At the Board of Clatsop County Commissioner meeting late Wednesday afternoon seven people came forward to ask the commissioners why they were “ignoring the will of the people”. Peter Huhtala, Helen Westbrook, Cheryl Johnson, Fred White, Lori Durhiem, Jim Scheller and Carol Newman repeatedly have attended the meetings of the board and asked the board why they are giving the appearance of working with Bradwood. Huhtala, newly appointed director of a group calling themselves the Columbia River Business Alliance (CRBA), told the board that working with a business was going to send out the message that the Clatsop County Board was not open to new technology or the 21st century. He did not explain how working with a business sends out that type of message.
Protesters of LNG and the local hard copy daily newspaper accused Clatsop County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) of ignoring 8,252 votes supporting a referendum which they say was against any “LNG” pipelines in Clatsop County and a clear indication that the citizens were against the Bradwood Landing project in particular. They have accused the BOCC or being “corrupt” and of appearing to show favoritism to an LNG corporation over their constituents. The BOCC was recently contacted by the Oregon Department of Justice asking how the referendum impacted the Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) that was submitted to the state by Bradwood Landing/Northern Star. Less than one mile of Bradwood Landing’s proposed pipeline crosses private property, currently zoned OPR (open spaces, parks, recreation).
During the campaign against referendum on whether or not to allow pipelines and cables in open spaces Don West, then head of CRBA, wrote: “The referendum is not for the small portion of natural gas pipelines that Bradwood has proposed; in fact the referendum has no bearing on the Northern Star project.” While appearing on KMUN Olivia Schmidt said, “Again this is not a referendum about Bradwood Landing, this is a referendum about County Law …” Marc Auerbach, while appearing on KAST’s Desmo Zone, commented, : “It’s pretty straight forward; it’s not a ‘no’ vote about the LNG facility itself …” and Clatsop Citizens for Common Sense Web site, clatsopcommonsense.org FAQs page, informed voters: “Clearly the referendum cannot halt the project. This is not the subject of the vote.”
However, within days of the defeat of the referendum on September 16, Columbia Riverkeeper sent a letter to Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality stating that because of the defeated referendum: “1) DEQ must halt processing all permits for Bradwood Landing; 2) DEQs statutory and regulatory requirements for a valid LUCs are not preempted by the Natural Gas Act; 3) the Referendum is indicative of strong public opposition to LNG” (Columbia Riverkeeper’s staff attorney Brett VadenHuevel, September 24, 2008). Columbia Riverkeeper donated close to $15,000 to the campaign against the referendum, in money, staff and attorney “in-kind” contributions.
Land zoned OPR is to be used for open spaces or parks or recreation. It does not mean that the land is currently being used as such, especially in reference to private property. The stretch of land in particular that the pipeline is proposed to go through is unsuitable for anything else so was classified as OPR, while adjacent land was classified marine industrial. None of the city parks owned by Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, Gearhart or Cannon Beach are zoned OPR and therefore were not impacted by the referendum concerning pipelines one way or the other. None of the recreation parks owned by the County nor the State are zoned OPR as a whole. There are no parks in Clatsop County where the public would have been harmed if a pipeline had run through a portion of it, because current laws prevent the pipelines from being placed in areas frequented by the public, a fact which opponents of the referendum ignored in their literature.
Clatsop County is required to have a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) in order to participate in the federal Economic Development Administration’s regional economic development program. It also includes NW Oregon’s Regional Strategy, required for receipt of Oregon Lottery Regional and Rural Investment Funds. Since two sets of guidelines are involved the plan provides separate sections on each strategy. NW Oregon Regional Development Goals and Strategies:
Goal 1: Develop a More Diverse, Vibrant and Competitive Regional Economy
Diversification of NW Oregon’s economy must be done in a way that creates livable wage jobs for a range of skill levels in a balance of difference business sectors while maintaining important community values and environmental health. Results will be the creation of new income and increased tax base. Keys to rebuilding a vibrant, diverse regional economy include planning, adequate organization and staff capacity, resources and marketing. Strategies to achieve this goal are:
*Enhance business assistance services
*Improve ability to provide business information
*Plan for and implement coordinated economic development marketing
*Market the region’s commercial and industrial land
*Expand the supply of building-ready industrial land
*Improve business retention activities
*Conduct research, analysis and information collection to identify new economic development opportunities for the region
*Support and stregnthen County Economic Development Councils or other similar county and local organizations that support promote economic development
*Maintain regional participation in economic development from local economic development councils, ports, cities, counties, private institutions and state and federal agencies including Regional Investment Boards, Workforce Investment Boards, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, Northwest Oregon Economic Revitaliztion Team, Small Business Development Centers, Community Colleges, SBA, financial institutions, businesses, EDA and USDA.
Goal 2: Retain NW Oregon’s Strong and Unique Quality of Life
Goal 3: Develop Public Services Infrastructure to SUpport Business Development
Goal 4: Maintain High Level of Economic Development Cooperation, Coordination and Communication among NW Oregon Organizations and Leaders
Goal 5: Support the Region’s Efforts to Have Sufficient Resources, Facilities and Programs to Provide Trained Workers for Existing and Future Needs of Business
Goal 6: Support the Formation, Retention and Expansion of Businesses
The Northwest Oregon Regional Partnership’s NW OREGON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN lays out how the commissioners are expected to treat businesses and industries that are attempting to come into an area. While sanctions for not following the plan may not be fully understood the greatest concern would be losing the lottery funds if it were found that the county was not following the strategy.
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