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Clatsop County staff outline new Goal 5 tribal‑notification rules, set hearings and note no mandatory tribal response deadline
Summary
Gail Henrikson, Community Development Director, briefed the board on new DLCD/LCDC rules that require local governments to notify federally recognized tribes for certain land‑use applications and for applications to designate culturally significant landscape features; hearings are scheduled and the rules take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Gail Henrikson, Clatsop County’s Community Development Director, told commissioners that the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) adopted new rules related to Goal 5 requiring notification to federally recognized tribes in four circumstances: applications for ground‑disturbing activity, urban growth boundary (UGB) amendments, applications that require public notice, and applications to designate culturally significant landscape features.
Henrikson said routine building permits and grading permits that do not require public notice will not trigger tribal notification, but conditional use permits, variances, subdivisions and other applications requiring a 10‑day public notice will require notices to the tribes that cover the county. She added that if a tribe identifies a place as culturally significant that finding would not automatically prevent development but could require mitigation by the applicant or additional conditions of approval.
Henrikson said an Oregon‑based government, including a county or tribe, can apply to declare an area a culturally significant landscape feature even if the property is privately owned; the county will need to work through how to evaluate impacts, define an impact area, and create standards and application fees for that process.
Commissioners asked which tribes would be notified and whether tribes have a fixed period to respond. Henrikson said the state is still determining which tribes will cover Clatsop County (work expected to conclude around November–December) and that DLCD did not impose a mandatory response deadline because of concerns that tribes could be overwhelmed by sudden new notice obligations.
Commissioner Thompson, who served as the county’s LCDC liaison during rulemaking, said the intent was a ‘‘light touch’’ balancing tribal rights and property rights and expressed confidence in the county planning staff’s readiness. Henrikson said the county plans to return with an ordinance and a proposed fee schedule; hearings are scheduled at the Planning Commission on July 14 and before the Board in August (Aug. 12 and 26). The DLCD rule changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027 regardless of local code amendments, but staff said putting the rules into local code will provide clarity for applicants.
