Carlsen v. City of Portland

8 P.3d 234, 169 Or. App. 1, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 1133
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJuly 12, 2000
DocketLUBA No. 98-184; LUBA No. 98-185; CA A107895
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 8 P.3d 234 (Carlsen v. City of Portland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carlsen v. City of Portland, 8 P.3d 234, 169 Or. App. 1, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 1133 (Or. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

DEITS, C. J.

Petitioner Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association seeks review of LUBA’s remand of the Portland City Council’s approval of respondent Oregon Holocaust Memorial Coalition’s proposal for a Holocaust memorial to be located in the City’s Washington Park.1 We affirm LUBA’s decision in part and remand it in part.

We quote the facts as they are stated in LUBA’s opinion:

“In 1995, the [coalition] approached the city seeking permission to place within a city park a memorial to victims of the Holocaust. After considering three possible sites, the city’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation (Park Bureau) selected a site within Washington Park and asked the city council to adopt a resolution regarding use of that site for the proposed memorial. On August 9,1995, the city council adopted a resolution that reserved a location in Washington Park for the proposed memorial, which the resolution described as a ‘contemplative memorial garden.’ The selected site is a 23,850-square foot clearing within the park that is zoned Open Space (OS). The site is currently used for picnicking and casual recreation uses. The site is adjacent to SW Wright Avenue and a residential neighborhood. Petitioners learned of the city’s resolution shortly after it was made but did not appeal that decision.
“The proposed memorial •will occupy approximately 3,500 square feet, and will feature a nine-foot high rock wall with a circumference of 50 feet, surrounded by a smaller wall, connected with walkways and landscaped areas. The site lies 220 feet from the nearest residential property line. The memorial is designed to be a ‘self-guided sequential story told in words, bronze objects, granite, plants, and other stone materials.’ The memorial is anticipated to draw approximately 14,200 visitors per year, and will include guided group visits such as school tours.
[5]*5“In 1989, the city adopted a memorial siting policy (siting policy), that provides a review process for seven different types of memorials. Approval or denial of a proposed memorial is based on specified criteria.2 For memorial gardens, the siting policy prescribes a particular review process requiring review by Park Bureau planning staff, the Metropolitan Art Commission, the Design Review Commission, and Park Bureau Managers. The Park Bureau director is the ultimate decision-maker. The director’s decision can be appealed by either the donor or citizens opposed to the project, first to the city council member in charge of the Park Bureau, and then to the city council.
“Although the siting policy has been in effect since 1989, the city has never had occasion to apply it until the present case. The city’s consideration of the proposed memorial leading up to the 1995 resolution did not follow the requirements of the siting policy. After opposition to the proposed location emerged following the city’s 1995 resolution, the city initiated the process prescribed in the siting policy. After conducting the required reviews and providing for two additional public meetings not required by the policy, the Park Bureau director approved the proposed memorial on April 23,1998, based on findings of consistency with the siting policy and the Washington Park master plan. After appeals to the city council member in charge of the Park Bureau and the city council, the city council approved the proposed memorial on October 1,1998.

[6]*6In its 1998 decision, the council first concluded that the memorial is a use that is permitted outright under section 33.100.100(B)(2), the applicable provision of the city’s land use regulations. That section provides, as material:

“Uses in the Park andOpen Areas category are allowed by right. However, certain facilities which are a part of a Park and Open Areas use require conditional use review. These facilities are listed below:
“a. Parks. Swimming pools; concession areas; parking areas; baseball, football, soccer, and other fields used for organized sports; and other facilities that draw spectators to events in a park, are conditional uses within a park use.”

[7]*7The council’s order explains, inter alia, why it concluded that this is an outright permitted use under section 33.100.100(B)(2):

“Based on the evidence in the record, the Council finds the proposed memorial is a ‘plaza’ or ‘public square’ and, therefore, is a park and open area use allowed by right in Washington Park. The memorial is intended and designed to provide a quiet place for self-guided education and reflection. It will contain many of the amenities the code identifies as typical of a plaza, including paving, seating, artwork, trees and landscaping. The memorial is a passive recreational use. It is not the type of facility that will regularly bring large groups of spectators together for events and that requires conditional use review under the code. It is not at all like a swimming pool, sports field, amphitheater or similar facility that regularly brings groups of people together in an organized scheduled, focused way to engage in active recreation or to watch a game or show. Although groups of people may visit the memorial from time to time, most of the projected visits to the memorial will be by the individuals, and will be self-scheduled and self-directed. People visiting the memorial, whether alone or as part of a school or tour group, will not be ‘spectators’ and visits to the Memorial will not be ‘events’ within the contemplation of PCC 33.100.100.B.2.a.1 Accordingly, the Council finds the proposed memorial is allowed by right in the OS zone and requires no conditional use or other land use review.”

The council further concluded that the application of the city’s siting policy was not independently subject to land use review procedures or to the procedural requirements for [8]*8“discretionary permits” under ORS 227.160 et seq. The order explains:

“The Council finds the proposed memorial does not require a review as a land use ‘permit’ under ORS Chapter 227 because the memorial is a ‘parks and open area use’ in the OS zone and is allowed by right without any further land use review under the Zoning Code. To the extent placing the memorial in Washington Park constitutes ‘development,’ it is development the Council has chosen to allow as a matter of right for zoning purposes in the OS zone. This is an appropriate exercise of the discretion to regulate development granted the Council by ORS Chapter 227. [See ORS 227.215(3).] The Council and the Parks Bureau have also chosen to establish a separate review process for siting memorials, which is the process that has yielded this decision. This process is independent of the Zoning Code and was established for reasons unrelated to zoning regulation. The fact that it requires the exercise of discretion does not transform this review of the memorial for compliance with the Memorial Siting Policy into a ‘permit’ nor does it subject the memorial to review under the Zoning Code that is otherwise not required.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 P.3d 234, 169 Or. App. 1, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 1133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carlsen-v-city-of-portland-orctapp-2000.