» Public hearing on proposed RV park scheduled

By Amy Moss Strong
Editor
Thursday, August 21, 2008 | No comments posted. The county once again will hear testimony on the proposed RV park at the old Rogge Mill site north of town. County commissioners must decide whether to allow an RV park at the site on the east side of U.S. Highway 101 near Bullards Bridge.

A public hearing is scheduled on Friday, Aug. 29, in Coquille.

In January, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals remanded a decision by the Coos County Board of Commissioners that approved the project. LUBA ruled that the applicant, Indian Point Inc., must revisit issues the appellants felt were not adequately addressed. In July, Indian Point filed a request for a remand hearing with Coos County.

Only those who were parties to the LUBA appeal will be allowed to submit testimony in this month’s hearing, according to the county.

“It will be very interesting to see if Coos County will override state planning goals, which is pretty difficult to do,” said Dawn Vonderlin, who, along with several others, filed the LUBA appeal.

Vonderlin said one of the main issues the applicant needs to prove — how the sewage from the site will be treated — is clearly defined by state land use laws and exceptions to those laws would be required to proceed with the project as it was originally presented. Opponents also will be watching closely to see how commissioners respond to LUBA’s view it would be an urban development, and whether they will grant exceptions to land use rules. “I don’t think they even have the authority to do that,” Vonderlin said.

Applicant plans to proceed

Indian Point Project Manager Jan Sirchuck said the company will clarify the issues, specifically regarding urbanization, sewage treatment plans and how the wastewater effluent and groundwater will be used.

“Either the county will accept or reject it,” Sirchuck said. “We’re committed to it. We’ve spent years and years getting it going so we could do an RV park, and we haven’t changed our minds.”

Sirchuck said Indian Point has openly stated its intentions throughout the hearing process.

“People seem surprised, but I think it’s the same old deal, with a few people who don’t want it to happen in their backyard, for whatever reason,” he said. “We want to have a project there, and we are committed to it.” Sirchuck said when the land was rezoned, RV parks became an outright use of the property.

“It’s just a matter of what it looks like,” he said.

But Vonderlin and others disagree.

“There’s a lot of serious issues involved,” she said. “It definitely affects us and our beautiful surroundings.”