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Say “Sayonara” to geologic hazard headaches…at least for now…

Geologic Hazards, Land Use, Landslides - Mudslides, Newport No Responses »

Jul 192011

Newport City Councilors took over a year to get through all the debate and community tension but they finally got the job done. They adopted a set of rules on how and where homes can be built, or rebuilt on ocean bluffs and dune-back areas. In short, if there’s enough room to build up to a one thousand square foot building footprint on a lot, outside of a certified active or high hazard area, and a geologic engineering study says it’s safe, the owner can build their dream home. Those areas determined to be in moderate or low threat erosion areas do not require a geologic engineering study before proceeding to construction.

For months, those who own homes they’d like to expand, or who own lots they’d like to build on, or who own bluff property as investments, pounded away on the council for abridging their property rights while title companies, banks and real estate agents accused them of unfairly singling out land owners whose property was wrongly declared “at risk” for falling down into the ocean.

After months of hearings, reviews and wrangling with state planners and state coastal survey maps, it was determined that homes or lots within low to moderate risk areas should not be required to have expensive geologic engineering studies done first, before a building permit it issued. Even those lots that lie within state-designated “high risk” or even “active” areas can be built on if the lots are big enough and have a large enough area that is stable; again, certified by a geologic engineering examination.

Other points of contention were state maps that showed broad areas of coastal bluff properties as lying within a red colored “danger zone.” Residents and real estate, banks and title companies were livid. They wanted no part of the color red. So the city accommodated them on that as well.

Newport was seen as a “test case” for prospective state rules governing coastal bluff development. Suggested state restrictions were far tougher than what Newport adopted Monday night. Other coastal cities are exploring their own adaptations of recommended state standards. So this story may be far from over. In the meantime, the state has not given any sign that Newport’s new standards aren’t “good enough.”

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Writers on the Edge publisher Carla Perry now heads up local land conservancy

Environment, Land Preservation, Land Use No Responses »

Mar 132011

Carla Perry

The Central Coast Land Conservancy (CCLC) recently received a grant from Pacific Coast Joint Venture to create the position of Coordinator. Carla Perry of Newport has been selected to fill that position.

Carla Perry, a resident of Newport, is the founder of the nonprofit organization Writers On The Edge and the Nye Beach Writers’ Series. She served as a volunteer director of the organization from inception in 1997 through 2010, for which she was awarded an Oregon Book Award and the Governor’s Art Award for the quality and longevity of the Writers’ Series and for her outstanding commitment to Oregon’s literary community. She is the owner of Dancing Moon Press, a full-service book publishing company. She will use her experience and skills in program development and fundraising to assist the Central Coast Land Conservancy in these areas. Her work will result in more strategic conservation easements and land acquisitions. Continue reading »

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Landslides and homeowner angst: Not just for Newport anymore…

Geologic Hazards, Land Use No Responses »

Dec 302010

Now that Newport has put geologic hazards and approved ways of dealing with them behind us, it appears that the Portland area is just beginning to grapple with the issue. The same folks that told the Newport City Council that there is no such thing as “geo-investigations-lite” are now conducting airplane survey overflights of Portland and are coming up with some rather scary information on certain parts of town.

The story is in the Oregonian. Click Here.

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“Current” Newport City Council “punts” geological hazard issue into next year and to the “new” council.

Land Use, Newport No Responses »

Dec 062010

Newport City Councilors Monday night referred the “coastal bluff geologic hazard” controversy back to the City Planning Commission. Councilors said it was to give the commission another review of the issue because there was something new that cropped up in front of the city council that the commission hadn’t been exposed to. And that was the State Board of Geological Examiners saying the planning commission’s recommendation that “moderate” risk lots be subjected to lower cost “cursory” geologic reviews is inappropriate. The chairman of the examiners board told the council that “moderate” lots must to be subjected to the same detailed (and more expensive) full geological investigations as required for active or high risk lots. Continue reading »

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Trying to put “geologic hazard” headaches in our rear-view mirror.

Land Use, Newport No Responses »

Dec 042010

Newport City Councilors Monday night are hoping to put the town’s “geologic hazard” issue behind it. Or at least behind it for a while. The council and Newport’s banking, real estate and title companies, not to mention angry residents, have been enduring a tug of war over how strict to make building standards on bluffs that overlook the ocean. With visions of the notorious Jump Off Joe condo debacle still in their minds, state land use planning officials urged the city to adopt stricter building permit standards before giving anyone permission to build close to the top of ocean bluffs.

The city council appears ready to adopt a final list of standards that strike a compromise between those who want to discourage any controls, in a “buyer beware” sort of approach, to standards that some claimed were too strict, which, they claim, would lower property values and thereby lower property taxes for the city. Others decried a requirement that would mandate property deeds include “hazard warnings” as to the designation of coastal properties being prone to erosion or substantial earth movement.

