Community development director: comprehensive plan update, Hidden Canyon resort application, and cell‑tower constraints
Summary
John Isler told the board Crook County is updating its comprehensive plan (last updated 1978), processing a large Hidden Canyon resort application (225 units in phase one), and facing constrained options on a Pal Butte cell‑tower siting because federal law limits local rejection without technical proof.
John Isler, community development director, reported Jan. 13 that updating the comprehensive plan and related code updates is a top county priority after decades without a full update. The county received a DLCD grant to update local inventories and will pursue an 18‑month process for solar siting policies to accommodate recent OERS rules allowing fast‑track review for large solar developments.
Isler described a significant private application — the Hidden Canyon destination resort — with a first phase of 225 units that will require public hearings and substantial review. He also flagged a cell‑tower application near Pal Butte that has generated public interest; under the Federal Telecommunications Act and related state law, applicants must demonstrate that alternative sites are infeasible for the county to deny siting. Isler said neighbors have hired technical experts to contest the application.
Next steps: code updates are advancing through ordinance readings; the comprehensive plan and solar program work will proceed alongside robust public input and targeted hearings.
