County schedules de novo public hearing on Wildish Land Company's Thurston Pit rezoning request

At a first reading Tuesday, Lane County planners presented a conformity determination request from Wildish Land Company to reclassify part of the Thurston Pit (near Springfield) from agriculture/exclusive farm use to natural resource/mineral and to rezone about 47.94 acres to sand, gravel and rock products (PA1394).

Senior planner Nora Bradling told the commissioners that the applicant argues an earlier Metropolitan Area Plan map error placed a small corner of the mine area in agriculture/EFU when the written plan policies intended existing mining operations to be designated and zoned consistent with their use. Because the plan diagram was drafted at a large scale, the applicant contends that the written plan text should control for parcel-level designations.

Bradling said the Lane County Planning Commission reviewed the application and recommended approval; staff concurs. Because this is a conformity determination under the rural comprehensive plan, the board scheduled a de novo public hearing and second reading for May 19, 2026 at 10 a.m. in Harris Hall.

If approved, the ordinance would amend the rural comprehensive plan diagram and rezone the identified area to allow the existing mining operation to be explicitly recognized in the county zoning map. Staff indicated supporting materials and a full record are available in the application file. The matter will return for detailed public testimony and deliberation on May 19.

No vote was taken on the merits at the first reading; the board set the public hearing date per standard quasi-judicial process.