After a number of months of contentious public hearings, a compromise was struck which may settle the matter next Monday night. Gone are the deed notices, the geologic engineering reports for all building zones, as well as roadblocks to rebuilding homes that are damaged by wind, fire or earthquakes. The restrictions that have withstood scrutiny include geologic engineering reports on new construction in moderate, high risk and active zones. However the moderate zone requirement would run for just five years, after which city staff would help determine whether such geologic reports proved valuable from the point of view of public safety. Rebuilding after fires, wind storms or earthquakes was also made a little easier. City staff also promised to eliminate the color red in map designations of active to high risk stretches along the coast. They will still be designated, but with muted shades of gray and annotated cross-hatches and stripes.

It all gets covered during the Newport City Council Meeting Monday night 7pm at City Hall.

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Newport City Council: Ready to put “geologic hazard” issue to bed?

Land Use, Newport No Responses »

Nov 302010

Newport, Yaquina Head area

The Newport City Council, with Mayor-elect Mark McConnell absent Monday, appeared resigned to eventually adopt a fairly strict set of criteria that sea cliff or dune back developers and homeowners must abide by before they can build new or expanded homes.

The very long, and very drawn out debate over the town’s “geologic hazard” provisions appears to be headed for a final set of decisions next month, the last opportunity for the current council members to finish the job they began last Spring. Newly elected council members might put a new twist on it should the current council fail to act before January 1st.

Monday’s city council workshop demonstrated continued approval of tough restrictions on ‘active and high risk’ sections of city coastal bluffs and dune back areas. Full geologic reports would be required for new homes in areas where there has been recent ground movement or signs that ground movement is imminent. However, outgoing city councilor Terry Obteshka continued to push for a more lenient set of criteria that would allow easy approval for new construction in what are called ‘moderately’ risky areas of coastal bluffs and dune back areas. But city Community Development Director Derrick Tokos reminded councilors that during recent council hearings, state geological experts testified that designated ‘moderate’ risk areas should be required to undergo the same level of investigation by licensed geologic engineers to ensure ‘moderate’ risk building sites can safely contain a new home. Tokos reminded the council that such expert testimony could force the state to step in if the council ignored it. Tokos said he understands that geologic reports do cost money, but implied that such concerns do not override state land use policies on construction safety along Oregon’s constantly shifting and changing coastline.

However, Tokos offered a “back door” approach to Obteshka’s concerns. Tokos said the council could require geologic reports in ‘moderate’ zoned areas for just five years as a “test period.” “If, after five years,” Tokos said, “the council learns that geologic investigations connected to home construction show few if any safety concerns, the council could make supportable findings that the earlier expert testimony was faulty and thereby legitimately exempt further geologic reports for sites within the ‘moderate’ zone.”

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Lincoln City has been cracking down on Vacation Rental Dwellings but some city councilors want staff to do more.

Land Use, Law Enforcement, Lincoln City No Responses »

Nov 222010

Vacation Rental Violations, Trash & Parking

Lincoln City staff told their city council Monday night that they’ve stepped up the monitoring of vacation rental dwellings (VRD) and have issued a number of citations. It was the first annual report of recently enacted VRD regulations that produced a number of citations and some property owners having to appear in court. A lot of those citations were for violations of too many cars parked on premises and spilling out onto sidewalks and even intruding into street travel lanes. Others for leaving mounding trash in cans that the wind picks up and blows around the neighborhoods. Noise was also frequently cited.

City Planning Department Director Richard Townsend told the council that the overall number of complaints appears to be dropping, due in part, he says, to stepped up city enforcement of those new VRD regulations.

However, City Councilor Ed Kuntz said some of the reduction in complaints may be due to what he’s hearing in the community about neighbors being afraid to complain for fear of retribution or retaliation from renters, if not building owners. Others, Kuntz said, have complained numerous times to the city of VRD violations and that nothing was done about them, so they’ve just given up and don’t complain anymore. Mayor-elect Dick Anderson said he wants to make sure that Lincoln City’s VRD regulations “have teeth, and that they’re enforced.”

Townsend said he will take the observations to heart and that his department, as well as the Police Department, will pay close attention to those complaints and will endeavor to do a better job. He said that although VRD violations are frustrating to neighbors, they comprise a small portion of the overall complaints made to his office and to the police department. But he admits, it can be frustrating to some residents who are used to having their peace and quiet, their streets clear and relatively free of trash. Townsend said he would take the council’s advice and make sure that owners of VRD’s know that there is a point past which the number of complaints will trigger a revocation of their license to operate their property as a rental.

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Newport City Council closer to allowing human “cliff dwellers” to take a risk by living on a coastal bluff.

Land Use, Newport No Responses »

Oct 192010

The Newport City Council took another baby step toward adopting new rules for new construction atop coastal bluffs and dune back areas.

