PARKDALE — At its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 21, the Hood River County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the Parkdale Community Plan. The updated plan was required by the state and meant to guide the unincorporated community’s future growth. Parkdale Sanitary District’s wastewater capacity is at 86%, which drove much of the decision-making.
County planners, along with consultants from the firm MIG, Inc., spent the past two years developing the plan while incorporating feedback from the residents affected, including a bilingual survey, community meeting and open house. The plan was reviewed by the Hood River County Planning Commission before being sent to the board for approval, which wrote, “Based on the findings of fact and conclusions of law provided in the attached material, together with the above changes, the Planning Commission recommends that the board adopt the proposed Parkdale Community Plan as presented.” Community outreach revealed that people want to maintain Parkdale’s small, agricultural and rural character, but also want more affordable housing, and more diverse types of housing.
The plan focuses primarily on zoning text changes, which were guided by the community’s needs and feedback, but also by the limits imposed by the wastewater treatment capacity. Because of the limited wastewater capacity, the plan maintains the two-acre minimum for residential zoning established by the state.
R1 zoning becomes P-R1, in which a single Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is allowed, though not to be used as a Short-Term Rental (STR). An ADU in this case has a 900-square-foot maximum size. Additionally, duplexes are now allowed in the P-R1 zone in Parkdale. Both changes are meant to accommodate the need for more housing.
Parkdale’s M1 zoning becomes P-M1, which continues to allow all types of industrial use. Existing homes in the P-M1 zone may also conduct “small scale or industrial activities.” Hood River County Community Development Director Eric Walker explained that “the county chose to restrict future commercial business in the P-M1 zone unless connected to an allowed industrial use.”
A new zone was added, the P-M2, in which both commercial and light industrial uses are allowed. According to the plan, this new zone would affect “a few lots located south of McIssac Drive, between Second and Third streets.”
In the C1 zoning, which becomes P-C1, new single-family dwellings were eliminated as allowed uses, except in conjunction with an onsite business, but multi-family housing (for 12 units or less) was retained subject to a Conditional Use Permit.
Generally, the Parkdale Sanitary District must be the first stop before any new development: “While there is a desire to accommodate an expanded range of housing options, Hood River County must manage growth within the confines of the wastewater system’s capacity, consistent with state law,” according to the adopted Community Plan, which keeps Parkdale small and rural to respect the wastewater capacity and the feedback of its residents, but also allows for housing flexibility.
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