The following statement of goals and policies provide a general long-range basis for decision making relative to the future growth and development of the City. The goals are patterned after and are in direct response to applicable Oregon Statewide planning goals. The policy statements set forth a guide to courses of action which are intended to carry out the goals of the plan. The policy statements present a clear picture of the City's position on matters pertaining to physical improvements and development.
1. Citizen Involvement:
Goal: To develop a citizen involvement program that ensures opportunity for citizens to participate in all phases of the planning process.
It Shall be City Policy:
To conduct periodic community surveys to ascertain public opinion and collect information; survey results should be distributed.
To encourage people to attend and participate in Planning Commission and City Council meetings and hearings.
To establish advisory committees as necessary to study community problems and make recommendations for their solution.
To distribute the draft Comprehensive Plan for public review and comment.
To make technical reports available for public inspection.
To distribute the adopted Comprehensive Plan to the public for the use as a reference in making future land use decisions.
2. Land Use Planning:
Goal: To establish a land use planning process and policy framework as a basis for all decisions and actions related to use of land and to assure an adequate factual base for such decisions and actions.
It Shall be City Policy:
To prepare data inventories on natural resources, man-made structures and utilities, population and economic characteristics, and the roles and responsibilities of affected governmental units.
To identify lands suitable for development and areas where development should be restricted.
To develop economic and population projections.
To determine the land requirements for projected economic development and population growth.
To determine the public facilities and services required to accommodate existing unmet public needs and expected economic and population growth.
To prepare a Comprehensive Plan and establish an urban growth boundary based on the above information, citizen input, coordination with affected governmental units and the goals and objectives adopted herein.
To establish policies for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan.
To revise the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances and develop a capital improvement program based on the Comprehensive Plan.
To establish a policy for revising or amending the Comprehensive Plan.
3. Agricultural Lands:
Goal: To preserve and maintain agricultural lands.
Objectives:
To identify agricultural lands which should be preserved and protected from urban development.
To encourage residential, commercial and industrial development within the City limits and urban growth boundary.
To encourage the Morrow County Planning Commission and County Court to restrict residential, commercial and industrial development outside the urban growth boundary.
Land zoned agriculturally shall remain so until such time as the property owner requests a zone change. At that time, the zone change shall comply with the Comprehensive Plan.
4. Open Spaces, Scenic and Historical Areas and Natural Resources:
Goal: To conserve open space and protect natural and scenic resources.
Objectives:
To identify open spaces, scenic and historical areas and natural resources which should be preserved from urban development.
To preserve open space through public acquisition of suitable land and by encouraging provisions for open space in private developments.
To examine any publicly-owned lands, including street rights of way for their potential open space use before their disposition.
To encourage multiple use of open space land; provided, that the uses are compatible.
To protect archaeological and historic sites, structures and artifacts.
To conserve the area's natural resources.
5. Air, Water and Land Resources Quality:
Goal: To maintain and improve the quality of the air, water and land resources of Heppner.
It Shall be City Policy:
To limit all discharges from existing and future development to meet applicable State or Federal environmental quality statutes, rules and standards.
To discourage industries which would have a significant detrimental effect on the environmental resources of the area.
6. Areas Subject to Natural Disasters and Hazards:
Goal: To protect life and property from natural disasters and hazards.
It Shall be City Policy:
To administer areas of flood hazard according to the City Flood Area Management Ordinance, to be adopted by the City upon completion of the final flood plain study.
To require site specific information clearly determining the degree of hazard present from applicants who seek approval to develop residential, commercial or industrial uses within known areas of natural disasters and hazards. (Ord. 419, 7-3-78)
To assure that adequate landfill facilities are available for its residents. (Ord. 466, 5-4-87)
7. Recreational Needs:
Goal: To satisfy the recreational needs of the citizens of Heppner and visitors.
It Shall be City Policy:
To develop public meeting places and indoor recreational facilities for all age groups.
To develop neighborhood parks and outdoor recreational facilities in order to meet the needs of residents and visitors as the community grows.
To encourage the dedication of park land as a part of the review and approval of large subdivisions and planned unit developments.
