The County continues to invite comments from island residents and business owners as they explore the possibility of updating the 1997 Sauvie Island / Multnomah Channel Rural Area Plan.

A Second Open House will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at the Sauvie Island Academy.  Stop by between 4:30 and 7:30 pm. to learn more and give them your feedback. Children are welcome!

A second questionnaire is also available online at https://multco.us/simc-planning. The web page also has links to the current plan.

The Sauvie Island Community Association has responded to the original questionnaire with this letter (pdf). We welcome your feedback.

Willow Elliott chose Sauvie Island as a community to be involved in back in 2008. She loves to volunteer with the West Mult. Soil & Water District to eradicate invasive plants, does monitoring of Great Blue Heron rookeries on the North end for Portland Audubon Society and has been known to recycle as much of the All-Island Annual Picnic waste as possible! She brings a background of serving on non-profit Boards and finding grant money for vital historic preservation projects of old buildings. Her day job is a Commercial Property Management assistant in NE Portland with her family’s business, Elliott Associates Inc., which has been an award winning 100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon several years running.

John Houle: up for re-election

I have lived 20 years at 16600 NW Gillihan Road, Sauvie Island, OR 97231. Our property is nine acres and fronts on the Willamette River. We raised our two daughters on the Island. My wife Marcy and I continue to call this our home. We have sheep, sell locker lamb and grow a variety of fruit, vegetable and products for personal use. I work at the City of Portland as a Civil Engineer and am a member of the SIFD #30. Living on Sauvie Island, I have come to appreciate its bounty and the opportunities this provides to farmers, residents, recreationalists and wildlife who use and enjoy the Island. I have also come to recognize that any discussion about the current and future state of the Island must consider its character and infrastructure. I would like to offer my time and experience to be involved in the discussions about the Island and its future. The issues are many and finding solutions will be challenging. I would like to be part of this on-going conversation with my neighbors and those others who love and appreciate this Island.

Sandra Kruger: up for re-election

Sandra Kruger was born and raised in Oregon. She spent her youth backpacking, river rafting and camping with her family throughout the state. They were members of the Oregon Archeological Society and participated in several Native American digs on Sauvie Island. She attended the University of Chicago in the early 80?s and received a degree in behavioral science. She moved back home to Oregon in 1994, landed a job at the Oregon Historical Society and was in charge of planning the Wintering In Harvest Festival at Bybee Howell. She worked hard to involve the island in the fair, which Kruger’s Farm took over when OHS decided they could no longer be involved. Sandra and her husband, Don, own and operate Kruger’s Farm on the island. It is a working farm of 150 acres (75 owned, 75 leased) – where they grow berries, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, lettuce, peppers, beans, flowers, etc. – almost all which are sold through the farm stand directly to the public. As a land-owner and farmer who is working to make a living from her land, she brings a vital perspective to the Association. Sandra has worked in professional roles at the Oregon Historical Society and Multnomah County Library, and is currently chairing the Skyline School Auction. She brings many skills to the table. She is a leader, has a great sense of humor, is able to transcend her own viewpoint and offer creative and innovative solutions to issues. She is specifically interested in working to continue to expand the Sauvie Island Community Association’s membership to include representation from more of the island community. She has two children, 11 and 8, who attend Skyline School.

Phil Sperr: new nominee

Born in Rochester, NY, I lived in many places throughout the US as I worked for Eastman Kodak. Retired. I’ve been an Oregonian for 23 years and have lived on Sauvie Island with my wife for 13 years. We have four children, seven great grand childre, and four Labrador Retrievers. Our delight, besides grandchildren, is training our dogs to retrieve well. Before retirement I was involved in the Hillsboro Chamber & the Business Education Compact. My last job was General Manager of manufacturing at Solectron in Hillsboro for ten years. I enjoy hunting and recently served on the State and Sauvie Island committees dedicated to reasserting places to train dogs within the state.

2013 photos just in

We worked our way around the gym, visiting tables* of organizations and businesses. Each table was challenged to give away something or do something fun to make it worth our while to stop by.

*Would you like to have a table next year ?

If your business or agency has products, services or information you would like to share with your neighbors, this is a great opportunity. Tables are free for organizations and sponsors and only $10 for businesses that aren’t sponsors (which can be credited to a new sponsorship). We are also looking for door prizes. Email us at communityassociation@sauvieisland.org for details.

Become a SICA Sponsor!

