HOOD RIVER — Originally slated to begin last Monday, March 30, Hood River’s City Council will now hear arguments about whether the planning commission was justified in denying a 135-room downtown hotel on April 13 — and not just from the applicant.
Line 29 Architecture presented its proposal for a new Marriott on the former Hood River News site, owned by Eagle Newspapers, over two public hearings this winter. In early January, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News, commissioners rejected the application because it was deemed incompatible with the surrounding area, a decision that Line 29 appealed.
Council intended to take oral argument only from the architecture firm, narrowly focused on compatibility criteria and drawing solely from evidence already in the record, last week. Two parties objected to that process, however, emphasizing that the public should be able to rebut any testimony provided by the applicant, and encourage council to adopt the planning commission’s decision.
“People with standing at the planning commission spent a lot of time, effort and money to present their point of view,” said Mary Ellen Barilotti, a former county attorney who filed one of the objections. “The developers get three bites at the apple, and the public gets none, so I'm glad to see that you've recognized some unfairness there.”
Hood River Municipal Code 17.09.070 states that testimony for quasi-judicial appeals should go as follows: the appellant’s case and then the applicant’s response, with a final opportunity for rebuttal by the applicant, since they have the “burden of proof.” But in this scenario, Line 29 is both the appellant and the applicant, which City Attorney Dan Kearns acknowledged was unique and points to antiquated language.
As a fix, Kearns recommended that council push the hearing back until April 13, allow Line 29 to make its case then and accept written public comments for seven days afterward.
“Our concern is that there were multiple hearings at the planning commission, and if all of what they said before is already in the record, we would like to not have this as just a do-over,” he said. “That could be very, very time-consuming.”
Council unanimously decided to accept oral testimony from the public on April 13 anyway, though Councilor Grant Polson, since he owns Westcliff Lodge, did recuse himself from the discussion out of an abundance of caution. Written comment will still be accepted until April 20 at 5 p.m., and then Line 29 has a final opportunity to rebut before council votes on April 27.
Submit written comment to City Recorder Jennifer Gray, or by sending an email to planning@cityofhoodriver.gov. All testimony, written or oral, should rely only on existing evidence and be used to voice support or opposition for the planning commission’s decision, address specific compatibility requirements (height, bulk and scale) and/or directly rebut the applicant’s comments.
Of note, Line 29 has begun the pre-application process for a separate development that would largely offer high-income condominiums, should its appeal fail. As a residential use, the proposal isn’t subject to public review or the same compatibility requirements, and would also have a more pronounced impact on traffic. As currently rendered, the structure would be two buildings instead of one and up to 10 feet taller.
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