Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society
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Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
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RECOMMENDED ROLE FOR JO CO'S RURAL PLANNING COMMISSION
Purpose Of Josephine County’s Rural Planning Commission Article 24.010 -- Purpose1 Of Rural Planning Commission (RPC) "The purpose of this Article is to provide for the conduct of an impartial public hearing by the Rural Planning Commission for applications which involve significant policy issues having county-wide impact, or which call for review and recommendation to the Board of Commissioners." "Public hearings conducted by the Planning Commission shall follow the procedures for Quasi-Judicial land use hearings as set forth in Article 22, and as further governed by Chapter 3, Public Hearings, Notice & Appeal."2 Change The "Code"Because Of Size & Rate of Growth Issues We request a change in the Code in response to the results from the Josephine County survey (see pages 9 - 10 and Figure 3, Josephine County Survey: December 2001 - January 2002).43 percent of the citizens believe Josephine County’s growth rate is too fast. 43 percent of the citizens believe Josephine County’s growth rate is just right. 9 percent of the citizens believe Josephine County’s growth rate is too slow. 20 percent of the citizens believe the number of people in Josephine County is too big. 71 percent of the citizens believe the number of people in Josephine County is just right. 7 percent of the citizens believe the number of people in Josephine County is too small. In summary, 86 percent of the citizens of Josephine County believe the growth rate is too fast, or just right, and 91 percent believe the number of people in Josephine County is too big, or just right. These numbers are huge and we believe they demand a studied response from county government concerning the growth rate and the population exceeding the county’s cumulative carrying capacity 3 and the avoidance of significant impacts on properties and neighborhoods.4Recommended Role For RPC In lay language, we petition a change from the normal "over-the-counter-decisions" of the Planning Director, Josephine County, to the open, accessible RPC process of the public hearing.We recommend Josephine County Board of Commissioners (BCC) transfer the normal administration for the partition of land review procedures from the quasi-judicial review procedures typically performed by the Josephine County Planning Director (Article 22.040 of Code) to the RPC review procedures (Article 24 of Code). We make this recommendation because: 1. of the high interest of the public in the county’s growth rate and size of population, 2. the issue of incremental partitions of land has the potential for significant adverse county-wide impacts exceeding the carrying capacity of the land, and 3. too often, in our opinion, the Planning Director does not refer land use applications "which involve significant policy issues having county-wide impact" to a higher level of review. We petition a change from the "over-the-counter-decisions" of the Planning Director, Josephine County, to the open, accessible RPC process of the public hearing.How do you feel? If you agree with us please make your concerns known to your neighbors, the BCC and RPC, and/or become a co-sponsor of this issue paper. Missions Of The Citizens For A Voice In Growth & The Hugo Neighborhood This information brochure is one of a series of information documents jointly published by Citizens For A Voice In Growth (CVIG) and the Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society (Hugo Neighborhood). It is designed to be shared with neighbors for the purpose of helping protect our rural quality of life by promoting an informed citizenry in decision-making.CVIG is a group of citizens dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of Oregon Statewide Goal 1 — Citizen Involvement. CVIG supports: open spaces, clean rivers, a clean environment, responsible growth, small businesses, minimum noise pollution, and minimum light and sign pollution. CVIG was responsible for the passage of measure 17-77, which changed the Grants Pass City Charter to allow citizens the right to vote on annexations. The Hugo Neighborhood is a nonprofit association composed of citizens interested in both land use and the history of the Hugo area, in Josephine County, Oregon. Its land use mission is to promote the social welfare of the citizens of the area by working to promote Oregon Statewide Goal 1 — Citizen Involvement, and to preserve, protect, and enhance the livability and economic viability of its farms, forests, and rural neighbors.
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© 2011 Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
