Coos Bay Plan Update Joint Session

coos_bay_vessel_south_slough_odfw.jpg

Decisions on the Phase 1 update of the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan are looming. There will be a special joint session of the three local governments involved in the update to consider final language on Thursday, Dec. 7, 6 p.m., in the Coos Bay City Council Chambers (500 Central Ave. in Coos Bay). The public will be able to testify at this hearing.

The process has been extended. Hearings on a draft of the plan update were held Oct. 23-24 by the three local governments involved—Coos County, and the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend. No decisions were made, however, as new questions had arisen, particularly concerning the way the Port of Coos Bay and the local tribes were treated in the plan.

Instead, the three jurisdictions decided to try to develop a final version through a special joint work session by the county commissioners and the city councilors. (The version ultimately adopted by the three governments must be identical, so coordination at this stage is important.) A joint session was held Nov. 9. Good progress was made, and the three jurisdictions and community advocates including Oregon Shores appeared to be in basic agreement, so the planners were sent back to work on revisions. There will be another attempt to reach agreement on common language on Dec. 7.

Details on how to testify or attend remotely are not yet available; watch this space for them.

If a version of the draft update is agreed upon at this meeting, there will still be hearings before each of the three local governments when they deliberate about formally adopting it. The public will have additional chances to testify on those occasions.

For more information, contact Annie Merrill, Oregon Shores’ land use coordinator, annie@oregonshors.org.