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Monmouth landowner warns Polk County commissioners a new dwelling site raises wildfire and access safety concerns
Summary
Monmouth resident Miriam Forney told the Polk County Board of Commissioners she appealed a recent land-use decision that approved siting a dwelling on a steep, forested slope near her property, arguing the location cannot meet Oregon Department of Forestry fuel-break standards and increases emergency-response and roadway safety risks.
Miriam Forney, a Monmouth resident and owner of land on Fishback Ridge, told the Polk County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 11 that a recent planning-department land-use decision approved the siting of a new dwelling on a steep, forested slope immediately south of her property and that the approved location does not allow sufficient room to meet Oregon Department of Forestry fuel-break standards.
Forney said the decision requires the property owner to establish primary and secondary fuel breaks “in accordance with the Oregon Department of Forestry Standards,” but she told commissioners the approved dwelling location appears to rely on overlapping those breaks so the total width would be less than the standards call for. “Why would the planning department do that when wildfire is increasingly an issue?” she asked.
Forney argued the approved site increases risk to nearby properties because Fishback Ridge has experienced multiple fires in recent decades and prevailing winds from the south could carry flames toward her land. She also told the board that response time for the Monmouth Fire Department would be longer than ideal because responders must travel more than five miles and climb several hills—one more than a mile long—to reach the approved site. She added concern about the site’s access road, which joins Monmouth Highway at a blind curve where she said there have been six recent accidents, including one that resulted in deaths.
Forney said she and her husband filed an appeal of the land-use decision and that they did not receive an explanation at the hearing or afterward. She also said they had expected notice before subsequent steps and did not receive timely communication from the planning department. In closing, Forney said she would be willing to serve on any future committee formed to reexamine county safety-related zoning ordinances as weather and wildfire risk change.
The board did not discuss the appeal on the record during Forney’s remarks; no county staff response is recorded in the meeting transcript.
