This Saturday, February 28th at 11:00 am, Oregon's House Committee on Land Use will be holding its first hearing of the 2009 legislative session on statewide destination resort policy at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds. Specifically, the committee will be taking testimony on House Bill 2227 which was drafted by the Department of Land Conservation and Development at the request of the Governor.

HB 2227's primary purpose, other than a few housecleaning items, is to initiate a reassessment of the state's destination resort guidelines in light of the boom in destination resort construction experienced in Central Oregon, and address both the potential benefits of destination resort development throughout the state as well the numerous concerns that have been raised.

DLCD's proposal would take the bulk of the requirements for destination resorts out of state statute (and out of the jurisdiction of the State Legislature) and instead allow the agency to design a set of administrative rules, based on its reassessment and largely at its discretion, that would address numerous details pertaining to where resorts can be sited, what they may look like, and what sorts of requirements they must comply with.

Central Oregon LandWatch believes that this is a timely and appropriate course of action for the state to take. However, we remain seriously concerned about taking too much authority out of the hands of the legislature and placing it at the discretion of a state agency. An issue as important as this one deserves the certainty of legislative determinations.

LandWatch believes that in response to HB 2227 the legislature should:

a) Amend current destination resort statutes to require that the numerous impacts of destination resorts are either avoided or fully mitigated and that those requirements remain in statute;

b) Ensure that future destination resorts are oriented towards tourism and not sprawling golf course subdivisions;

Central Oregon LandWatch plans to offer statutory amendments to HB 2227 and has been working with supportive lawmakers on a separate piece of legislation that would address many of our most critical concerns related to destination resorts. We will make more details available to you soon, including the specifics our proposal.

If you have concerns about destination resorts, we would urge you to participate in this process, by both submitting written testimony, but also - and most importantly - by showing up person to testify before the House Land Use Committee and informing its members of your concerns about destination resorts.

This may be the only opportunity that Central Oregonians have to testify locally, and this first hearing presents a tremendous opportunity to set the tone for this crucial debate which has the potential to completely redraw the state's requirements for destination resorts.

-Central Oregon LandWatch

Here are the full details from the State Legislative Website:

Public Hearing on HB 2227 - Relating to destination resorts
Date: Saturday-February 28
Time: 11:00 A.M.
Location: Deschutes County Fairgrounds & Expo Center South Sister Conference Hall 3800 SW Airport Way Redmond, OR 97756
Introduction of bills/measures possible.
Meeting will take place at Deschutes County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond OR, 97756, 541-548-2711, in the South Sister Conference Hall. (See facilities map here.
Please note: Each speaker called to testify will have two minutes to address Committee Members. The order of testimony may be managed to ensure that a broad range of issues and points of view is presented to the Committee.
Staff respectfully requests that presenters submit 25 collated copies of written materials at the time of testimony.

If you cannot attend and would like to submit written testimony, please send to:
House Majority Leader and Land Use Committee Chair, Rep. Mary Nolan
H-295
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
Rep.marynolan@state.or.us
503 986-1440