Vote postponed until at least August; needs more time to assess market value
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Lands has extended until July 1 the public comment period on the potential sale of the 400-acre Cline Buttes Tract at the controversial Thornburgh Resort west of Redmond, saying that he needs more time to complete his valuation of the property, and is now awaiting a decision from the Land Board in August at the earliest.
DSL said in Friday’s notice that it originally expected all due diligence materials to be complete and available for public review in April.
“It takes longer to complete a full market value assessment of the land,” the agency said. “Extending the public comment deadline to Friday, July 1 allows ample time for the public to review and provide feedback on all due diligence materials. DSL will provide email updates as they become available. as the remaining documents become available.”
The State Land Board’s Aug. 9 meeting is now the first selling decision to be made, officials said.
More than 200 people attended last month’s virtual meeting and all of those who spoke were opponents of the resort who testified against the proposed land sale.
Caitlyn Burford, communications and outreach manager for Central Oregon LandWatch, who also opposed the proposed sale, noted that this is the second extension to the comment period.
“On the one hand, our reaction is that any time given to the public to weigh in is good,” Burford told NewsChannel 21 on Monday. “Before either extension was made, the State Lands Department noted that there had already been 1,800 comments submitted on the record prior to the March 10 hearing. We cannot only assume that number will be higher as this is an issue of general public concern in central Oregon.”
Land Board meetings include time for public testimony. Meeting details, including information about providing oral and written evidence, are posted one week before the meeting on the Land Board meeting website. Sign up here to receive Land Board meeting notices: https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/News/Pages/Subscribe.aspx
Submit new comments
New comments can be submitted, even if you have already submitted a comment. For more information on how to comment, visit the Department’s Department of State Land Sales webpage at https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/Land/Pages/Sales.aspx and select Cline Buttes Tract under “Properties Open for Review or Comment”.
Additional due diligence documents available
The lot 5300 tax deed and a report on Peck’s milkvetch are now available for download from the Due Diligence Document List, which can be found by visiting the State Land Sales webpage and selecting Cline Buttes Tract under “Properties Open for Review or Comment”.
Background and how to find out more
The State Lands Department received an application from Central Land and Cattle Company, LLC to directly purchase the Cline Buttes Tract, 400 acres of school land in Deschutes County. DSL is currently conducting a due diligence process that involves gathering information from the land and public input to help inform a sale decision by the State Land Board.
More details regarding the potential sale can be found on DSL’s State Land Sales page, including information on applying to purchase the land, information on how to comment, and a recording of DSL’s public meeting in March at the potential sale.