Wasco County adopts revised land use ordinance

The changes also include expanding uses within the farm zone to increase opportunities for economic development and reduce hurdles like setbacks for farmers. Barriers and restrictions were removed when possible, and coordination steps improved between the county and other agencies impacted by specific land use decisions, explained Wasco County Planning Director Kelly Howsley-Glover.

Work on the revised ordinance began in 2016 and included a code audit, staff analysis, legal review and multiple public hearings around the county over the summer. During that process, the county published a robust website with summaries, explainer videos, draft ordinance language, surveys and polls, as well as making frequent social media postings and sending out email newsletters, press releases, and publishing advertisements in the Columbia Gorge News.

Open houses were held in The Dalles and Tygh Valley, as well as virtually, and “Ask a planner” meetings were held.

In total, the county engaged in five months of public outreach regarding the proposed changes to the ordinance, which codifies land use law and thereby impacts every landowner and developer in the county, said Howsley-Glover.

Little testimony was heard at the first reading of the revised ordinance on Oct. 19, and no testimony was offered on second reading Nov. 2.

The board of commissioners passed the proposed ordinance unanimously.

Farm and forest zone updates

The bulk of farm and forest zone updates presented were mandatory changes required by the state, said Howsley-Glover.

“By and large, about 95% of what we are doing is adding things for more opportunity for development, or reduce restrictions,” Howsley-Glover said. “We really are not talking about taking anything away."

All optional uses proposed for the farm and forest zone were adopted by the planning commission, she added. These include cideries, winery restaurant, guest ranches, farm brewery, horse therapy, facility for processing farm products, agritourism and accessory forest dwellings.

Agritourism sparked concerns regarding wildfire and water impacts, so criteria was added to address those concerns.

Energy facilities

In addition to state law changes, in response to citizen input permitting requirements for roof-mounted solar arrays under 35 feet in height were removed. Also, Wasco County was one of the first counties in Oregon to work with the U.S. Military to identify and adopt established airspace maps for the county. The map highlights military flight zones in the county, where low flying aircraft on training flights might conflict with some building projects. The map allows projects more than 100 feet in height located within the zone to work with the military early in the planning process to discover if the project will be allowed, prior to investing significant funds in the project only to discover later in the planning process that their project would interfere with the flight zones.

Communication facilities

Concerns regarding abandonment and concealment were addressed regarding communication towers, with much of the language used drawn from policies adopted by Hood River County.

Psilocybin

Time, space, and manner regulations for psilocybin grows and service centers adopted by the board in July were also added to the updated ordinance. The regulation restricts service centers to commercial zones within the county.

Commissioner Scott Hege expressed sympathy for county residents dealing with the complicated ordinance. “It’s really hard to take all this stuff in, it’s so complicated,” Hege said. “I have a lot of sympathy for those who really can’t figure this out. I read this stuff all the time, but its overwhelming even for me.” He noted the planning department had been good at making itself available to those with questions, and emphasized that although the county is integrating a lot of state requirements into the ordinance, no restrictions are being added.

Commissioner Steve Kramer agreed, noting a county slogan used in the past regarding land use — “How do we get to ‘Yes?’”