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The Benton County Board of Commissioners is aware that advocates are circulating a petition asking the Board to delay its consideration of any land use action at Coffin Butte landfill until after the County has completed a sustainable materials management plan.
The following message was delivered by Benton County Board Chair Pat Malone at the Benton County Board of Commissioners Meeting on March, 21, 2023:
While we appreciate the level of interest in Benton County’s solid waste and disposal future, we have consistently asked community members, including our Planning Commission, Solid Waste Advisory Council, and Disposal Site Advisory Committee to focus their comments to the Workgroup as the “One Table” for issues related to solid waste and disposal, including Coffin Butte landfill.
Over the past year, dozens of community members have invested substantial time and energy into that constructive effort and we continue to ask all interested community members to direct comments to the solid waste process work group at bentoncountytalkstrash@bentoncountyor.gov.
To be clear, Benton County has not received any new application at the landfill and the County will not prematurely judge or take a position on any land use application.
Regarding the petition, it asks the Board of Commissioners to take action that is outside of our scope of authority under Oregon law and is asking us to take one or more actions that could jeopardize the County’s ability to manage the decision-making process, instead turning the action over to the landfill operator and Oregon courts.
Importantly, when any land use application is filed in the state of Oregon, a local government, including Benton County, must take final action within 150 days of receiving the complete application. If Benton County were to delay taking action, that would open the door for an applicant to take action in circuit court that could compel judicial approval of the proposal.
The Board is committed to keep land use decision-making authority here in our community, where we can hear from all voices directly, and then decide fairly and objectively what is right for our future.
We think that makes sense for the future of our community, for the Willamette Valley, and for Oregon. Thank you for your collaborative participation in this important discussion.
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Benton County is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission or access to our programs, services, activities, hiring and employment practices. This document is available in alternative formats and languages upon request. Please contact Cory Grogan at 541-745-4468 or pioinfo@bentoncountyor.gov.