From: Aldo Rodriguez
Sent: Mon Feb 05 13:54:07 2018
To: Dan Huff; Gerald Fisher
Subject: FW: Planning Concerns/ Information for the Planning Commission to be aware of as it considers Molalla's future
Importance: Normal
Attachments: molalla deq stoneplace warning letter.dat; 2.1.2018_BearCreekRecovery_Notice_RequestforResolution.pdf; molalla richwine report molalla_plant_evaluation_report_final-1.pdf; better not bigger cost of growth paragraph.jpg; FYI. From: Susan Hansen [mailto:foxglovefarm@inbox.com] Sent: Monday, February 05, 2018 9:39 AM To: deaglebear@cityofmolalla.com; jsatter@cityofmolalla.com; hsinghbrar@cityofmolalla.com; oreynaga@cityofmolalla.com; dlumb@cityofmolalla.com; dburck@cityofmolalla.com; rbotsford@cityofmolalla.com Cc: Aldo Rodriguez <arodriguez@cityofmolalla.com>; rdavis@oregonian.com; jbaker@pamplinmedia.com; mgarber@commnewspapers.com; jennifer.donnelly@state.or.us; gordon.howard@state.or.us; kswigart@cityofmolalla.com Subject: Planning Concerns/ Information for the Planning Commission to be aware of as it considers Molalla's future Molalla Planning Commission, Please find links and several attached documents for you to consider as you plan for Molalla's future. The City of Molalla has clearly failed to upgrade wastewater facilities - per the Richwine Report (attached) Molalla currently does not have adequate capacity to process its current sewage loads and will need to raise $32-38 million dollars for new facilities. This lack of capacity will severely limit Molalla's ability to grow, since the State of Oregon's "Serviceablity" ORS is clear about proof of capacity. Please consider the following should lobbying occur to grow the UGB: ORS 660-038-0200 calls for proof of capacity and proof of financial capacity to provide essential infrastructure including wastewater management and drinking water capacity (in part the rule reads): (2) For purposes of subsection (1)(a) of this rule, a city shall demonstrate adequate sewer, water and transportation capacity to serve at least seven years of planned urban development based on system capacity and system improvements that are identified and described in an acknowledged public facilities plan, an acknowledged Transportation System Plan, a capital improvement plan, or the findings adopted by a city in support of a decision to amend its UGB. This shall consist of sewer, water and transportation capacity that is available or can be provided based on subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or both: (a) Capacity is available: existing sewer, water and transportation system capacity sufficient to serve some or all of the anticipated seven-year demand is available. To demonstrate available sewer and water capacity, a city may rely upon the system capacity documentation contained in the acknowledged Public Facilities Plan adopted pursuant to OAR chapter 660, division 11, and documentation from city or other service provider records of current system condition and demand. To demonstrate available transportation system capacity, a city may rely upon the system capacity documentation contained in an acknowledged Transportation System Plan (TSP) adopted pursuant to OAR chapter 660, division 12;..." The Richwine Report not only notes there is not enough capacity at the sewage facility to process current sewage, it notes that Molalla will need about $32-38 million to upgrade facilities to meet capacity requirements. Molalla is far, far from having a facilities plan in place to even submit to try to find money to pay for $32-38 million in facility improvement - and once the money is "found", ratepayers will have to pay it back via much higher utility fees (some residents in cities in Oregon are paying well over $110/month for sewer alone). Further, Molalla aged drinking water management plan states that Molalla will have a water rights crisis once it reaches about 12,000 residents. Clearly, Molalla has capacity issues it must face and solve before any expansion of the UGB would be granted by State and County. Oregon also requires that DEQ be notified about new sewers. Note that Molalla received a warning letter from DEQ (attached) for failing to disclose the sewer connections needed when Stone Place phase lll was approved and constructed. DEQ has directly told Molalla it will not waive the notification requirement in this response to Molalla's lawyers: DEQ to Ring Bender (Molalla's "environmental" law firm) in August 14 2017 about sewer capacity ORS 340-052-0015 (3) (c): "While 7.C does repeat the requirement in Oregon Administi-ative Rule 340-052-0015 (3) (c) to require statements of capacity at the sewage treatment plant for any additions to the collection system, our intention of including it in the MAO is to make clear that we will not grant any exemption requests from plan submittal requirements for the duration of the MAO. The exemption request process is described in OAR 340-052-0045." Now that the Molalla PC has been made aware of the need to notify DEQ about additions to the sewage collection system, it should be able to avoid further violations like the attached warning letter by making certain DEQ is notified about projects before approval is granted. The City of Molalla has failed to comply with the Bear Creek Recovery Consent Decree and a legal enforcement action is now underway via the attached document. Note Molalla's capacity to host any new growth, even within the current UGB, is now being questioned. A moratorium on growth is suggested as a solution to the current capacity issues: “Given the City’s record of violations and capacity issues at the facility, Bear Creek Recovery believes a moratorium on further sewer connections within the City may be appropriate, as well as Court oversight of the City’s actions to improve facility operations in order to achieve compliance with its NPDES Permit.” The final attachment is a quote from the excellent book Better Not Bigger by Oregon planner Eben Fodor that explains how growth without adequate funds to pay for infrastructure and quality of life needs leads to the financial and quality of life problems Molalla currently faces. Mr. Fodor is an expert on the cost of growth in Oregon and the attached quote succinctly outlines exactly why Molalla has reached the current financial roadblocks and capacity crisis. I would highly suggest the PC members obtain a copy of Better Not Bigger (available for under $10 used from Powell's books or from the Clackamas County Library system). Molalla is currently deficient in parks, it needs to "find" $32-38 million to upgrade sewer facilities, it has had to abandon running its pool and adult center, its roads are decaying, its Smoke Tests shows over 200 problems with leaking sewage connections, it is approaching its water rights limits, it has done nothing to implement its 2007 Parks Plan, etc - where and how will these expensive and growing problems be solved? Certainly not by placing more growth demands on a city that can't currently adequately process its sewage and that is now facing legal action for failing to comply with a legal Consent Decree that was designed to improve wastewater processing. Finally, your planning staff is failing to provide timely minutes to accompany agendas and is not updating the website with minutes - the last posted PC minutes were from 10/4-2017. Multiple complaints about this have been made to staff, yet as of today no minutes have been provided. Please note Goal One requires planning information should be available and that you, the Molalla PC, are the designated citizen involvement oversight for Molalla. Please instruct your staff to provide timely minutes so interested citizens can follow your work to plan Molalla's future. Susan Hansen Bear Creek Recovery PO Box 50, Molalla Oregon 97038