Coastal counties are increasingly making important land use decisions out of the public eye. Some (such as Clatsop and Tillamook) have set up an entire procedure, called Type I, in which decisions are made with no public notice, no public comment and no right of appeal. Others, such as Lincoln and Curry, make administrative decisions that provide minimal public notice and opportunities for public comment. In either case, counties do not usually post these applications or decisions on their websites — meaning no one can find out what has been decided. ORCA thinks this is very wrong. Since the counties do not make information about these decisions easily available, or available at all in many cases, ORCA is setting up a monitoring program to bring these decisions into public view. Some are as small as a permit to repair a driveway; others grant a permit for a 10,000 square foot house in forest land that includes extensive gardens and landscaping.We’ll be adding records regularly as we receive them from the counties, so keep checking back.Use the map below to find projects in your area of interest. Or use the search boxes to search by county, applicant name, or any other words.
