AR25-015 Staff Decision - Laserfiche WebLink

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Turner Fire District has reviewed this project and has the following comments. 1. Fire service features including fire apparatus access and fire protection water supplies are required to comply with the 2022 Oregon Fire Code (OFC). In order to assist applicants, design professionals, and developers, fire agencies throughout Marion County have provided the 2024 Marion County Fire Code Applications Guide (MCFCAG). The following links to the OFC and the MCFCAG are provided as follows. a. The 2022 Oregon Fire Code contains the currently adopted fire and life safety regulations for the State of Oregon. The full text of the OFC is available through the International Code Council’s website at the following link: https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/ORFC2022P1 b. The 2024 Marion County Fire Code Applications Guide contains guidelines established by the fire agencies throughout Marion County to assist designers and applicants with how OFC requirements are to be applied to their projects. The following link to the 2024 MCFCAG is provided on the Turner Fire District website: Click the “Public Information” link at the bottom of the main page. Click the “Rural Access Standards” link. This opens the MCFCAG document which is located at the following link: https://www.turnerfire.com/content/files/M_C%20App%20Guide%207-2024(3).pdf 2. OFC 505 Address identification signs shall be provided. 3. OFC 506 Key box(s) is/are to be installed in an approved location where access to or within a structure or an area is necessary for lifesaving or fire-fighting purposes when required by the fire code official. NOTE: TFD does not require key boxes. However, if occupants choose to secure property, facilities, structures, or areas in such a manner which will inhibit immediate fire access, key boxes if installed, shall be of a design approved by Turner Fire District. 4. OFC 509 Fire protection equipment, gas shutoff valves, electric meters, service switches, and other utility equipment shall be clearly identified, readily visible, and legibly marked in an approved manner. Rooms containing controls shall be identified for the use of the fire department. Signs shall be constructed of durable materials, permanently installed, and maintained. 5. OFC 1207 Electrical energy storage systems (ESS) shall be in accordance with OFC Chapter 12 and specifically section 1207. All other commenting agencies either declined to comment or stated no objection to the proposal. 7. On April 15th, 2025, the Marion County Board of Commissioners held a work session to discuss Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). These systems are not expressly contemplated in county zoning code, state statute or state administrative rule. The Marion County Board of Commissioners determined that BESSs are not a “Utility Facility Necessary for Public Service” as found in MCC 17.137.040(I), and that furthermore there is no use identified in the MCC that a BESS could fall under. Therefore, BESSs are not permitted in any zone within Marion County. The board expressed a desire to clarify the applicability of existing code to this use and on May 14th, 2025, initiated a process to consider code amendments. On June 11th, 2025, the Boad held a hearing to consider amendments to clarify existing code provisions related to BESSs in the Marion County Urban and Rural Zone Codes (MCC) chapters 16 and 17. The Marion County Board of Commissioners signed Ordinance 1480 on July 9th, 2025, in order to add clarifying sections of text in chapters 16 and 17 of the MCC that outright prohibit BESSs. These sections of code were added for clarification only, because BESSs were not permitted under any section of code prior to July 9th, 2025. The applicant was made aware of the County’s determination but still chose to apply for an administrative review to construct a BESS under the erroneous classification of a utility facility necessary for public service. There is no way to approve a BESS in Marion County and therefore the application must be denied. 8. While a BESS is not a utility facility necessary for public service, the applicant’s statements regarding the approval criteria for a utility facility necessary for public service are addressed below: MCC 17.137.040(I.) Utility facilities necessary for public service, including wetland waste treatment systems, but not including commercial facilities for the purpose of generating electrical power for public use by sale or transmission towers over 200 feet in height. A facility is “necessary” if it must be situated in the EFU zone in order for the service to be provided. An applicant must demonstrate that reasonable alternatives have been considered and that the facility must be sited in an EFU zone due to one or more of the following factors as found in OAR 660-033-0130(16): 1. Technical and engineering feasibility; The applicant did not provide any evidence to suggest that the proposed location is related to the technical or engineering feasibility of the proposal beyond being adjacent to a substation. The applicant references options for varying design of the facility in other sections of this application that suggest the project has not been