AR26-007 Staff Decision - Laserfiche WebLink

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7. The applicants should contact the St. Paul Fire District to obtain a copy of the District’s Recommended Building Access and Premise Identification regulations and the Marion County Fire Code Applications Guide. Fire District access standards may be more restrictive than County standards. APPEAL PROCEDURE: The Marion County Zone Code provides that certain applications be considered first by the County Planning Director. If there is any doubt that the application conforms with adopted land use policies and regulations the Director must deny the application. Anyone who disagrees with the Director’s decision may appeal the decision to a Marion County hearings officer. The applicant may also request reconsideration (one time only and a $200.00 fee) on the basis of new information subject to signing an extension of the 150-day time limit for review of zoning applications. A public hearing is held on appeals subject to the appellant paying a $250.00 fee. Appeals must be in writing (form available from the Planning Division) and received in the Marion County Planning Division, 5155 Silverton Rd. NE, Salem by 5:00 p.m. on July 2nd, 2026. If you have questions about this decision, contact the Planning Division at (503) 588 5038 or at the office. This decision is effective July 3rd, 2026, unless appealed. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Findings and conclusions on which the decision was based are noted below. 1. The subject tract is designated Primary Agriculture in the Marion County Comprehensive Plan and zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU). The intent of both designation and zone is to promote and protect commercial agricultural operations. 2. The subject property is on the north side of Raybell Rd NE, approximately 1-mile west of where Raybell intersects HWY 219. The property has a home site and agricultural structures on the southern end, where approximately 28-acres of the farm are at the same grade as Raybell. This area is bordered on the north by a tree line along a relatively steep hill, below which lies the other 90-acres of the property. The northernmost 20-acres are within Skookum Lake. The primary dwelling on the property is a 1923 built house. A secondary farm dwelling was approved on the property in 2007 by Administrative Review 07-032 and destroyed by fire on April 30, 2025. The applicant applied for a replacement dwelling application, AR26-006, but staff determined that a new secondary farm dwelling application would be the correct permitting pathway to re-establish a secondary farm dwelling. The property has existed in its current configuration since at least February 27th, 1975, when it was described in a deed recorded in the Book of Land Records for Marion County on Reel 9, Page 1556. The parcel is therefore legal for land use purposes. 3. Surrounding uses consist of large scale commercial agricultural operations in the Exclusive Farm Use zone, mostly involving hazelnuts, grass seed, traditional row crops, and dairy operations. Parcels immediately adjacent, or across Raybell Rd, contain farm dwellings. This immediate area contains the densest number of farm dwellings in this area of the county north of St Paul which is bounded by Highway 219 on the south and east, and the Willamette River on the north and west. 4. Soil Survey of Marion County, Oregon indicates that 80.6% of the soils on the parcel are comprised of high-value farm soils. This calculation includes “water” as a soil type taking up 16.4 acres. When Skookum Lake is removed from consideration, the resulting values indicate 93.3% of the soils on the parcel are high-value. The low value soils are the terrace escarpments on the hill side that separates the northern fields and floodplain from the southern fields and homesite. A copy of the full NRCS soil information is within the casefile and available upon request. 5. The applicants propose to replace a secondary farm dwelling that was destroyed by fire on April 30, 2025. The new proposed secondary farm dwelling will serve as residence for members of the family who are principally engaged in the farm operation. 6. Various agencies were contacted with request for comments: