Hearing on Coos Bay Estuary Plan

Coos Bay-North Bend shoreline.\Photo by Jody McCaffree.

Alert: The meeting described below is still scheduled. However, Coos County delayed the hearings on the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan they had scheduled for this month, and the city of North Bend will hold its scheduled hearing but then will continue it until a later date. The city of Coos Bay has not yet decided. The hearing on July 11 wil go forward in some for; it may be a full hearing, or the planning commissioners may briefly open it and then decide to "continue" the hearing until a later date. It may be possible to testify about the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan at this hearing, but it may turn out that testimony isn't taken and must be deferred until a re-scheduled meeting. For now, those planning to testify in person should still keep those plans. If there is any change, we'll post the information here.

The update of the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan CBEMP has now entered the phase of review by local governments, before the final step of adoption. There will be hearings before the planning commissions of Coos County and the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend. All three local governments must adopt the same EMP elements for inclusion in their respective comprehensive plans.

The City of Coos Bay’s planning commission will hold a hearing on the update draft on Tuesday, July 11, 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Coos Bay City Hall (500 Central Ave.). If you wish to attend remotely, go here.

In technical language, the planning commission will be reviewing Comprehensive Plan & Code Text Amendments for the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan (CBEMP) Phase I Update, Land Use Application #187-23-000165-PLNG. If submitting written testimony, it would be a good idea to cite the specific reference to make sure comments are officially considered. Written comments were supposedly due July 7. However, given all the confusion about the CBEMP hearings, and the likelihood that the hearing will be continued (meaning that the public record remains open), those wishing to comment via e-mail should still do so. Comments should be sent to publiccomment@coosbayor.gov. and copied to cschnabel@coosbayor.gov.

Members of the public can testify at the hearing. Speakers will be limited to three minutes. If you intend to testify, you are asked to fill out this form, although we are assured that those wishing to testify won't be turned away if they haven't completed the form. If attending remotely, it might be particularly useful to fill out the form, so as to make sure the commission knows you are in the queue to testify.

This is an “evidentiary hearing,” based on which the planning commission will make a recommendation to the Coos Bay City Council. A copy of the staff report will be available for inspection at least seven days prior to the scheduled public hearing. A copy of the application with all submitted materials are available for review during business hours at the Public Works and Community Development Department at Coos Bay City Hall located at 500 Central, Coos Bay, and online here.

For additional information about the hearing, contact the city’s planning administrator, Chelsea Schnabel, (541) 269-1181 x3531, or cschnabel@coosbayor.gov.

See our website article for more background on the CBEMP, and a link to our guide to making comments on the plan.