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Work session previews contested zone change request for Cascades Academy near Tumalo
Summary
County planners briefed commissioners on a proposed comprehensive plan amendment and zone change for a 22.5-acre site north of the existing Cascades Academy campus; the hearings officer recommended conditional denial pending additional evidence on wetlands and scenic-resource impacts.
Deschutes County planning staff on Monday briefed commissioners ahead of a public hearing on a plan amendment and zone change application by Cascades Academy for a 22.5-acre parcel north of its campus near State Highway 20.
Nicole Martell, senior planner with Deschutes County Community Development, said the application would change the site’s comprehensive plan designation from agricultural and service-mine to a rural residential exception area and rezone it from surface mine and EFU (exclusive farm use) to MUA 10. Martell said the site includes about 4.03 acres currently mapped as surface mine and about 18.47 acres of EFU land; a small wetland associated with the Tumalo Town Ditch also crosses part of the property.
Martell told the board the hearings officer conducted a hearing in November and recommended conditional denial because the applicant’s materials did not fully demonstrate compatibility with Goal 5 protections for wetlands and scenic resources tied to Highway 20 and the Deschutes River. The applicant later submitted an economic, social, environmental and energy (ESEE) analysis and argued the landscape management combining zone contains clear and objective standards that would regulate future development.
Commissioners asked for clarification about whether the applicant had analyzed soils and whether the soil calculations referenced Class 7 and 8 soils across the entire parcel or just the EFU portion; staff agreed to have the applicant address that point at the hearing. Commissioners also requested clarification about whether schools are permissible uses in EFU and why the applicant chose to pursue a rezone if school uses could be accommodated under EFU rules. Martell said she would invite the applicant and their representative, Tia Lewis, to address those questions during the hearing.
No decision was made at the work session; the item was scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday where the board will consider testimony and evidence.
