Hearing on Coquille Point Hotel

Coquille Point, with the mouth of the Coquille River in the background, from the air.\Photo by Rena Olson.

The Bandon City Council will take up the issue of the proposed hotel development at iconic Coquille Point at a public hearing on Tuesday, April 9, 5 p.m. in the council chambers at Bandon City Hall (555 Hwy 101).  The Bandon Planning Commission decided in favor of granting a conditional use permit for the hotel, over the objections of Oregon Shores and local opponents.  Bandon citizens appealed the decision to city council.

Oregon Shores has opposed this development proposal from the outset, working with Bandon area members and other citizens.  We argue that the hotel will violate the intention in the city’s comprehensive plan to protect the adjacent wildlife refuge and the aesthetic experience of visitors to Coquille Point.  The hotel would loom over the refuge and the public viewpoint.  We won an earlier round—a proposal for a larger and more intrusive hotel—so to some degree the opposition has been a success, whatever the final outcome.  For background on the issue, see our article.

The city’s original announcement of the hearing stateed that “There will be no public comment accepted at the hearing,” with the decision to be made on the existing record, but Bandon’s municipal code states that “the Chair shall allow testimony from the applicant and from those in attendance.”  A subsequent correction stated that testimony would be heard only from the appellants and the applicant.  It now seems doubtful that testimony will be accepted at the hearing, but to be sure, or to ask other questions about the hearing, contact the Bandon Planning Department, (541) 347-2437, planning@cityofbandon.org.  Attendance at the hearing by opponents, even if if not allowed to speak, could still help to convey the depth of opposition.