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HOOD RIVER — In December, Hood River City Council approved staff to draft an annexation agreement for two tax lots and an adjacent right-of-way near Brookside Drive that would alter zoning designations. A public hearing with input from the community was held prior to council’s discussion and decision.
Roughly 10.6 of the 11- acre area is within the urban growth boundary, making it the largest undeveloped plot available with city utilities close by. Hood River code mandates that if city utilities are accessible, they must be connected, but that first requires annexation of the land. As for zoning, the request is to rezone the area from R-1 and R-2 designations to R-3 and C-2 designations.
R-3 and C-2 are urban high-density residential and general commercial zones, as opposed to the urban low-density residential designations currently in place. Annexation and rezoning has been in discussion since Oct. 7, when business partners Reco Prianto and Kenn Francis Pacific Realty Advisors, Inc. submitted the original application request to city council.
About the applicants and land
The lot is listed at 3330 Brookside Drive and is dense with trees and wetlands. The request states that the zone change will facilitate “the development of high-density, mixed-use workforce housing and transient hotel housing” on the south side of the lot. Changes to the north side “may one day facilitate high-density affordable/attainable workforce housing … attainable attached homes … integrated open space, and other community-oriented facilities.”
Prianto explained that their immediate focus is the south side of the property. The zone changes will allow him to chip away at the problems on the land and focus on connecting the Indian Creek Trail, something Prianto said everybody wants but no one has a way to get done.
“Every single [developer who looked at the site] told me we’re crazy to even go down this road. It’s too hard, it’s too expensive, and it’s just impossible … We’re struggling to get it to pencil,” Prianto said. His team is aware of the challenges to developing the land but are optimistic given their experience and creative collaborators.
The land is dense with trees, brambles, and wetlands with steep inclines around the edges, making it hard to access or view from Brookside Drive.
Photo by Laurel Brown
“If we can’t get the zoning and the annexation together … we’re going to have to walk on the project, unfortunately,” said Prianto. He also stated that there are negotiations with locals to sell the north side of the property so that they can protect it how they want.
Public support and opposition
Several locals expressed support for the rezoning to allow high-density housing, and agreed finally connecting the trail would benefit the community. Countless organizations, including Hood River Parks and Recreation have tried for decades to complete Indian Creek Trail, and councilors mentioned requiring timely completion of the trail as a possible condition to the rezoning agreement. Six acres of the area has been delineated as wetlands and a conservation easement was also mentioned in passing.
Housing options and affordability are common city concerns that could be addressed by the high-density rezoning. Despite much community support, other locals found too many holes in the plan. Some oppose the zone changes as premature, lacking community-focused planning or realistic development blueprints, and deem it speculative zoning that will artificially inflate the value of the property.
Insurance, public health and safety, and traffic flow concerns were raised. The wetland topography of the lot creates developmental and foundational challenges, as attested to by Jeff Killingsworth, a neighbor of the proposed lot. He shared that despite the extensive efforts of contractors and engineers, his crawl space floods on a regular basis and any foundations built in the area will experience the same or worse.
Local PJ Portlock shared concern about the idea of building affordable housing on such a high-risk, steep hillside, stating that Hood River’s “lowest income residents are going to be in a high-risk landslide zone” and floodplain. Requests were made for council to “slow down” and defer their decision-making process to allow more time to entertain other options, such as residents’ negotiations to purchase the land.
Council’s decision
Councilors ultimately agreed that rezoning makes sense to attain city goals for high-density housing. They agreed there is no rush to do anything with the property until Indian Creek Trail is completed. The planning commission also recommended approval of annexation.
Council’s final decision was a motion to approve the annexation and rezoning with modified conditions. They said it was not their duty to decide what actually happens with development or funding, but their decision to rezone was the first step to allowing any form of high-density housing development.
Any future planning will require subsequent land use approvals. A draft of the annexation and zoning changes will be presented at an upcoming city council meeting.
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