ORS 215.431 Plan amendments; hearings by planning commission or hearings officer; exceptions

A county governing body may authorize, by ordinance or order, the planning commission or hearings officer to conduct hearings on applications for plan amendments and to make decisions on such applications.

A decision of the planning commission or hearings officer on a plan amendment may be appealed to the county governing body.

This section shall apply notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 215.050, 215.060 and 215.110.

A decision of a planning commission, hearings officer or county governing body under this section shall comply with the post-acknowledgment procedures set forth in ORS 197.610 to 197.625.

This section does not apply to:

Any plan amendment for which an exception is required under ORS 197.732; or

Except as provided under subsection (6) of this section, any lands designated under a statewide planning goal addressing agricultural lands or forestlands.

If a county is acting on the remand of a decision from the Land Use Board of Appeals, the county governing body may authorize the planning commission or hearings officer to conduct hearings and make a decision under subsection (1) of this section for lands designated under a statewide planning goal addressing agricultural lands or forestlands.

The county governing body shall review a planning commission or hearings officer decision made under this subsection and shall:

Schedule a public hearing and issue a final decision on the application;

Leave the planning commission or hearings officer decision as the final county decision; or

Adopt the planning commission or hearings officer decision by consent order as the decision of the governing body.