Community Association sponsors are featured on www.sauvieisland.org. Find the online form here.
Annual sponsorship:

• Island residents and businesses and non-profit agencies ~ $100/year
• Off-island businesses ~ $125/year Sponsorship entitles you to have a FREE table at the annual meeting

Here’s just a sample of 2013 happenings:

• Savor coffee from our resident coffee roaster.
• Meet island authors selling signed copies of their books.
• See live samples of invasive weeds to be concerned about.
• Get information on how to take care of your land.
• Enjoy old pictures and clippings of island events shared by Grange members.
• Get information about island critters.
• Learn about volunteer opportunities on the island.
• Meet our firefighters.
• Meet some 4-H animals.
• Vote for new Board members.
• WIN DOOR PRIZES!

Want to Know the Island News?

Our weekly Sauvie e-newsletter, Newslinks, is filled with information about what’s happening on the island—events, current issues, and land use actions—as well as information on gardening, farming and land management, beautiful island photos submitted by neighbors, and information on meetings, programs, and our great annual August picnic. To sign up for the Saturday email newsletter fill out the online form here.

A brief Community Association Annual Business Meeting gave Association members an opportunity to vote on new board members and hear updates on Community Association projects and issues.

Who’s on the ballot?

There were four open positions on the SICA Board. Candidates nominated for board positions:

• John Houle (re-election)
• Sandra Kruger (re-election)
• Willow Elliot (new candidate)
• Phil Sperr (new candidate)

Who can vote?

If you live or own property on the island or if you live in the floating homes on either side of the Multnomah Channel within Multnomah County, you can become an Active voting member of the Association, subject to limitations described in the Bylaws. Active Membership requires attendance at one meeting—general, special, board, or committee—and a declaration of interest in becoming an Active Member.

If you want to vote, become an Active Member.

If you’re not already on our list, please complete fill out the website form here. Proof of eligibility may be required.

NOTE: If you haven’t signed up before the annual meeting, it’s not too late. Please bring a driver’s license, Oregon ID card, or utility bill with your residential address.

If you are an Active Member but can’t attend the meeting and want to vote, please visit www.sauvieisland.org for hardship situation voting instructions. Search “hardship.”

Not a Member? SICA is the island’s official neighborhood organization (as recognized by Multnomah County). We meet on the third Thursday of every month except July, August, and December, usually 7 p.m.at the Grange Hall. All island residents, as well as island business or property owners, are eligible for membership. It’s free. Just fill out the form online here.

Sauvie Island/Multnomah Channel Rural Plan to Be Updated

We started with a presentation about the planned update of the 1997 Sauvie Island/Multnomah Channel Rural Plan. Kevin Cook, Planner, and Joanna Valencia, Senior Transportation Planner for Multnomah County, talked about the proposed update. A “scoping” process will be happening this spring, with opportunities to give input on what changes might be needed. Several in the audience emphasized the importance of this plan and encouraged us to participate in this update. The first opportunity will be Thursday, March 7 from 4:30 to 7:30 at the school. Check it out! You can also fill out their Sauvie Island/Multnomah Channel Stakeholder Survey online at http://multco.us/simc-survey. Let them know what you think!

Agritourism Issues

Agritourism is different things to different people. Google it and you’ll find that agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch.

There is no legal definition. But agritourism activities and events are addressed legally in a number of ways. On Thursday we tried to sort that out and let you know the concerns our land use committee has uncovered. There is a more detailed summary below of the legal language addressing commercial uses in exclusive farm use zones (EFU). This information was taken from state and county statutes and from an analysis of legal decisions about the issue.

Agritourism activities take multiple forms:

1. Farm Stands, ORS 215-283(1)(o) which, when permitted, are allowed outright a broad range of activities. This is not in question.
2. Commercial activities in conjuction with farm use. ORS 214.283 (2) (a)
3. Small gatherings and mass gatherings ORS 197.015 (10)(d), which allow gatherings of 3,000 (mass gatherings) or less than 3000 (small gatherings) once in any three-month period.
4. Agritourism. ORS 215.283(4) allows “agritourism and other commercial events or activities that are related to and supportive of agriculture” as a conditional use. The current statute allows an array of events. This statute may be revised in the current legislature. Note that each county may interpret the regulations in their own way. At this time, Multnomah County has not allowed any agritourism events beyond what is already allowed under the previously mentioned regulations. But that may change. It will be important to let them know what we think about this.

Right now, most activities on Sauvie Island are happening in conjunction with Farm Stand Permits. Those will continue. But many other opportunities exist, or could exist, to hold events and activities on our island.

