Florence City Council
P.O. Box 340
Florence, Oregon 97439

     RE:  Proposed Ordinance to deal with Measure 7

Dear Council Members:

The passage of Measure 7 poses significant challenges for all local governing bodies within the state.
You are faced with the difficult task of implementing the measure in a manner that limits damage
to the city’s environment and quality of life while at the same time limiting severe damage to your
financial status and ability to fund essential services.  Not an envious position.

A.  Claims Receipt, Processing & Publicity

In response to Measure 7, many cities and counties are rapidly adopting ordinances to establish
procedural requirements for the submission of a claim under Measure 7.  We strongly support those
efforts.  The measure itself does not set forth a specific process for the submission and review of
such claims, and the need for clearly established procedural requirements is obvious.

Claims processing ordinances should provide for filing claims that include the following
information:

      A.  Name and address of the claimants
      B.  The amount of compensation requested
      C.  A description (and if possible, citation) of the local and/or state laws giving rise to
     the claim
      D.  The date the claimant became the owner of the property

Claims processing procedures should provide for public notice and hearings on the claims. In
particular, any claims that may be satisfied by waivers of or variances from zoning or other
regulations should be heard only after notice to all property owners, the value of whose property
would be reduced if the waiver or variance were granted.

B.  Purported Waivers

We are concerned however, the ordinance you are considering includes “waiver” provisions that
purport to give to the governing body the substantive authority to waive the regulation that is the
subject of the claim, even if that regulation is required by state law, administrative rule or Goal.
Furthermore, to presume that the voters intended to repeal, fully or selectively, state and local land
use regulations is unwarranted.

Those laws and rules were not on the ballot. All we know for sure is what they adopted: a measure
requiring compensation. Cities, counties, special districts and regional governments do not have the
authority under Measure 7 or any other law or Constitutional provision to waive, repeal or override
state laws and state rules. On December 1, 2000, the Director of the Department of Land
Conservation and Development has also expressed concern over “the adoption by cities and  counties of ordinances that authorize waiver of land use regulations in order to avoid compensation claims.”

It may be possible, as an alternative to adopting a broad waiver provision, to craft a legally  defensible “variance” mechanism for purely local regulatory and zoning requirements so long as the adoption of such a mechanism follows proper procedural requirements such as notice, public hearings, opportunity to seek judicial review, etc. A variance provision that amends the manner in which land use regulations are applied would be subject to the post-acknowledgment process of ORS 197.610-626. But, once again, local jurisdictions can not legally grant a variance to state
requirements.

The 1000 Friends of Oregon Board has authorized their staff attorneys to appeal any ordinances  that purport to waive, or could be construed as waiving, state land use laws, goals or rules, directly or indirectly. Please ensure that this letter is made part of the record for any process that leads to the
adoption of any ordinance dealing with the implementation of Measure 7 in Florence. Also, I request
to receive future notice of any such proposed ordinances and of the Public Hearings or Meetings at
which those proposed ordinances are to be considered.

A copy of the notice from the League of Oregon Cities web site regarding a warning about local
ordinances and waiver provisions is attached.

Thank you in advance for your kind attention to this letter. We recognize the challenges that confront
you and would like, to the greatest extent possible, to be supportive of your efforts.

Sincerely,
 

Zane Ziemer
President