Tag: planning commission

The Benton County Planning Commission met on July 29 to adopt their findings of fact and conclusions of law, finalizing their decision to deny LU-24-027 — Republic Services’ application to expand the Coffin Butte Landfill. After about an hour of discussion on the document, the members of the Planning Commission voted unanimously to adopt the final written decision.

The Planning Commission had already met on July 22 to deliberate and come to a decision following more than 20 hours of presentations and verbal testimony by Benton County Planning Division staff, consultants, the applicant and community members in a series of in-person meetings that began on April 29. The July 22 meeting lasted nearly four hours.

The Planning Commission also received and reviewed thousands of pages of application materials, reports, exhibits and written public testimony and evidence.

Following the close of deliberations on July 22, the County created a final written document containing findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Before adopting the document on July 29, Planning Commission members discussed and voted on corrections. According to the quasi-judicial land use application process, only minor changes like corrections could be made without reopening deliberations. A motion to reopen deliberations, which would have extended the process, was made but not seconded, so deliberations remained closed during the meeting.

All parties have 14 days from the date of final decision (July 29) to file an appeal. The appeal deadline is 5 p.m. (close of business) on Tuesday, August 12. An appellant is charged the full cost to the County of the appeal, starting with a $5,000 deposit due when the appeal is filed. Appeals are heard by the Benton County Board of Commissioners.  

Learn more

• Final Planning Commission Decision on LU-24-027.
• Video recording of the July 29 Planning Commission meeting. Recordings of all previous meetings are available in the County’s YouTube channel.
• Understanding the Benton County land use application process
• View the application, exhibits, reports, written testimony and other documents related LU-24-027 on the Munidocs platform.

The Benton County Planning Division has opened online sign-up for those wishing to give verbal testimony about the proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill. Registrants to give verbal testimony on July 8 or 9 will be added to the roster in the order in which the online sign-up form is completed.

The public hearing on LU-24-027 will resume on July 8 at 6 p.m. in the Holmes & Shipley meeting room of the County’s Kalapuya Building at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis. The meeting will begin with presentations of the supplemental staff report and the applicant’s supplemental materials. Any time remaining will be used for the presentation of public verbal testimony.

Verbal testimony will continue on Wednesday, July 9 at 6 p.m. The public hearing will end by 9 p.m. with no continuance or extension to a later time or date. The Planning Commission will accept verbal testimony until 8:45 p.m. on July 9 to allow the applicant 15 minutes for rebuttal.

To guarantee that new evidence, argument or testimony will be reviewed by the Planning Commission, community members should submit it in written format. To ensure adequate processing and delivery time for digital submissions, deadlines vary for the different methods:

• The online form will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1.
• Emailed submissions to publiccomment@bentoncountyor.gov will be accepted until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1.
• In-person delivery to the Community Development office will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Monday, July 7.
• Mailed submissions must be received by 4 p.m. on Monday, July 7. The Planning Division will not consider the postmark date if a submission is received after this deadline.
• In-person delivery at the public hearing will be accepted beginning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9.

The Benton County Planning Division has released the supplemental staff report for LU-24-027, the conditional land use application for the proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill. The report is available for public viewing on the County’s Munidocs platform. A number of new exhibits submitted by the applicant and the County have also been uploaded to the platform. 

The Planning Commission will reconvene on July 8 for the public hearing. It will be held in the Holmes & Shipley Meeting Room on the first floor of the County’s Kalapuya Building at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis, with an option for online attendance through Zoom.  

Requests for physical or language accommodations should be emailed to permitcheck@bentoncountyor.gov at least 72 hours in advance of the hearing. 

The schedule for the rest of the application process is as follows: 

Tuesday, July 1, 1:00 p.m.  
Last date to submit written evidence through the online portal or by email. Written testimony may still be mailed or delivered in person to the Community Development Department (4500 SW Research Way, Corvallis, OR 97333). 

Monday, July 7, 4:00 p.m. 
Last date to submit written testimony in person at the Community Development Department and to receive mailed testimony (it must be received in-office by this date, NOT postmarked by this date). Written testimony can still be submitted in person at the public hearing on July 8 and 9. 

Tuesday, July 8, 6-9 p.m. 
Public hearing continues with presentations of supplemental staff report and applicant update. If time permits, begin public verbal testimony on new evidence only. 
Zoom registration  

Wednesday, July 9, 6-9 p.m.  
Public hearing finishes by 8:45 p.m. and applicant receives 15 minutes for rebuttal.  
Zoom registration  

Tuesday, July 22, 6 p.m. 
Deliberations by Planning Commission. No public comment will be heard. 
Zoom registration  

Tuesday, July 29, 6 p.m. 
Meeting to adopt final written decision and findings. 
Zoom registration 

Written testimony 

There are multiple ways to submit written testimony. To ensure adequate processing and delivery time for digital submissions, deadlines vary for the different methods: 

• The online form will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1. 

• Emailed submissions to publiccomment@bentoncountyor.gov will be accepted until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1. 

• In-person delivery to the Community Development office will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Monday, July 7. 

• Mailed submissions must be received by 4 p.m. on Monday, July 7. The Planning Division will not consider the postmark date if a submission is received after this deadline. 

• In-person delivery at the public hearing will be accepted starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9. 

Verbal testimony 

Community members may participate in a second round of verbal testimony during the public hearing on July 8 and 9. This is an opportunity to present and rebut new evidence, arguments or testimony. This means evidence, arguments and testimony that has not been presented before and that contains new subject matter.  People who provided verbal testimony on May 6 or 8 may testify again as long as their testimony meets the novel information requirement. 

Sign-up for verbal testimony will open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1 and close at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8.  

To sign up to deliver verbal testimony or find more information about LU-24-027, including recordings of all previous meetings in the public hearing, visit bentoncountyor.gov/coffin-butte-landfill.