OAR 141-126-0110: Policies

(1) Pursuant to Article VIII, Section 5(2) of the Oregon Constitution, the State Land Board, through the department, has a constitutional responsibility to manage all land (school lands and statutory lands) under its jurisdiction "with the object of obtaining the greatest benefit for the people of this state, consistent with the conservation of this resource under sound techniques of land management." (2) All school lands will be managed in accordance with the need to maximize long-term financial benefit to the Common School Fund. (3) The department will follow the guiding principles and resource-specific management prescriptions contained in the Asset Management Plan and consider the comments received from federal, state, and local governments and interested persons when determining whether to authorize or condition a communication site facility lease on state-owned land. (4) The use of state-owned land for the placement of communication site facilities is recognized by the department as a conditionally allowable use of that land, subject to and consistent with the requirements and provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other applicable federal, state, and local laws. (5) Each development placed in, on, or over state-owned land for the purposes of a communication site facility lease is subject to authorization and payment of compensation as required by these or other applicable department rules, or as determined by the director. (6) Uses of, and developments placed in, on, or over state-owned land pursuant to a communication site facility lease will conform with local (including comprehensive land use planning and zoning ordinance requirements), state, and federal laws. (7) The department will not grant a communication site facility lease if it determines that the proposed use or development would unreasonably impact current uses or developments proposed or already in place within the requested area. Such a determination will be made by the department after consulting with lessees and holders of licenses, permits, and easements granted by the department in the requested area, and other interested persons. (8) All uses subject to these rules must be authorized by either a communication site facility lease issued by the department or a sublease granted by the lessee under a base lease to a co-locator and approved by the department. Authorization to occupy state-owned land cannot be obtained by adverse possession regardless of the length of time the use or development has been in existence. (9) The department may: (a) Conduct field inspections to determine if uses of, and developments in, on, or over state-owned land are authorized by, or conform with the terms and conditions of a communication site facility lease; and, if not, (b) Pursue whatever remedies are available under law or in equity to ensure that the unauthorized uses subject to a communication site facility lease are either brought into compliance with the requirements of these rules or are removed. (10) The department will honor the terms and conditions of any existing valid lease for a communication site facility granted by the department, including any that entitle the lessee to renewal if the lessee has complied with all terms and conditions of the lease and applies to the department for a renewal as prescribed in these rules. Renewal applications will be processed in accordance with the rules that are in place at the time of renewal. (11) The department may, at its discretion, deny a communication site facility lease if the applicant’s financial status or past business practices, or both, indicate that the applicant may not: (a) Be able to fully meet the terms and conditions of a communication site facility lease offered by the department; or (b) Use the land applied for in a way that meets the provisions of OAR 141-126-0110. (12) Notwithstanding the provisions of these rules, the department may: (a) Initiate projects involving communication site facilities developments in, on, or over the land it manages by itself or in conjunction with other entities; (b) Request proposals for communication site facilities developments on land it manages, and may select and award a communication site facility lease through a competitive bid process to develop the use(s) or development(s) based on the policies provided in OAR 141-126-0110; and (c) Negotiate and accept compensation in the form of services in lieu of monetary payments as provided for in these rules. (13) These rules become effective on January 1, 2025.