Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/07/2015

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April 10, 2015 I Volume 9 I Issue 7 Zoning Bulletin In so holding, the court found that the interpretation of the by-law to include Wind 1 as a permitted community service was error. Looking at the language of the, by-law, the court noted that windmills were specifi- cally designated in the public use district as an accessory by special pelinit. The court found no exceptions in the by-law for the Town. The court found that it therefore "logically follow[ed] that windmills could not have been intended to fall within the more general municipal purpose as of right . . . ." The court also pointed to another section of the zoning by-laws that stated that where an activity might be classified under more than one of the within uses, "the more specific classification shall gov- ern," and "if equally specific, the more restrictive shall govern." Empha- sizing that provisions of a zoning by-law must not be looked at in isola- tion, the court concluded that the classification of windmills as a permitted municipal purpose failed to consider the comprehensive scheme that included wind turbines in the by-law and controlled their placement and impact in the town. See also: Sinn v. Board of Selectmen of Acton, 357 Mass. 606, 259 N.E.2d 557 (1970) (involving zoning by-law that did contain an exemp- tion for the municipality). Historic Property—Property owner seeks to remove property from historic property designation per state statute Local preservation society contends that only original owner at time of designation can seek such removal Citation: Lake Oswego Preservation Society v. City of Lake Oswego, 268 Or. App. 811, 2015 WL 469341 (2015) OREGON (02/04/15)—This case addressed the issue of whether ORS. 197.772(3), which allows "a property owner" to remove from the prop- erty a historic property designation, applies only to the property owner at the time of the historic designation, or whether it also applies to subse- quent owners of the property. The Background/Facts: In 1990, the City of Lake Oswego (the "City") placed a historic designation on a specific parcel of property (the "Property"). Marjorie Hanson, Trustee for Wilmot Trust ("Hanson"), is now the current owner of the Property. In 2013, Hanson asked the City to remove the historic property designation. Ultimately, the City Council determined that Hanson was "entitled per ORS 197.772(3) to require the City to remove the historic designation from the subject [P]roperty." 6 © 2015 Thomson Reuters