An aerial view of the empty Lower Hanel Mill property, owned by the Port of Hood River. Nestled between Neal Creek Mill Road (left) and Highway 35 (right), Amazon’s new warehouse and sorting center will neighbor Cardinal Glass Industries (top right), Lester Moving & Storage (bottom right), the G.S. Long Company (bottom right), Neal Creek Forest Products (top) and several other businesses.
An aerial view of the empty Lower Hanel Mill property, owned by the Port of Hood River. Nestled between Neal Creek Mill Road (left) and Highway 35 (right), Amazon’s new warehouse and sorting center will neighbor Cardinal Glass Industries (top right), Lester Moving & Storage (bottom right), the G.S. Long Company (bottom right), Neal Creek Forest Products (top) and several other businesses.
ODELL — In late February, Hood River County’s Planning Department tentatively approved Amazon’s proposal to build a 49,000 square-foot warehouse and sorting center outside Odell. Land use advocacy group Thrive Hood River has since appealed the decision.
Located off Highway 35 just south of Neal Creek Mill Road, and on land zoned industrial, or M-1, owned by the Port of Hood River, the facility would see 548 passenger vehicles, vans and line-haul semi-trucks enter or exit daily. Public comment largely focused on traffic-related safety concerns and congestion, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News.
Hood River County allows wholesale distributing or outlet facilities outright in M-1 areas, and both public works alongside Oregon’s Department of Transportation signed off on a traffic analysis that found “a nominal impact” on four nearby intersections. Thrive argued, however, that the materials submitted are incomplete.
“The application did not contain enough information to establish that the use authorized in this M1 zone would be limited to rural uses, and the decision does not make the required Goal 14 findings,” wrote Chris Robuck, co-president and treasurer of Thrive, in the March 10 appeal letter.
She’s referring to one of Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goals & Guidelines that addresses responsible growth, and includes provisions specific to development allowed outside urban boundaries and in recognized urban unincorporated communities, which Odell is not yet considered.
After meeting with county officials on March 17, both parties agreed the criteria for that goal may not apply. Essentially, two laws passed in 2003 (HB 2691, also known as the “Mill Bill,” and HB 2614) enable Oregon counties to authorize new or altered industrial uses on abandoned wood product sites that might otherwise qualify for farm or forestland protections.
Up until the mid-1990s, the Hanel Lumber Company operated a mill on the land.
But since the hearing is “de novo,” meaning that new evidence and arguments can be presented, Thrive is continuing its appeal in the hope that outstanding public concerns will be addressed.
And while not explicitly cited in the appeal, John Mills, who sits on the nonprofit’s board of directors, submitted comments urging the county to require a more comprehensive traffic study that analyzes crash history, sight distance, bike and pedestrian impacts, queuing times and seasonal traffic variations.
County code only requires that roadway capacity, speed limits and number of turning movements be addressed when determining whether access to a proposed industrial site will create dangerous intersections or traffic congestions. In a memorandum dated April 7, however, consultants working for the applicant provided additional details on most of the above factors.
Of note, 16 crashes were recorded at four adjacent intersections from 2020 to 2024. The majority came from cars turning off Davis Drive and onto Highway 35, whereas 70% of traffic generated from the Amazon facility will exit heading northbound on Highway 35 or enter from that direction without utilizing Davis Drive.
Hood River County’s Planning Commission will hear the appeal on April 22 at 5:30 p.m. If you’d like more information about the appeal, contact Principal Planner Keith Cleveland at keith.cleveland@hoodrivercounty.gov.
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