These are the concerns raised by the land use and transportation committee:

This is a controversial subject all over the state

• Some people feel agritourism events provide farmers with an economic shot in the arm while causing no real harm to the farming community
• Others feel that these events do harm commercial farmers and farm area residents and that existing laws already provide sufficient opportunities for farmers to hold commercial activities or events

There are concerns about the frequency of allowed agri-tourism events and their cumulative impacts

• Under the agritourism statute, if a local government so chooses, every tract of agricultural land, regardless of size, can hold up to six events per year, each up to 72 hours in duration, if they meet the applicable standards
• Properties that meet the minimum lot size of 80 acres have the potential to hold as many as 24 events each year
• What if many of these happen on the same weekend or weekends? What are the impacts?

Impacts can differ from place to place

E.g., Agritourism activities in more remote locations of the state, where urban populations are small, may have significantly fewer adverse effects than activities located near large urban centers

For Sauvie Island, the land use committee has raised the following concerns regarding agritourism events

Infrastructure concerns.

How many, if any, agritourism events can Sauvie Island reasonably accommodate, considering,

• There is only a single access onto and off of the island
• There is poor interconnectivity within the island road network
• The roads are narrow and substandard with no or inadequate shoulders
• Emergency services are provided by a volunteer fire department.

Traffic and safety concerns.

How many, if any, agritourism events can Sauvie Island reasonably accommodate, considering that:

• Additional traffic poses increased conflicts between automobiles, pedestrians and bicyclists, and even more importantly, with the movement of farm vehicles; with increasing numbers of visitors, these conflicts will worsen
• Some urban visitors drive recklessly or do not respect the rights of other roadway users, including farm vehicles
• Already, there is inadequate parking space available to accommodate visitors to the beaches, creating backups and possibly road rage
• There is limited parking at farm stands, and more parking removes farm land from production
• While bridge access has been improved, heavy traffic on the roadways, or an accident, could impede emergency vehicle movement and might spell the difference between life and death
• Can our volunteer fire department handle new activities attracting hundreds if not thousands of more people on any given day? Is it already overtaxed?

Quality of life Concerns:

How many, if any, agritourism events can or should Sauvie Island accommodate, considering:

• Traffic impacts
• Noise impacts, especially associated with amplified sound and hours of activities that extend beyond sunset
• Location. The island is adjacent to an urban area with a population approaching 2 million people, which will put greater urban pressures on the island and its resources
• Rural character. Are increased visitations eroding the island’s rural character or changing its focus from farming/wildlife to events?

What is the Cumulative effect of all of this?

Please let us know what you’d like to see happening on our island.

We heard from some of you Thursday evening, but now we want to know what YOU think about this situation. We encourage you to send us an email with your thoughts. Visit the Sauvie Island Community Association website – sauvieisland.org – and fill out the “contact us” form – http://sauvieisland.org/the-island-community/contact-us/. And do sign your name. Anonymous communications are not helpful. Your comments will be reviewed by the board and will help us know how we should address this issue as the State and the County look to what should be happening on our agricultural lands.

Please give us your input on these questions:

• With over 1 million annual visitors just to our beaches in recent years, plus the many visitors attending farm stand and other events, is the stability of the island’s agricultural character being altered, or can the island handle more events?
• Do Sauvie Island residents and businesses need or want more commercial activities? If yes, how much, what kind, and under what conditions or limitations? If no, for what particular reasons?
• Do you think the commercial farmers who are the backbone of the island’s farming community will use or benefit from these activities?

Also, fill out the the Sauvie Island/Multnomah Channel Stakeholder Survey online at http://multco.us/simc-survey.

We also encourage you as individuals to contact the key players in the state and in the county. Check in on the website to for contact information. (It may take us a little while to get it there – we are a volunteer-run organization, after all!)

For your reference, here are bills relating to this issue:

Bills so far include:

SB 502; deals with activities in parks. Keep an eye on this one. Public or private, my experience has been that “parks” can become major event centers.

SB 504: Establishes that wineries and associated events can be approved based on other crops besides grapes.

HB 2695: Expands ability to site wineries to forest zones. Allows unlimited number of events when intended to draw customers to a farm. Allows other events (I guess not intended to draw customers to the farm) through a conditional use process (SB 960). Allows tasting room restaurants (no definition or limitations).

SB 579; this is Richard Whitman’s rewrite, working with a stakeholders group whose membership is largely from the wine industry, of last session’s winery bill that is scheduled to sunset. This bill will most likely be the vehicle used to amend statute. It is a good start but fails to define some key terms such as commercial use in conjunction with farm use or preclude using multiple tracts to obtain approval of more events (e.g. the commercial use in conjunction with farm use path).

