Wasco County Considers Turning Scenic Area Ordinances Over To Gorge Commission

The Wasco County Commission will wait until its May 5 meeting to decide whether or not to have planning staff move forward with incorporating revisions to the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area Management Plan into their land use development ordinance, or instead pursue a repeal of the County’s Scenic Area ordinance and turn over permit management in the Scenic Area to the Columbia River Gorge Commission.  The primary issue revolves around money, with some County officials feeling they are not receiving enough in funding to cover the cost of processing Scenic Area land use applications and the workload placed on County planning staff.  Commission Chair Scott Hege during Wednesday’s meeting encapsulated the pros and cons of handing the process over, saying he felt there would be benefits to the County’s overall planning effort to relinquish the Scenic Area oversight, but at the same time he didn’t want to see County residents in the Scenic Area face delays in getting permits.  Commissioner Kathy Schwartz said she felt there were benefits to County residents in the management plan revisions, and wanted a Measure 56 notification process on the issue to be done, which the other commissioners felt was not necessary.  

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