Land use reviews for the City of Rufus

North Sherman County Rural Fire Protection District

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The Rufus City Council will conduct a Public Hearing beginning at 6:00 PM on July 16, 2025, at Rufus City Hall to consider development of the North Sherman County Rural Fire Protection District Station #2 in the Residential 10 (R-10) zone as a permitted conditional use. The site is located at 400 Main Street, known as tax lot 200 on Sherman County tax map 02N17E06AB. A conditional use permit and site plan review are required for development.

· Civic buildings, such as Fire Stations, are listed as a conditional use in the R-10 zone; a conditional use permit is requested. The permit must be consistent with the Rufus Comprehensive Plan and conditional use review criteria within the Rufus Zoning Ordinance (RZO). Specifically, RZO Section 5.1(2).

· A site plan review is required for all multi-family, commercial, industrial, and public developments. The proposed Fire Station is a “public use”. The impacts of the Fire Station will be evaluated through the site plan review process before City Council, as required by RZO 4.15(1). Conditions of approval will be considered by the City Council to mitigate any identified impacts to meet all City standards and development requirements. Plans must be consistent with RZO Section 3.3, and RZO Article 4. Approval criteria are contained in RZO 4.15(3).

Information provided by – or on behalf of – the applicant, and the City’s applicable review documents, are available for review at no cost at City Hall. Seven days prior to the hearing, a copy of the staff report will also be available for review at no cost at City Hall. Copies of the staff report and all other information concerning the application can be supplied at a reasonable cost.

City of Rufus City Hall

304 W 2nd Street,

P.O. Box 27

Rufus, OR 97050

Office Telephone: 541-739-2321

E-Mail: rufusrecorder@gmail.com

The public hearing process begins with the staff report, followed by testimony from the applicants and any other supporters of the application. This will be followed by testimony from opponents to the application. Finally, a rebuttal by the applicant will be allowed. Failure to provide statements or evidence sufficient to afford the decision-makers an opportunity to address that issue may preclude an appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. The public testimony portion of the hearing will then be closed. City Council will then consider the information and testimony received and may render a decision. Written testimony will be received until 3 p.m. July 16, 2025, at the Rufus City Hall. Oral testimony will be received during the hearing.

All interested parties are urged to attend the hearing. If you have any questions, please contact City Recorder Brenda Coleman, at (541) 739-2321.

Site Plan

Housing Code updates

North Sherman County Rural Fire Protection District

The purpose of the Rufus Zoning Code Audit is to identify regulatory issues or barriers in the

Rufus Zoning Ordinance (adopted 2005) to local housing production. For simplicity, the Rufus

Zoning Ordinance will be referred to as the “Code” in this memo. 1 This audit also evaluates the

Code for compliance with housing-related State land use laws and existing City Comprehensive

Plan policies. A thorough review of the City’s housing-related procedures and regulations is one

of the first tasks of the Rufus Housing Code Update project, the findings of which will guide

project recommendations. Specifically, the primary goals of the Code Update include the

following:

 Simplify review and approval processes for housing.

 Ensure compliance with applicable State statutes and Administrative Rules for housing

development, including:

Oregon State Statute (ORS) 197A.400 and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR)

Chapter 660, which requires that local governments adopt and apply only clear and

objective standards, conditions, and procedures to the development of housing.

 Update Code standards to expand opportunities and remove barriers to housing

development.

Learn More