###

LEGAL LANGUAGE REGARDING COMMERCIAL USES IN EXCLUSIVE FARM USE ZONES

A. Farm Stands. ORS 215.283(1)(o): allows as outright uses

“(o) Farm stands, if:

(A) The structures are designed and used for the sale of farm crops or livestock grown on the farm operation or grown on the farm operation and other farm operations in the local agricultural area, including the sale of retail incidental items and fee-based activity to promote the sale of farm crops or livestock sold at the farm stand if the annual sale of incidental items and fees from promotional activity do not make up more than 25 percent of the total annual sales of the farm stand; and

(B) The farm stand does not include structures designed for occupancy as a residence or for activity other than the sale of farm crops or livestock and does not include structures for banquets, public gatherings or public entertainment.”

OAR 660-033-0130(23) (Land Conservation and Development Commission Rule)

(23) A farm stand may be approved if:

(a) The structures are designed and used for sale of farm crops and livestock grown on the farm operation, or grown on the farm operation and other farm operations in the local agricultural area, including the sale of retail incidental items and fee-based activity to promote the sale of farm crops or livestock sold at the farm stand if the annual sales of the incidental items and fees from promotional activity do not make up more than 25 percent of the total annual sales of the farm stand; and

(b) The farm stand does not include structures designed for occupancy as a residence or for activities other than the sale of farm crops and livestock and does not include structures for banquets, public gatherings or public entertainment.

(c) As used in this section, “farm crops or livestock” includes both fresh and processed farm crops and livestock grown on the farm operation, or grown on the farm operation and other farm operations in the local agricultural area. As used in this subsection, “processed crops and livestock” includes jams, syrups, apple cider, animal products and other similar farm crops and livestock that have been processed and converted into another product but not prepared food items.

(d) As used in this section, “local agricultural area” includes Oregon or an adjacent county in Washington, Idaho, Nevada or California that borders the Oregon county in which the farm stand is located.

NOTES:

*Permitted farm stand activities have been interpreted to include harvest festivals, corn mazes, cow trains, animal petting areas, hayrides

*Prohibited farm stand activities include weddings, restaurants and cafes, banquets, grocery stores, “Knotts Berry Farm” -

*Activities in question include farm to plate dinners, birthday parties and similar celebratory events, concessions

*Total sales of the farm stand include just retail sales (not wholesale)

B. Commercial activities in conjunction with farm use. ORS 215.283(2)(a): Allows as conditional uses (subject to county review/approval)

“(a) Commercial activities that are in conjunction with farm use * * *.”

NOTE: These might include activities not permitted outright at farm stands.

C. Small gatherings and mass gatherings. ORS 197.015(10)(d): provides that an outdoor mass gathering, as defined in ORS 433.735 (3000+ people), or other gathering of fewer than 3,000 persons, that is not anticipated to continue for more than 120 hours in any three-month period is not considered a land use decision. Landsem Farms, LP v. Marion County, 190 Or App 120 (2003).

NOTE: These may be subject to county health and safety regulations; if more than one event is planned within a three-month period, it does become a land use matter

D. Agri-tourism. ORS 215.283(4) allows “agri-tourism and other commercial events or activities that are related to and supportive of agriculture” as a conditional use

NOTE:

* The statute does not define “agri-tourism”

* The statute has different provisions for allowing 1-6 of these kinds of events annually “in the alternative”, each with its own set of regulations, plus it authorizes counties to allow, in addition to these alternative events, more frequent agri-tourism or other commercial events (up to 18 in a calendar year) if they meet certain standards

* Multnomah County has not yet adopted an ordinance allowing agri-tourism events in the county; Clackamas County allows some events but only on farms that are 80 acres or larger in size

* The statute permits counties to adopt whatever local standards they deem appropriate in addition to those standards set out in the statute

The combination of limited access through a single bridge, the narrowness of the roads — in particular the dike road, and the limited locations for large groups to congregate really presents difficulties for island residents and visitors to our wildlife areas, parks, and the farmstand businesses here on the island.

While the Sauvie Island Community Association cannot grant or deny permission for events that take place on County roads and public property, we do try to alert island residents and businesses about group events held here on the island. The information you provide using the form helps us to keep community informed.

Note that some events will also require a Multnomah Country Event application. Information can be found at http://web.multco.us/roads/permit-applications