[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6510801,"mediaKeyId","5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02","parentId",5340845,"title","Staff outlines solar-siting choices and mitigation fund committee; developers and state role flagged","audioSeconds",2303,"startMs",2568105,"endMs",4871380,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02&start=2568&end=4871","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02/thumbnail_2568105.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6510801/Morrow-County/Oregon/Staff-outlines-solar-siting-choices-and-mitigation-fund-committee-developers-and-state-role-flagged","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6510801-1ef653dc65a070a47986ce33611aecfa/orig.mp4?Expires=1771108130&Signature=OexzbzQLWImC3ffWtx~JBdR6hg9SqgM6NhY8dPNpVyEzY8RDUUSl0iCi0piPu-Z~LV7KG1Qskec~6pW0-BjlWqZktPWQmD3AJKSyd3fIIquUFCK-NbnjIFjZ0U4OsrCRdHLXHuIcqFwh30YSYwd-JiWFic2pmGpt8G1d5Szxdt-5dE2c-vBJRVA69QT5p7KCAVLnD4Kg2IWCU3Dxl-Vcx6MkPJ7CiC7WyG7E20xARQlfMFwrRvD29bTwn8-7nBMIVqMmAKLiBfZWMJdIcbIZG452GxNpTHObRPIrKaIx7k4VPD-22LXLmgnQ66Bq51MiqqPoLSIk7avP7zWDEZrdQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Morrow County, OR","date","2025-07-09T15:23:54.583Z","article","Greg (planning staff) told commissioners the county faces a choices menu for implementing newly adopted state solar-siting standards and that staff will return with a more detailed recommendation. \"We have three options,\" Greg said, describing either keeping existing county standards, adopting the state's new standards, or undertaking a goal-5 style process to inventory and designate solar-suitable lands across the county.

Staff flagged differences in scale and review: some state standards address very large projects (\"the really big ones are 2,500 acres,\" Greg said), while smaller projects have different review paths. Greg warned that mitigation arrangements approved locally may not substitute for the state Siting Council\u0000s Goal 3 exception process: \"FSEC might not honor a mitigation program that we have,\" he said.

Staff also described a mitigation‑funding committee approach used by other projects. Planning staff described a prior process in which the county and stakeholders formed a committee to allocate mitigation funds from a developer and said those funds could be substantial: \"What we do is we name a committee that includes county commission that's gonna decide how to divide up $911,000,000 in mitigation funds,\" Greg said. Staff said membership could include county commissioners, OSU Extension, SWCD, NRCS and other stakeholders; staff also noted the state siting body (FSEC) may require participants to ensure funds are used for mitigation-related purposes.

Next steps: Greg said staff will prepare a focused work session on the solar siting options and may invite developers and attorneys who participated in the rulemaking to advise the board on tradeoffs and likely impacts of each approach.

Ending: Staff will bring back a clearer recommendation and invited commissioner input on whether to schedule developer engagement as part of the next work session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Morrow County Board of Commissioners Work Session: July 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Planning staff described three implementation options for newly adopted state solar siting standards, reported that large solar projects can reach thousands of acres, and said the county will participate on a local committee to allocate mitigation funds from developers.","taxTitle","Morrow County, Oregon","taxId",73539,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6510805,"County staff to adopt FEMA interim habitat measure into floodplain code; staff say requirement will be applied case-by-case",3919,297475,4217305,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02&start=297&end=4217","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02/thumbnail_297475.jpg","/articles/6510805/Morrow-County/Oregon/County-staff-to-adopt-FEMA-interim-habitat-measure-into-floodplain-code-staff-say-requirement-will-be-applied-case-by-case","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6510805-2334766e2f25b74287cd589618615601/orig.mp4?Expires=1771108130&Signature=gqL19m6uJDOejnPkDpjWKYg3kQn09eFB0NUyb9gBGOCjFOJh1TkDtew0mfGChnamLCPSwqALgLOzUWrh2tQfq6QjnFkYCXgfbetyInKPxytL8ib2p5ZSB7xKONWywF06lz~boOTWQt8wYtxl0AykuQtHkoYgFZnRmi8NByeo1i9AXkaL8AheSS9Blv8t9NZb~J~KgNEmCp-Pz3qx~-DqytR~i8TPQ~rZyrsZsuDOmZO95-jEW-cT~Iv2lH~xCwssPAFerPVWd5-ijc1WoN3XoMKWr87HuQwVZYr8y9A1K~cXzD02FlteV0xNTeqNdsKORbmIH-gE~L4ScB-M9heltQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Greg (planning staff) told commissioners the county will add a narrowly tailored change to its floodplain development standards to reflect interim requirements tied to FEMA and federal habitat concerns. \"There is one change we're also implementing based on FEMA requirements,\" Greg said, describing a provision that lets the county require habitat assessments when warranted and leaves the planning director discretion to determine when such studies are necessary.

Staff said the county has already implemented the state rules administratively since Jan. 1 and that adding the measure to local code makes the process more transparent. The staff presentation noted that the county has discussed the draft language with a state contact and believes the language will \"check the box\" with FEMA: \"We've talked with Dan Kearns about that as well to determine, you know, if what we're putting in will satisfy that. And he's in agreement that that we're putting in, we'll keep FEMA essentially, we'll keep FEMA off our backs,\" Greg said.

