A.   Under the authority of ORS 215.020, there is hereby established a Malheur County planning commission.

   B.   The planning commission shall consist of nine (9) members, each to serve a term of four (4) years.

   C.   A minimum of five (5) members present at a scheduled meeting or hearing shall represent a quorum of the planning commission.

   D.   The planning commission shall make decisions by a majority of the quorum present. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

The county court may appoint planning staff to issue zoning and other permits and to assist the planning commission as authorized by ORS 215.020 – 215.042. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

Prior to the construction or change of use of any structure or change of use of any lot, a zoning permit for such construction or change of use shall be obtained from the planning staff. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

   A.   The planning director may make administrative decisions on outright permitted uses as provided in chapter 3 of this title, and site development plan as provided in chapter 5 of this title. The planning director may make land use decisions as provided in chapter 12 of this title.

   B.   The decisions of the planning director on site development plans as provided in chapter 5 and on outright permitted uses as provided in chapter 3 of this title shall be ministerial decisions under ORS 197.015(10)(b) and not land use decisions, and shall be reviewable by the planning commission.

   C.   The planning commission shall be the final hearing body and make final decisions on conditional uses, variances, nonconforming uses and administrative decisions referred by the planning director. The planning commission shall be the hearings body of appeals of planning director administrative decisions.

   D.   The county court shall be the final hearings body for legislative hearings, and the final hearings body of quasi- judicial decisions when appealed. The county court's hearings shall be held on the record. If the applicant or a party provides information that shows good cause, the county court hearings may be held de novo.

   E.   Final decisions of the county court may be appealed to the land use board of appeals. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

   A.   Property Owner: For the purpose of this section, the term "property owner" shall mean the owner of record or the contract purchaser, and does not include a person who holds a security interest.

   B.   Applications: Applications for development or land use actions shall:

      1.   Be submitted by the property owner or a person who represents in writing that he or she has authority from the "property owner" as defined herein to make the application;

      2.   Be completed on a form prescribed by the planning director;

      3.   Include supporting information required by the zoning ordinance and that information necessary to demonstrate compliance with applicable criteria; and

      4.   Be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee, unless such fees are waived by the planning commission.

   C.   Exception: The following applications are not subject to the ownership requirement set forth in subsection B1 of this section:

      1.   Applications submitted by or on behalf of a public entity or public utility having the power of eminent domain with respect to the property subject to the application; or

      2.   Applications for development proposals sited on lands owned by the state or federal government. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

   A.   Development action and land use action applications shall not be accepted until the planning director has determined that: 1) the requirements of section 6-9-5 of this chapter have been met; and 2) the application is complete or the application is deemed to be complete under state law.

   B.   An application is complete when, in the judgment of the planning director, all applicable issues have been adequately addressed in the application.

   C.   Acceptance of an application as complete shall not preclude a determination at a later date that additional criteria need to be addressed, or a later determination that additional information is needed to adequately address applicable criteria. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

If the applicant or the applicant's representative or apparent representative makes a misstatement of fact on the application regarding property ownership, authority to submit the application, acreage or any other fact material to the acceptance or approval of the application and such misstatement is relied upon by the planning director or hearings body in making a decision whether to accept or approve the application, the planning director may, upon notice to the applicant and subject to the applicant's right to a hearing, declare the application void. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

With respect to the acknowledged portions of the county's comprehensive plan, the standards and criteria applicable to an application shall be the standards and criteria applicable at the time the application was first submitted if the application and requested information, if any, are received within one hundred eighty (180) days of the time the application was first submitted. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

In addition to any notice required by this title, the county shall provide the notices required by ORS 215.418 concerning state identified wetlands within ten (10) days of the acceptance of an application as complete. This section shall not become operative until the division of state lands has provided to the county a copy of applicable portions of the statewide wetlands inventory. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993)

In addition to any notice required by this title, the county shall provide notice to ODOT as required by OAR 660-12-045(2)(f) of the following land use actions:

   A.   Land use applications that require public hearings;

   B.   Subdivision and partition applications;

   C.   Other applications which affect private access to state roads;

   D.   Other applications within airport noise corridors and imaginary surfaces which affect airport operations. (Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

Except as set forth in this section, where other provision of the Malheur County ordinances specify procedures with greater opportunity for public notice and comment, those procedures shall apply. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

Except when otherwise provided, the time within which an act is required to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last day, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday or any day on which the county is not open for business pursuant to a county ordinance, in which case it shall also be excluded. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

A complete file including the application form, maps, letters and other relevant documents, findings of fact and minutes of hearings shall be maintained by the planning department for each application and made available to the public. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

At the time of the county's periodic review as set forth in the land conservation and development commission's OAR 660 division 25, or more frequently if required or desired, the planning director shall submit to the planning commission an evaluation of the effectiveness of this title and suggestions for modification, if necessary. The planning commission shall process any necessary changes through chapter 10 of this title. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

Any person violating a provision of this title shall be subject to the provisions of ORS 215.185 and 215.190, in addition to other remedies provided by law 1 . (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

The hearings body may require that any prevailing party draft a set of proposed findings and conclusions. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

If a specific application is denied, no reapplication for substantially the same proposal may be made for six (6) months following the date of the final decision. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

Approval or denial of a land use action shall be based upon and accompanied by a brief statement that explains the criteria and standards considered relevant to the decision, states the facts relied upon in rendering the decision and explains the justification for the decision based upon the criteria, standards and facts set forth. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)

A hearings body's decision shall be in writing and mailed to all parties, however, one person may be designated by the hearings body to be the recipient of the decision for a group, organization, group of petitioners or similar collection of individual participants. (Ord. 86, 12-7-1993; amd. Ord. 125, 6-20-2000)