule versus general law, counties, origin of the home rule committee, its purpose and the status of the charter. Public input will be solicited.
     After that, the committee will continue working on the charter language, and are set to tackle the most controversial topics: how many commissioners in the proposed new county government, whether they would be elected by districts or at large, and whether they would run the county or would hire an administrator.