CU25-042 Staff Decision - Laserfiche WebLink

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The applicant states that they provide several services to farmers which they claim to be essential to the practice of agriculture. These practices include grading, excavation (for farm structures), hauling of heavy materials and soils, irrigation system repair, drainage tile installation and repair, and even tree removal. While many of these uses are indeed necessary for the practice of agriculture, the services such as grading, excavation for structure foundations, hauling of heavy loads of soil and materials, and tree removal are also necessary for a number of other types of development, not just agricultural uses. The services that are essential specifically to the practice of agriculture are the drainage tiling work and irrigation system work. Ultimately, in the list of customers and jobs provided by the applicant, the majority of services provided were drainage tile related and irrigation system related (in both cases, repair and installation). As such, the applicant has sufficiently demonstrated that most of their provided services are essential for agriculture. Therefore, the criterion is met. 8. In addition to the specific criteria above, the proposal must also satisfy the conditional use criteria in MCC 17.136.060(A). Those requirements are: 1. The use will not force a significant change in, or significantly increase the cost of, accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm or forest use. Land devoted to farm or forest use does not include farm or forest use on lots or parcels upon which a non-farm or non-forest dwelling has been approved and established, in exception areas approved under ORS 197.732, or in an acknowledged urban growth boundary. For purposes of this section, a determination of forcing a significant change in accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm and forest use or a determination of whether the use will significantly increase the cost of accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm or forest use requires: a. Identification and description of the surrounding lands, the farm and forest operations on those lands, and the accepted farm practices on each farm operation and the accepted forest practices on each forest operation; b. An assessment of the individual impacts to each farm and forest practice, and whether the proposed use is likely to have an important influence or effect on any of those practices. This assessment applies practice by practice and farm by farm; and c. An assessment of whether all identified impacts of the proposed use when considered together could have a significant impact to any farm or forest operation in the surrounding area in a manner that is likely to have an important influence or effect on that operation. d. For purposes of this subsection, examples of potential impacts for consideration may include but are not limited to traffic, water availability and delivery, introduction of weeds or pests, damage to crops or livestock, litter, trespass, reduction in crop yields, or flooding. e. For purposes of this section, potential impacts to farm and forest practices or the cost of farm and forest practices, impacts relating to the construction or installation of the proposed use shall be deemed part of the use itself for the purpose of conducting a review under this section. f. In the consideration of potentially mitigating conditions of approval under ORS 215.296(2), the governing body may not impose such a condition upon the owner of the affected farm or forest land or on such land itself, nor compel said owner to accept payment to compensate for the significant changes or significant increases in costs described in this section. Farming operations in the immediate area are comprised a mix of large scale commercial farming operations and smaller acreage homesites engaged in agriculture at a level akin to hobby farming. The majority of large scale operations are engaged in row crop production, particularly grass seed. The smaller operations also have grass fields, but they are most likely engaged in the production of hay or pasture for animals, along with a few small nursery operations using greenhouses. The applicant identified specific ways in which the proposed use could impact these nearby farm uses. They identified the issues of increased traffic and water usage as the primary concern points . For the traffic concerns, the applicant’s state that their trucks already operate within the area and contribute to the existing level of traffic. The argument is that the level of traffic increase due to relocating the primary staging area for the business will not significantly disrupt farming operations in the local area. While this is supportive evidence of that