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Two renderings of Basalt Commons. On the left is the proposed height increase, with five extra feet on the ground floor that allows for more natural light, better leasability to attract businesses and is consistent with other commercial spaces in the district. On the right is Basalt Commons at 55 feet tall, the maximum height of buildings in The Dalles central commercial district without a land use exception.
Two renderings of Basalt Commons. On the left is the proposed height increase, with five extra feet on the ground floor that allows for more natural light, better leasability to attract businesses and is consistent with other commercial spaces in the district. On the right is Basalt Commons at 55 feet tall, the maximum height of buildings in The Dalles central commercial district without a land use exception.
THE DALLES – The Dalles City Council unanimously resolved a planning dispute over Basalt Commons, a proposed five-story building that will house 116 for-rent apartments and ground floor retail space, during a meeting on July 22, bringing the multi-million-dollar project closer to breaking ground.
Located on the former Griffith Motors auto sales lot at 523 E. Third St., Basalt Commons will stand 60 feet above street level, slightly more than the 55-foot-limit typically applied to buildings in the central business commercial (CBC) district. Dan Meader, a land use planning consultant whose home will overlook Basalt Commons, argued the Planning Commission wrongly granted this exception by issuing a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), rather than going through the variance process.
“Your ordinance says you have to use a variance — you haven’t done it,” said Meader. “My recommendation would be to instruct the Planning Commission to hear it again as a variance.”
Meader was referring to section 10.3.050.010 of The Dalles Municipal Code, which states, “A conditional use permit … does not by itself cause a change in any zoning or development standards; changes to development standards for a conditional use must go through the appropriate processes, such as a variance or adjustment.”
As Community Development Director Joshua Chandler pointed out earlier in the meeting, however, the council amended municipal code 10.5.050.060 on July 25, 2011, allowing buildings up to 75 feet tall in the CBC district with city-approved CUP. That change came from Rapoza Development’s failed bid to construct a Hilton Garden Inn next to the Granada Theatre, and Chandler confirmed the council must make a decision based on current standards.
“Had an application submitted a development proposing an 80-foot building, certainly that’s the kind of thing that would require a variance,” said City Attorney Jonathan Kara. “This is within the 55-to-75-foot-band, and so the conditional use permit process was the appropriate land use action.”
Meader also claimed that Councilors Darcy Long and Tom McGlothlin were biased since they served on the Columbia-Gateway Urban Renewal Agency Board and approved $1.73 million for Basalt Commons on Aug. 14, 2023. Councilor Dan Richardson voted in favor as well, but there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove bias, according to Chandler and Oregon land use law.
While all five councilors dismissed Chandler’s appeal, they didn’t formally approve the project, which will likely occur at the next city council meeting on Sept. 9. A different appeal against Basalt Commons regarding inadequate parking was issued prior to last Monday’s meeting, which will require another hearing.
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