Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Umatilla on transmission lines that changed town views; staff point to federal jurisdiction and limited local authority
Summary
Residents said new transmission lines have degraded scenic view properties and asked what the city can do; staff said much of the land involved is federal, the city did not select preferred tower locations, and any view-area protections would require state/county designations the city believes Umatilla likely would not meet.
Residents told the council that recently installed transmission lines have reduced the value of view properties and asked what the city could do to stop future siting decisions.
“Someone looked at our house and said they weren't interested because of the transmission lines in the view,” resident Denise Pratt said, asking for action to protect view property.
City staff responded that siting involves multiple jurisdictions. City Manager Dave Stockdale said much of the land north of town is federally owned and therefore beyond city land-use jurisdiction; where the city did have jurisdiction it provided an alternatives analysis to the utility and asked for mitigations (for example, shorter poles) but did not direct the utility where to place lines. “We did not make any recommendation of where that should go,” Stockdale said.
Staff said some existing lines appear nonconforming and likely date from the 1980s with no clear paper trail. The city can pursue some land-use options — including sending proposals through the planning commission and council or exploring whether a formal view-area designation is possible — but Stockdale said Umatilla likely would not qualify under state goal criteria without more research.
Why it matters: Residents framed the issue as both a transparency problem and a quality-of-life concern that could affect housing demand. Staff proposed a pathway for residents: work with planning staff and the planning commission to explore options and to propose policy or comprehensive-plan changes if warranted.
What comes next: Staff offered to meet with interested residents and the community-development director to develop specific proposals the planning commission could vet.
