Lincoln County Hearing on Shoreline Armoring

The eroding shoreline at Lincoln Beach.\Photo by Linda Fink.

Note:  The hearing described here, which was to take place May 24, has been delayed.  At present the county has stated only that it will take place in "late June," so we aren't actually sure of the date.  The new date will be provided here as soon as it is known.  June 30 has been given here as a placeholder date.

Lincoln County received requests for building permits from four property owners, who wish to armor the shoreline in front of their houses.  The county’s planning staff turned them down, because the properties are not eligible for armoring under Oregon’s planning laws (specifically Implementation Requirement 5 of statewide Goal 18, which deals with beaches and dunes).  The landowners are now appealing the staff’s decision to the Lincoln County Planning Commission.  A public hearing was to be held online at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 24, but has now been delayed until "late June."

The hearing will be live streamed through the county's website and also through the county's YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNz5TMyHTN4itpJm_efb9Q/videos. It will be recorded and then posted on the county’s YouTube site.  There will be no in-person attendance by any party to this issue.  Testimony must be either written or recorded, video or audio.  The only way for anyone to submit oral testimony is to provide a recorded presentation that can be played during the hearing.

The case number for this hearing is File No. 01-MISC-ADM-21; be sure to cite this if testifying.  The properties in question, located in Lincoln Beach, have become notorious—a seawall that had been placed within the bluff was exposed by erosion and collapsed onto the beach.  Without question, the houses are threatened.  However, they were constructed after Jan. 1, 1977, the cutoff point for eligibility for shoreline armoring under Goal 18 of Oregon’s land use planning regulations, as reflected in Lincoln County’s comprehensive plan.

Copies of the staff report denying this request, the applications, and all documents and evidence submitted to date by or on behalf of the applicants, and the applicable criteria, can be viewed or downloaded at https://www.co.lincoln.or.us/pc seven (7) days prior to the hearing.  This material can be purchased by calling the Lincoln County Planning and Development Department at 541-265-4192. Anyone who desires to physically review these documents can contact the Lincoln County Planning and Development Department at that number and schedule an appointment.

The livestreamed hearing will be also be available through https://www.co.lincoln.or.us/pc.

Upon conclusion of the initial proceedings (whenever they are eventually rescheduled), the hearing record will remain open for seven (7) days to allow the submittal of rebuttal testimony and responses to questions posed by the Planning Commission. Following that period, the hearing may be continued, or the hearing record may be held open for additional period(s) of time at the discretion of the Planning Commission.

All testimony for this hearing must be submitted in writing or other recorded form. There will be no oral testimony taken during the course of the hearing. Any person having interest in this matter may submit testimony in writing or other recorded form to be entered into the record.  Send comments or recorded oral testimony to joleary@co.lincoln.or.us with “01-MISC-ADM-21” written in the subject line of the email.  Failure to raise an issue in the seven-day period following the initial hearing, or failure to provide statements or evidence sufficient to afford the Planning Commission an opportunity to respond to the issue, precludes appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals on that issue.

For more information, contact John O’Leary, Lincoln County associate planner, at  (541) 265-4192, joleary@co.lincoln.or.us.

Related to this appeal, an application has been submitted to the Lincoln County Planning Department seeking a Goal 18 exception for these four ineligible properties, as well as two other ineligible properties nearby. This application will be heard before the Planning Commission on Monday, June 14.