To plan community recreation facilities in conjunction with existing and planned school facilities so that they complement each other in function.
To encourage tourist commercial uses such as motels, restaurants, gas stations, gift shops and other noise and traffic generators to cluster in or adjacent to other commercial areas.
8. Economic Development:
Goal: To diversify and improve the economy of Heppner.
It Shall be City Policy:
To protect those areas suitable for industrial development from encroachment of incompatible land uses.
To encourage diversified, nonpolluting industrial development.
To minimize high noise levels, heavy traffic volumes and other undesirable effects of heavy commercial and industrial developments.
To encourage the expansion of job opportunities and reduce unemployment, reduce out-migration of youth and accommodate the growth of the local labor force.
To maximize the utilization of local manpower as job opportunities increase.
To cooperate with and encourage the use of local manpower training agencies and programs to provide critically needed skills or education to train or retrain the unemployed, underemployed and economically disadvantaged of the area.
To cluster commercial uses intended to meet the business needs of area residents and highway travelers only in designated areas to prevent the undesirable effects of a strip commercial area.
9. Housing:
Goal: To increase the supply of housing to allow for population growth and to provide for the housing needs of the citizens of Heppner.
Objectives:
To encourage a moderate rate of growth and a mixed population of varying age groups, incomes and lifestyles. (Ord. 419, 7-3-1978)
To encourage residential development which provides prospective buyers with a variety of residential lot sizes, a diversity of housing types, including manufactured homes and multi-family housing, and a range in prices. (Ord. 419, 7-3-1978; amd. Ord. 517-96, 10-14-1996)
10. Public Facilities And Services:
Goal: To plan and develop a timely, orderly and efficient arrangement of public facilities and services to serve as a framework for urban development.
Objectives:
To develop, maintain, update and expand police and fire services, streets and sidewalks, water and sewer systems and storm drains, as necessary, to provide adequate facilities and services to the community.
It Shall Be City Policy:
To take into consideration the eventual need to serve higher elevation lands with water and sewer facilities in the design of new facilities or improvement of existing systems.
To encourage underground installation of utilities in all new developments and as major improvements are made to areas with aboveground utilities except where severe cost differential is proven.
To cooperate with agencies involved in providing and coordinating social services and consider pooling of City resources with social agencies to provide needed services within the community.
To cooperate in the development of programs for senior citizens.
To encourage the development of health services.
To work with Morrow County to ensure adequate provision for and control of solid waste disposal sites.
To plan public facilities, services and utilities to be maintained by the City to meet expected demand.
To provide City water and sewer services only after the area to be served has been annexed to the City or at the discretion of the City Council. (Ord. 419, 7-3-1978)
11. Transportation: Goals and policies associated with transportation planning are found in the City of Heppner Transportation System Plan, adopted October, 2018. The Transportation System Plan is a supporting, ancillary document to the Comprehensive Plan. (Ord. 582-18, 10-8-2018)
12. Energy Conservation:
Goal: To conserve energy and develop and use renewable energy resources.
Objectives:
To consider revising the Zoning Ordinance to protect sun rights.
To encourage the design of streets, buildings and landscaping in subdivisions to allow for utilization of solar energy.
To design the extension and upgrading of water and sewer lines and facilities to minimize energy use.
13. Urbanization:
Goal: To provide for an orderly and efficient transition from rural to urban land use.
Objectives:
To establish an urban growth boundary to identify and separate urbanizable land from rural land.
To develop a cooperative process between Heppner and Morrow County for the establishment and change of the urban growth industry.
To encourage development to occur within a relatively compact urban area with controlled outward growth.
To consider only those areas that are within the urban growth boundary for annexation to the City.
To establish a policy for revising or amending the urban growth boundary.
To work with Morrow County to develop policies and regulations to manage land development within the urban growth boundary and outside City limits. (Ord. 419, 7-3-1978)
To establish a Downtown District Zone that protects and maintains the historic "Main Street" character of downtown Heppner through dimensional standards, site plan requirements and architectural guidelines. (Ord. 542, 8-11-2003)