Resorts ban moves forward

SALEM — The proposed ban on destination resorts in the Metolius River Basin jumped a significant hurdle Tuesday, though it has a long way to go.

By a 5-2 vote, the House Land Use Committee approved House Bill 3100 in a discussion that included political theater and new developments — including discussion of a possible Metolius commission similar to the one overseeing the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

The legislation itself would approve the designation of the Metolius River Basin as an Area of Critical State Concern, banning resorts and subdivisions. The plan, sparked by a request from Gov. Ted Kulongoski, was recommended to the Legislature by the Land Conservation and Development Commission last month, capping off weeks of hearings and negotiations.

Erik Kancler, of land-use watchdog Central Oregon Landwatch, hailed the 5-2 vote.

“We’re encouraged by what we heard today,” he said.

The vote came amid an aggressive lobbying effort by Dutch Pacific Resources LLC, the would-be developer of an “eco-resort” dubbed The Metolian, which would be banned from the basin by the bill.

Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, the lead co-sponsor of the bill, said he was pleased by the vote.

Among the bill’s opponents, “There was certainly a sense that, ‘Can this bill be killed in committee?’ And I think the answer was, not in this particular committee, at least,” Clem said.

One critic of the plan, Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, was absent, while Rep. Jean Cowan, D-Newport, said her “yes” was merely a “courtesy vote” intended to move the bill along for further discussion. She listed several concerns about the process behind the Metolius plan, saying, “I’m not happy with the way this came to us.”

The lobbyist for the Metolian group, Hasina Squires, said she was pleased by Cowan’s comments, especially by the lawmaker’s concern for Jefferson County officials who have complained about the state’s process.

The two Republican committee members proposed amendments, one tongue-in-cheek and one more serious.

The more serious one was by Rep. Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg, and would have set up a Metolius River Basin Commission to oversee the plan that would include three members appointed by the governor, three by Jefferson County, and one by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Hanna said the amendment is designed to give more local control over the Metolius basin plan. It failed, but Clem and the committee’s chairwoman, Rep. Mary Nolan, D-Portland, said they liked the idea and would pursue it separately.

Rep. Matt Wingard, R-Wilsonville, proposed an amendment that would cause the Land Conservation and Development Commission to study possible areas of critical concern in each of the Democratic committee members’ districts.

The amendment failed, causing Wingard afterward to say he’d proved his point: that the plan was “onerous.”

The bill next goes to the House Rules Committee, where it may be amended.

Richard Whitman, the director of the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, said he’s still “feeling relatively optimistic” about the bill. “It’s still alive and that’s a good thing,” he said.

Clem said he plans to pursue a companion bill later this week intended to ease the way for the Metolian developers to pursue their vision of a low-impact eco-resort elsewhere in the state.

He said it would be a “rural jobs bill” intended to win bipartisan support.

Nick Budnick can be reached at 503-566-2839 or at nbudnick@bendbulletin.com.