Bingen approves subdivision for housing development proposal

The approval subdivides the 9.72 acre lot, which extends from the northside of W Steuben Street to just past Poplar Drive to the north, into four parcels.

According to the short plat application, developers from McKenzie River Company are seeking to construct low apartment buildings on the southern edge of the property, approximately 12 townhouses along Joslyn street, and approximately 11 single-family houses at the northern edge of the property.

Alan Peters, planning consultant for the City of Bingen and Skamania County, said in an email that the current proposal is to divide the property into four lots to facilitate a sale between Dickey Farms and the developers. Dickey Farms would maintain ownership of the commercial property on Steuben Street, said Peters.

Approval of the short plat means only the division of the property has been allowed by the city and finalized plans for the development itself have not yet been approved.

As such, geotechnical surveyors who performed a geological hazard assessment on the proposal told the developers in a letter submitted into the application that a final report will still need to be performed in the future “to base the project design on.”

There were no public comments during the hearing before a unanimous vote from councilors.