(2) Upon receipt of a properly completed application, the State Parks and Recreation Department shall provide notice of the proposal by causing notice of the application to be posted at or near the location of the proposed improvement. The notice shall include the name of the applicant, a description of the proposed improvement and its location and a statement of the time within which interested persons may file a request with the department for a hearing on the application. The department shall give notice of any application, hearing or decision to any person who files a written request with the department for such notice.

(3) Within 30 days after the date of posting the notice required in subsection (2) of this section, the applicant or 10 or more other interested persons may file a written request with the State Parks and Recreation Department for a hearing on the application. If such a request is filed, the department shall set a time for a hearing to be held by the department. The department shall cause notice of the hearing to be posted in the manner provided in subsection (2) of this section. The notice shall include the time and place of the hearing. After the hearing on an application or, if a hearing is not requested, after the time for requesting a hearing has expired, the department shall grant the permit if approval would not be adverse to the public interest. ORS chapter 183 does not apply to a hearing or decision under this section.

(4) In acting on an application, the State Parks and Recreation Department shall take into consideration the matters described by ORS 390.655. The department shall act on an application within 60 days after the date of receipt or, if a hearing is held, within 45 days after the date of the hearing.

(a) The decision of the department shall include written findings setting forth the specific reasons for the approval or denial and, if the application is approved, any conditions the department considers necessary to maintain the standards established under ORS 390.655.

(b) A copy of the written findings shall be furnished to the applicant at the time of approval or denial of the application by the department as provided in this subsection.

(5) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section do not apply to an application for a permit for the repair, replacement or restoration, in the same location, of an authorized improvement or improvement existing on or before May 1, 1967, if the repair, replacement or restoration is commenced within three years after the damage to or destruction of the improvement being repaired, replaced or restored occurs.

(6) The State Parks and Recreation Department may, upon application therefor, either written or oral, grant an emergency permit for a new improvement, dike, revetment, or for the repair, replacement or restoration of an existing, or authorized improvement where property or property boundaries are in imminent peril of being destroyed or damaged by action of the Pacific Ocean or the waters of any bay or river of this state. Said permit may be granted by the department without regard to the provisions of subsections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this section. Any emergency permit granted hereunder shall be reduced to writing by the department within 10 days after granting the same with a copy thereof furnished to the applicant.

(7) Except as provided by subsection (8) of this section, each application under subsection (1) of this section shall be accompanied by a fee to cover, in part, the expenses of the department in investigating, reviewing and issuing the improvement permits. The application fee for each permit shall be:

(a) $400 for any project for which the construction value is less than $2,500.

(b) $400 for any project for which the construction value is equal to or greater than $2,500, plus an additional amount equal to three percent of the construction value over $2,500.

(8) The department may waive or reduce the fee required by subsection (7) of this section for an application submitted by a public body, as that term is defined by ORS 174.109, or tribal government if the primary purpose of the improvement is:

(a) Restoring, conserving or protecting the natural, resource, scenic, recreational, cultural or economic values of the ocean shore;

(b) Restoring native beach or dune habitat contributing to the recovery of sensitive species, including state and federally listed threatened or endangered species; or

(c) Improving native biological values of the ocean shore.

(9) Fees received under this section shall be deposited into a subaccount of the State Parks and Recreation Department Fund. Such fees are continuously appropriated to the department for the purpose of carrying out the ocean shore program.

(10) As used in this section, "construction value" includes but is not limited to the costs of labor and equipment rental. For a project involving only the movement of sand or similar material on the ocean shore, "construction value" shall equal the costs of labor, fees and equipment rental. [1967 c.601 §6; 1969 c.601 §10; 1979 c.186 §21; 1999 c.373 §4; 2003 c.25 §1]