Staff provided one local example of how the rule has applied: the Port of Morrow's Kinzoa Mill site, where mitigation tied to a Letter of Map Revision included habitat analysis. Planning staff said the mitigation work (removing an old bridge abutment and associated material) is expected to lead FEMA to redraw the map, removing roughly 40%–50% of the area from the floodplain overlay when mitigation is complete, which will change development requirements on those parcels.

The county emphasized the approach is intentionally minimal: staff said the code will say habitat assessments \"may\" be required and that the director will exercise discretion so the county does not need to force assessments unless FEMA or regulatory partners require them.

Ending: Staff said they will finalize the floodplain-code wording and check with FEMA and the state floodplain coordinator before returning with a formal ordinance package.","Morrow County planning staff said they will codify an interim FEMA requirement for habitat assessment into the county\u0000s floodplain ordinance and apply the new requirement on a case-by-case basis, a change they say will satisfy FEMA for now but could be adjusted later.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6510811,"Morrow County to codify recent state farm-and-forest rule changes into local code",3255,22914,3278885,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02&start=22&end=3278","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5340845-14960dbeed0ae71f55bfde8b66aedd02/thumbnail_22914.jpg","/articles/6510811/Morrow-County/Oregon/Morrow-County-to-codify-recent-state-farm-and-forest-rule-changes-into-local-code","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6510811-e0e6233d8d61d63de3878c3bb0dca582/orig.mp4?Expires=1771108130&Signature=UtOr03IqAA-XzCFgTaDrjajOABD3gNQyBkKalCX7qGefDvpF4DiT6dZ6ZlmMEMW2H-IB5sIbUItk~f6~amK6LtTdeZOKJN1LseeBB3tbSE7w0N6XIjHysNQcU0a8CK01Okp0XOHQBRvflXYBFibfa44f8ZIslzSYd8OANDFX-Eh4ULdtlxnJLGSqxTbHde3NUhD388ZUIimwX6o3oVXLQvBCtKHnyEUz0fZbZ7gdDQ08vUwh2FvCiKbfbHbPFgKqk17NUgAfOMYv4H2NzzCxjd99Kq4JhbERawk8rTCP2bHEzSCWiph77M4gxAAej3NJ5pH5ZuPqpRrY4x1ctPIPWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Greg (planning staff) told the Board of Commissioners at a work session that county planning staff will codify recent state rulemaking and case-law clarifications affecting farm and forest land uses into the county code. \"I know we're not all looking forward to another code update, but this one, hopefully is really straightforward and also compulsory,\" Greg said, adding that the state changes went into effect Jan. 1 and the county has implemented them administratively since then.

The codification covers the county's EFU zone (section 3.01), forest use (section 3.02), and Article 1 definitions, planning staff said. The changes include both new provisions created by the state rules and clarifying edits to reflect case law. Staff told commissioners the packet distributed to the planning commission and the board highlights about two dozen redlined pages for review.

Why it matters: staff said adding the state rules to county code will make requirements more transparent to landowners and the public. Greg said the changes are largely mandatory following a state rulemaking process that began in 2022, and that if the county leaves references only to administrative rules the public will have to look elsewhere to understand requirements.

Details discussed at the session included:
- Farm processing and definitions: staff identified small but specific changes such as naming rabbits among allowed farm processing items and clarifying what counts as \"processing\" and \"products or byproducts\" tied to farm use.
- EFU and forest changes: staff pointed to new or clarified standards for nonfarm dwellings and nonfarm uses, including an income-verification requirement for applicants seeking a farm-dwelling exception. Planning staff said tax-return documentation \"shall submit\" language is now in the code for proving income thresholds used to qualify for farm dwellings (the packet cited an $80,000 threshold for high-value farmland and $40,000 on non-high-value land as examples discussed in the session).
- Home occupations and agritourism: the update adds clearer limits meant to keep home occupations secondary to residential use and to tie agritourism events to supporting farm operations. Staff emphasized the changes are intended to close loopholes that had allowed higher-intensity uses in some counties.
- High-value farmland protections and composting: the draft text follows state case law in restricting certain uses (including some composting operations) on high-value farmland while allowing expansion of existing uses in limited circumstances.
- Clarifications and user-friendliness: staff said they intentionally put longer references to OAR/ORS in citations rather than copying multi‑page administrative text into the county code to avoid creating an unwieldy ordinance.

Several procedural items were flagged for follow-up: whether some administrative-review paths should instead be permitted outright (planning staff will confirm with the county attorney and state references), whether income-verification tax documents must be made public (staff will check peers' practices in other counties), and small editorial fixes (grammar, cross-references and section numbering) before formal adoption.

Greg closed by saying staff will return with a formal proposal: \"Planning Commission wants to do this in August. So we'll come back to you for formal in September,\" and asked commissioners for any additional direction before that filing.

Ending: Staff will revise the draft based on the session's questions, verify statutory references and thresholds with legal counsel and peer counties, and present a formal ordinance package to the board later this year for possible adoption.","Planning staff told county commissioners they will incorporate state rule changes and case-law clarifications affecting exclusive farm use (EFU) and forest zones into Morrow County code, and return with a formal package later this year. Staff said many changes are mandatory and aim to make requirements clearer for landowners.","actionData","errors"]

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Staff outlines solar-siting choices and mitigation fund committee; developers and state role flagged

County staff to adopt FEMA interim habitat measure into floodplain code; staff say requirement will be applied case-by-case

Morrow County to codify recent state farm-and-forest rule changes into local code