Postponed: Hearing on Coos Bay Estuary Plan

Coos Bay's South Slough.\Photo courtesy of Surfrider.

News flash: The hearing on the Coos Bay Estuary Management Plan by the Coos County Planning Commission, scheduled for July 6, has been postponed until Sept. 7. To be specific, the hearing planned for the 6th will be opened, and anyone present can give testimony, but it will then be continued until Sept. 7, when more time will be available for testimony. More details on the new schedule will appear here as soon as they are available.

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. First up is the county planning commission, which meets on Thursday, July 6, 7 p.m., in the Conference Room of the Owen Building, 201 N. Adams St., in Coquille. (Be aware that the hearing on the CBEMP is last on the agenda, so it will come an unknown length of time after 7.)

To attend the meeting virtually, go here. If you are going to testify in person, you can sign in when you arrive at the meeting. If testifying online, there will be points during the meeting when those attending virtually will be asked if they wish to comment.

The hearing is open to the public and testimony, evidence, or comments may be submitted either orally or in writing. Testimony can be emailed to planning@co.coos.or.us, mailed to the Planning Department, 250 N. Baxter, Coquille, Oregon 97423, or delivered to 60 E. Second, Coquille. Include your signature, printed name and mailing address. Note that the county requests that if you comment via e-mail, you follow up with a printed copy through the mail (although this can arrive later, after the deadline. Note also that if you refer to written comments you are submitting when testifying verbally, the county requests that a copy of the comments to which you are referring be delivered to the planning department by 5 p.m. the day of the hearing, so that copies can be provided to the planning commissioners. All written comments or evidence received prior to the close of the evidentiary record will be included in the evidentiary record. Refer to the subject on which you are commenting as File # AM-22-005 (Ordinance Number 23-06-005PL) – Legislative Amendment.

A copy of the Staff Report will be available for review at the Planning Department at least seven days prior to the scheduled Planning Commission hearing. Copies can be obtained for a fee of $.50 per page, viewed online @ https://www.co.coos.or.us/community-dev/page/applications-2023, or viewed at the Planning Department at any time during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with an appointment.

For more information about the hearing, contact Coos County staff at (541) 396-7770, planning@co.coos.or.us.

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