Local resident forced to remove signs protesting bio-refinery
Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:47 PM PDT
Kristin Gribben
Argus Observer
ONTARIO
A local resident has removed signs from his property that object to the proposed bio-refinery at the request of Malheur County’s top elected official.
Malheur County Judge Russ Hursh asked Isao Kameshige to pull five signs, originally installed several months ago, that protest the construction of a proposed bio-refinery near Kameshige’s house on Alameda Drive.
According to Malheur County Planner Jon Beal, the placards also violate two county ordinances regarding signs.
Beal said four types of signs are allowed under county ordinance on Kameshige’s property: political and civic campaigns, house nameplates and house numbers. Beal said the signs on the Kameshige property situated on 18th Avenue and Alameda Driver did not fall into any of these categories.
The other violation Beal cited was a safety concern with the signs. Beal said the Malheur County Planning Department received several complaints from residents about the signs obstructing their view when driving.
County law states: “No sign shall be placed as to interfere with visibility or effectiveness of any official traffic sign or signal, with the driver vision at any access point or intersection.”
Brian Kameshige, Isao’s son, said the signs were the property of Concerned Citizens of Malheur County, CCMC — the local coalition of residents that oppose the proposed location of the bio-refinery.
CCMC asked Brian Kameshige, who is also member of the group, if it could post the signs on the property since it was a highly visible location. Brian Kameshige said he had no problem with the request.
Brian Kameshige said no one told him what ordinance law the signs were not in compliance with. He said the signs were smaller than the restricted size limit — amended in 2000 — of eight-by-four feet.
Vic Easterly, another member of CCMC, said he was upset the signs were removed.
“What are they going to do next, tell us what we can read?” Easterly said. “Whether you are for it or against it, we were just trying to voice our opinion.”
Stephanie Williams, Malheur County Counsel, said the county court decided to wait until after a series of zoning hearings on the bio-refinery were completed to ask Kameshige to take the signs down.
“We wanted to decide TVRR on the facts . . . We didn’t want outside issues or problems to cloud things,” Williams said.
The county court, along with the planning department, feared if they asked Kameshige to remove the signs while the zoning hearings were going on, there could be First Amendment freedom of speech issues raised, Williams said.
There was consensus, but not a formal decision, among the county court members that Kameshige should be asked to remove his signs after the county court made its decision on a zone change near the Kameshige property, Williams said.
The county court voted to establish a new zone and approve a zoning change — creating a M-3 Agricultural Processing Zone — on property situated one mile south of Ontario city limits Jan. 7, but Isao Kameshige was not told to remove his signs until around March 1, Williams said.
She could not explain the time delay in notifying Isao Kameshige the signs had to go.
“I’m just kinda curious why they’ve waited so long to take the signs down,” Brian Kameshige said.
Williams said when Hursh requested Isao Kameshige take the signs down it was not a formal demand by the county court, but a “very cordial and polite” gesture between friends.
Hursh told Isao Kameshige that if he kept the signs up, Beal would issue him a warning. If the signs remained up after the warning, the first penalty for violating the ordinance is a $500 fine. A second penalty carries a $1,000 fine.
Williams said the county court has requested residents remove political campaign signs in the past that violated any number of county ordinances, including: the signs were up past 15 days after the election; the signs were too big; signs that obstructed intersections and were a safety hazard; or signs that were posted without the landowner’s permission.
Brian Kameshige said he was disappointed the signs had to be removed. He said the signs were helpful in alerting residents where the location of the bio-refinery will be if the county court’s zoning approval holds up in the Land Use Board of Appeals Court in Salem.
Argus Observer reporter Larry Meyer also contributed to this report.
