Albany, Ore. –The plethora of land-use appeals involving the city of Corvallis continue to sort their way through the legal system.
The three most recent decisions represent a pair of victories for the city and one case that might lead to a future appeal.
The most high-profile case involves Oregon State University’s development sector swap that they hoped would lead to the construction of a 295-bedroom upper division and graduate residence hall on a block anchored by the corner of Monroe Avenue and Ninth Street.
The controversial plan was approved by the Corvallis City Council in September, but neighbors appealed the case to the state Land Use Board of Appeals in October.
LUBA rejected all 10 assignments of error in February, but the petitioners took the case to the state Court of Appeals.
On May 13, the court affirmed the LUBA decision without opinion. That decision started a 21-day clock should the neighbors choose to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Corvallis attorney George Heileg, who represented the neighbors, said it is not clear if the appeals will continue. One of the challenges, Heileg said, is that the Supreme Court rarely takes appeals court cases that are affirmed without opinion.
Here is a look at the other two cases:
Caldwell Farms
On May 11 the state Land Use Board of Appeals ruled 2-0 affirming the city’s denial of an annexation agreement for the Caldwell Farms property along Southwest West Hills Road.
The decision was written by LUBA Chair Michelle Gates Rudd. She was joined in the 2-0 vote by Melissa Ryan. Board member H.M. Zamudio did not participate in the decision.
Developers hope to build housing on the 16.45-acre Caldwell Farms property, which currently is being used for grass seed farming. The Corvallis City Council denied the annexation agreement, which had been negotiated by city staff and the developers, on Sept. 16, 2019.
The appeal to LUBA noted three assignments of error. Rudd and Gates ruled against the developers on two of the assignments and “preserved” the third, with the upshot being LUBA’s affirmation of the city decision.
The petitions have 21 days from the date of the decision to take the case to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Annexations
On May 13 the Oregon Court of Appeals rejected a challenge from Corvallis, Philomath and the League of Oregon Cities to a 2016 state law that limited cities’ ability to forward annexation issues to the voters.
Corvallis was the first city in Oregon to enact such a rule, holding its first annexations vote in 1977. The city, with assistance from Philomath and the league, claimed that the state law violated the home rule provisions of the city charter. Corvallis City Attorney Jim Brewer participated in oral arguments in the case in Salem in July, 2018.
The three-judge panel of Presiding Judge Darleen Ortega and Judges Chris Garrett and Steven R. Powers disagreed with Brewer, however, noting that there is no conflict “because the charter provision allows for annexations mandated by state law.”
Corvallis has 35 days from May 13 to make a decision on an appeal.
Brewer, who advised the Corvallis City Council of the outcome at Monday night’s meeting, said that an executive session would likely be required to discuss next steps for the city.
In an ironic twist, the existence of the appeal on the annexations law led the city to develop the “annexations agreement” format that was used in the Caldwell Farms case as a way to move forward while the issue remained before the courts.
