County commissioners grant variance for rural home site

Jun. 7—Baker County Commissioners on June 2 approved an applicant's request to build a home farther from a public road than is usually allowed in the county's zoning ordinance.

The county planning commission on April 5 approved Eric Bork's request to build the home near Highway 7 about 12 miles southwest of Baker City, but denied his application for a variance from the requirement that nonfarm dwellings be built within 200 feet of a public road.

Bork appealed that denial to county commissioners.

Bork, who lives in Turner, near Salem, applied for the variance. The 25.65-acre property, which is just north of Highway 7 and just west of the Denny Creek Road intersection, is owned by Phil and Darlene Scheler of Baker City, according to documents from the Baker City/County Planning Department.

The property is in the exclusive farm use zone and within the county's big game overlay.

In a letter to the Planning Department, Bork and Karilea Landholt wrote that they requested the variance because the only "suitable and buildable area of the property" is more than 200 feet from the highway.

"If granted the conditional use permit and variance of the 200 foot requirement we intend to use the lightest touch possible in developing the property into a residence and preserve the natural beauty of the area," they wrote. "We do not feel this endeavor will negatively impact any of the neighboring properties or be an eyesore to the community."

They are proposing to a build an 1,800-square-foot home and 1,800-square-foot shop. The buildings would be accessed by an approximately 1/4-mile private driveway off Highway 7, and electricity would be supplied by solar panels, according to the application. Bork and Landolt plan to have a well drilled.

In a March 26, 2021, letter to the Planning Department, Brian Ratliff, district wildlife biologist at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's (ODFW) Baker City office, wrote that ODFW recommends the county require that any home be within 200 feet of the highway.

"ODFW has concerns with both the direct and the cumulative impacts of the proposed request," Ratliff wrote in the letter. "If the variance is approved the department recommends a mitigation plan be developed and implemented to offset the loss of winter range."

Fred Warner Jr. attended the June 2 commission meeting representing Bork.

"The reason there is a 200-foot standard is because of the big game overlay and the applicant believes that we have mitigated that in our proposal," Warner said.

Warner said Bork has proposed to buy a 2.25-acre parcel adjacent to the home site and place a deed restriction prohibiting a home from being built there. That property is four times the size of the footprint for the homesite, Warner said.

Without the variance from the 200-foot requirement, Bork would not be able to build a home on the one suitable site on the property, Warner said.

"So the preservation of applicant's property right is contingent on granting of the variance and without the variance, we would be unable to fit the criteria that was discussed and granted for the home site," Warner said.

He contends that the home will have a limited effect on the area, and that Bork is willing to take significant steps to keep the home and shop out of sight from Highway 7.

Shannon Downing, a Realtor for Keller Williams, told commissioners that the Scheler property "creates lots of phone calls and every time we get into the conversation of 'is it a buildable piece of property?' " the issue of the 200-foot road requirement arises.

"It's dead in the water. People just go away," Downing said.

Building on the hill, more than 200 feet from the highway, is the best use of the property, Downing said.

In other actions on June 2, commissioners:

—approved the purchase of a 2008 Ford F-750 Versalift Truck from the Oregon Department of Transportation for $14,000. The truck will be part of the county road department's fleet.

—approved the purchase of a fingerprint machine for Baker County Jail. Lt. Ben Wray of the Baker County Sheriff's Office said the former fingerprint machine is 17 years old and has stopped working.