Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 350 - COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE COMMISSION › Division 60 - APPEALS FROM COUNTY ORDINANCES › Section 350-060-0075 - Alternative Dispute Resolution and Settlement

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
The Commission recognizes that: many of the matters that come
				before the Commission on appeal may be resolved through alternative dispute
				resolution (ADR), such as mediation; ADR may be a faster and less expensive
				process than appeal pursuant to these rules and beyond to the states' courts;
				agreements reached through ADR may be more lasting and acceptable to the
				parties than a decision on the merits by the Commission or the states' courts;
				and, ADR is a voluntary process.
(1)
			 The Executive Director of the Commission shall review the parties' ADR
			 statements as soon as practicable.
(2) If, after reviewing the parties' ADR
			 statements, the Executive Director believes that ADR may be successful in
			 resolving or partially resolving the matter, then the Director shall send a
			 letter to the parties and offer assistance to the parties to obtain information
			 about ADR or to identify possible ADR neutrals, specifically the states' and
			 other government-funded dispute resolution programs, community mediation
			 programs, or other qualified neutrals; however, the Commission shall not be
			 required to pay the cost of ADR. This subsection shall not be construed to
			 prevent the parties from requesting the Commission's assistance to resolve the
			 matter through settlement or ADR at any time, or to limit the Commission's
			 authority to recommend to the parties that they attempt to resolve the matter
			 through ADR.
(3) Upon motion, the
			 Chair of the Commission shall place the appeal in abeyance or shall grant all
			 necessary extensions of time to facilitate the parties' attempts to resolve the
			 matter through settlement or ADR. Should settlement or ADR be unsuccessful, any
			 party may file a motion to reinstate the matter and reset the applicable time
			 periods.
(4) Any oral discussion,
			 written documents, or other record produced exclusively for the purpose of
			 settlement or ADR, whether or not pursuant to this section, shall be
			 confidential and not part of the record on appeal from the governing body (to
			 the Gorge Commission) nor part of the Gorge Commission's record to any
			 reviewing court.
(5) The Commission
			 shall not consider, as a basis for any decision pursuant to this division, a
			 party's decision to not participate in settlement or ADR, or knowledge that the
			 matter was not resolved through settlement or ADR.
(6) Settlement:
(A) If a settlement changes the proposed
			 development or any conditions of approval, the governing body shall provide
			 notice of the changes to all persons entitled to receive notice of the original
			 application. If the changes are substantial, then the governing body shall
			 conduct a complete review of the changes in the same manner as if the
			 settlement was a new land use application.
(B) When an appeal, or any issue in an
			 appeal, is settled by the parties, the Commission shall not be required to
			 review the settlement as a condition of the settlement. The Commission shall
			 not be bound by any terms of the settlement agreement in the instant or future
			 matters.
(C) Upon settlement of a
			 case, the appellant shall dismiss the appeal in accordance with
			 350-060-0205.