June 15, 2000

Florence Planning Commission
City of Florence
P.O. Box 340
Florence, Oregon 97439

RE:

• Comments on Proposed Comprehensive Plan Update - General Comments
• Request for Extension of Time to Comment
• Public Records Request

Commissioners:

General Comments on Comprehensive Plan

The draft Comprehensive Plan does not comply with Statewide Land Use Goal 1: Citizen Involvement.

Goal 1 states: “3.  Citizen Influence. ...Citizens shall have the opportunity to be involved in the phases of the planning process as set forth and defined in the goals and guidelines for Land Use Planning ...”

The public has been excluded from participation in the review of relevant data upon which the Plan is based. The plan states it is based on certain data, much of which has not been provided to the public.   Many references to specific data upon which the Planning Commission is supposed to rely in its planning process has been typed in as “xxx”.  Many of the Appendices are either not available for review, or have not yet been completed.  Many of the relevant charts and tables are incomplete, with substantive data missing.

Goal 1 states: “4.  Technical Information ... Information necessary to reach policy decisions shall be available in a simplified, understandable form.  A copy of all technical information shall be available at a local public library or other location open to the public.”

Same comment as above.  Much of the data that is incomplete or entirely missing was not made available to the Planning Commission, much less the public, at the time this draft was offered for public review.  At the time of the public forums, much of the information was still missing.  At the time of the public hearings, much of the information was still missing.

Request for extension of time to comment on draft plan.

As of June 13, 2000, certain relevant, basic data upon which the Transportation System Plan was supposed to be based (detailed below), and which is an integral part of the Transportation System Plan, was not available to the public.  According to the Planning Department, it had not even been completed yet and was still in Eugene.

Because the public has not been given adequate time to review either a complete Transportation System Plan, or the supporting data upon which the plan is based, we request an extension of the deadline for public comment for 20 days from the date the data is actually available to the public.  The time frame which applies to this proceeding is specified in City Code:

City Code 10-1-3: Amendments and Changes, B. Quasi-Judicial Changes, (1) Initiation: A quasi-judicial zoning change and related Comprehensive Plan changes may be initiated by application of a property owner ... by resolution of the Planning Commission ...”

City Code 10-1-3: Amendments and Changes, B. Quasi-Judicial Changes, (3) Notice and Public Hearing: Notice and public hearing for quasi-judicial changes to this Code and the Comprehensive Plan shall be in accordance with Code Section 10-1-1-5.

City Code 10-1-1-5, Land Use Hearings: “10-1-1-5 Land Use Hearings, B. Notification of Hearing, 1. At least twenty (20) days prior to a quasi-judicial hearing, notice of hearing shall be provided ...

City Code 10-1-1-5, Land Use Hearings: C. Notice - Information provided, 1. The notice shall: f. State that application and applicable criteria are available for inspection at no cost and will be provided at reasonable cost;

In the instance of changes to the Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission stands in the same place as the “applicant” in Land Use Hearings.  The Code’s provision that the “application and applicable criteria” is available for inspection presumes that it is available as of the date the notice is mailed, which is 20 days prior to the hearing.

Public Records Request for access to relevant data used by Planning Commission

Because the draft Transportation System Plan was obviously based on data other than that which is indicated in the plan, we are hereby requesting, pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192, public access to the data which was used.  Please contact me at 997-9095 when the documents are available for review.

Thank you,

(Signed)
Zane Ziemer
President

(Web Editor's Note:  The documents listed and information missing in the draft plan were still not available to the public on June 16, 2000 - the day after the public hearing.)