Permits surge for planning, building

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 30, 2015

Development is surging again in Deschutes County, where the number of planning and building permits rose again in the last fiscal year.

The distinctive feature of that new development is the unusual mix of projects coming before county planners for review and possible approval, said Nick Lelack, director of the county Community Development Department.

“The planning division is experiencing the greatest variety of applications in any two-year period on record,” he said Wednesday.

Among the projects under review: solar farms, rural events like weddings on farmland, airport hangars at the Bend Airport and applications from Bend Park & Recreation District to develop the Riley Ranch Nature Preserve and Rockridge Park on the city outskirts.

The number of planning permits issued by Deschutes County increased in fiscal year 2014-15 to 610 from 467 the prior year. Lelack said many projects are proposed on property designated exclusively as farmland, for which the state sets its own regulations. Some applications take advantage of recent changes in state law, which sets them up as test cases.

“While these uses are allowed in the exclusive farm-use zone, we haven’t addressed many of these to date,” Lelack said. “Or, they are fairly new rules the Legislature has adopted over the last couple of years and haven’t been tested.”

Those cases often give rise to heightened interest by neighborhood groups or advocacy organizations that inevitably appeal the land use decision to the county commissioners or the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

In one case, the department issued a permit to John and Stephanie Shepherd for a private park on which to hold weddings on 1.6 acres of their farm east of Sisters. The commissioners upheld the decision on appeal but Central Oregon LandWatch appealed further to LUBA, according to The Bulletin archives and a county update of pending cases July 16. Two other applications involving wedding parks on farmland were received, one approved and another denied by the county, in the past year.

The county is also reviewing applications to build solar energy projects, sites where solar panels are erected in large arrays to gather sunlight to turn into electricity. One application, submitted by Central Electric Cooperative, calls for a solar farm on 2.9 acres on 27th Street. That application is under review.

A second application, by NorWest Energy 2 LLC and Oregon Solar Land Holdings, would build a solar farm north of U.S. Highway 20 east of Bend. That project is also under review. Lelack said he expects two more applications shortly.

On the residential side, the number of building permits issued by the county was also up in fiscal 2014-15. The department issued 393 permits for new single-family homes in that period, 308 the previous fiscal year and 218 the year before that. A hearings officer in March rejected an application for a subdivision of 50 2-acre lots and 422 acres of open space called Miller Tree Farm on Skyliners Road. The developer appealed to the county commission, which is expected to rule in the fall, said Anthony Raguine, county senior planner.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815,

jditzler@bendbulletin.com