The rules apply to coastal areas designated by state geologists and map makers that put long stretches of Newport coastal bluffs and dune back building sites in a bad spot. It puts them in a red zone of dangerous earth movement as Oregon beaches perpetually erode and have taken houses down with them, including the notorious Jump Off Joe, an ill-fated condo project that collapsed and fell over the bluff near the end of west 11th in Newport many years ago.

The new rules allow land owners to build a home on an active, high or medium risk coastal bluff or dune back, but only after the land is inspected by an engineering geologist. If the geologist gives it his thumbs up, the contractor can proceed to build.

In the event of an earthquake, tsunami, wind storm or fire, a homeowner would have the near-right to rebuild. Most of the time the home can be rebuilt right where it was, but the homeowner must be willing to move it farther away from the sea cliff and start over.

The geologic hazard law was sent back to staff for some final tweeking before final adoption at an upcoming council meeting. The final version will not order automatic filings on properties’ deeds just because they’re in a geological hazard zone. The council also heard that regular state law requires any broker or real estate salesperson to fully disclose any such information on property that is singled out from the rest of the town by a geologic hazard defined area.

The council will re-examine the latest new ordinance make-over next month. Real estate brokers, homeowners, bankers and title insurance companies had, for months on end, predicted that property values would drop like a rock if their properties were subjected to such a hazard zone designation.

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Newport City Council tonight is going to try to use some human logic to solve Newport’s geologic challenge.

Land Use, Newport No Responses »

Oct 182010

In acknowledging there is an unstoppable progression of certain ocean “view” lots becoming ocean “front” lots, the Newport City council tonight will attempt to find the city’s proper role in issuing (or not issuing) building permits for some of the more potentially troublesome coastal bluff and dune back high erosion and ground movement locations within the Newport city limits.

After months of public hearings and no small quantity of public uproar, the council appears poised to change very little in its zoning or building permit requirements other than to require lots within recently created maps of geologically hazardous coastal bluffs and dune backs have a comprehensive geological study conducted before those lots can be built on.

And that building placement and engineering recommendations are followed closely so when completed the engineering geologist, who performed the geologic hazard investigation, can satisfy the city that his/her recommendations were followed.

Other provisions include the right of a property owner to rebuild their home in the event of fire, flood wind storm or earthquake as long as an engineering geologist says the dwelling can be replaced safely up to and including the size of its former footprint. The provision also underscores that the city is not responsible if the geologist’s report winds up being
wrong whether in connection with a first-time build or a pre-existing building following some sort of geologic event or other natural disaster.

The ordinance that is expected to be approved tonight also removes any requirement that a home or empty lot’s geological status be recorded on a property deed. Detractors of the notification proposal claimed that there are very strict state real estate rules and regulations binding the seller and their agent to perform full disclosure of such matters during the transaction process.

Earlier city staff suggestions that the ordinance include a thicker legal firewall between the property owner and the city’s building department were deemed unnecessary due to government’s widely accepted immunity from lawsuits over building-permitted projects that “go awry.”

The council is expected to include these and a few other additions to the city’s coastal geologic hazard provisions in the zoning code.

The council will also hold the first of two public hearings on whether to charge “City Center” businesses a $35 per year business license surcharge to create a City Center Parking District. The district would use special signage and other methods to direct customers to available parking in the event parking is not right outside the store or business they want to go in to.
City law says 30% of businesses within the proposed district that don’t want to pay the higher business license fee can sign a petition to kill it. As of this date, Oct. 18, those business owners not wanting to be included amount to 12%. They are businesses that already have enough parking and they don’t want to have to help pay the freight for other businesses that don’t.

The Newport City Council holds a council warm-up workshop at 4:30pm and then launches into their formal city council meeting at 6pm, City Hall, downtown.

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Lincoln City finally stops the construction of single family skyscrapers

Land Use, Lincoln City No Responses »

Oct 112010

Lincoln City Planning Director Richard Townsend received what many say was a much deserved unanimous vote from his city council Monday night. After many months of long public hearings and at times strident testimony from unhappy neighbors, the city council adopted Townsend’s fix for what ailed many residents in Lincoln City. Namely, new homes going in that looked more like high rises, which spoiled their views and privacy.

The new rules stop “slope averaging” which allowed new homeowners to take the average of two elevation extremes and call it within prescribed limits. Except that the top floors had more in common with the clouds than the ground.

The other fix took aim at another loop-hole new homeowners were using to raise their homes up and over their neighbors. A contractor would substantially built up the grade of a lot, and then add to that, high retaining walls, which then became the home’s highly elevated ground floor. They were basically using fill and retaining walls like a child’s booster seat, except they were putting three and four story houses on them.

Planning Director Richard Townsend outlined new design regulations and tighter inspection requirements which he said will put an end to an era of playing fast and loose with city codes on maximum building heights. He said it’s basic common sense that tells you where the starting point is for building a house. But he added that the tighter rules are not meant to prevent a contractor from filling in a lot if there’s a big depression in the middle of it. “That we’ll appove,” he said.

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