County: Crow Board Offers Up to $25,000 Toward Gales Property Fees; Staff to Draft Restrictive Covenant If Rezone Proceeds

BEND, Ore. — Deschutes County staff updated the Board Sept. 29 on outreach with the Gales family regarding a possible rezoning for a parcel known as the Gales property and said the Crow Board has voted to allocate up to $25,000 from its budget to help offset planning and zoning fees.

Eric Cropp, deputy county administrator, and county staff told the board they have invited the landowner, Craig Gales, to brief the commissioners about the proposal and that staff would prepare a draft agreement that would obligate the owner to limit certain uses if the rezoning is approved. The county’s update described a pre-application meeting between the landowner and Community Development and said the likely land-use review process would proceed via a hearings officer if necessary to avoid commissioner conflicts.

What was proposed

- The Crow Board has approved up to $25,000 to help cover community development fees that would be associated with a rezoning application; the funds sit in a county budget though the Crow manages them.

- If the property owner accepts the…