Klamath County hearing draws strong opposition to proposed hotel near Williamson River

Klamath County planning staff presented a request to change the comprehensive plan and zoning for a 6.43-acre parcel at the Highway 97–Chiloquin Boulevard intersection from Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) to Transportation Commercial to allow a small, highway-oriented hospitality use — described by the applicant as a boutique hotel of up to about a dozen rooms and a possible handful of RV spaces.

Staff told the joint meeting of the planning commission and county commissioners that the parcel has no recorded water rights, lies adjacent to the Williamson River and is affected by a county-designated 100-foot riparian corridor and a recently adopted floodplain map. The planning director said those constraints, combined with soils and physical barriers such as the river and a railroad, formed the basis for evaluating whether the land is “irrevocably committed” and therefore eligible for an exception from EFU under administrative rules. Staff also said a limited-use overlay would be required if the commission approved a comprehensive-plan map amendment to specify the permissible commercial use and lock in the applicant’s proposal unless changed by…