The four homes on Lincoln Avenue that would have had their building height curtailed by White Salmon’s proposed Viewshed Overlay Ordinance. At the Oct. 2 city council meeting, council decided to put the ordinance on hold.
The four homes on Lincoln Avenue that would have had their building height curtailed by White Salmon’s proposed Viewshed Overlay Ordinance. At the Oct. 2 city council meeting, council decided to put the ordinance on hold.
WHITE SALMON — After more than two hours of comments and discussion, White Salmon’s City Council decided to put the proposed Viewshed Overlay Ordinance, which would limit the height of four Lincoln Avenue homes across from Rheingarten Park, on hold during their Oct. 2 meeting.
As previously reported by Columbia Gorge News, the city’s planning commission spent three meetings belaboring the ordinance, the utility of protecting Mount Hood views from a small section of the park, lack of homeowner input beforehand, convoluted height measurements, and that confusion carried over to city council.
Several councilors called the process flawed and felt the planning commission was rushed, so in a 5-0 vote, they opted to host a workshop and iron out the ordinance’s kinks, staving off immediate legislative action while acknowledging the value of preserving the viewshed. The time, date and who exactly will be involved in the workshop is yet to be determined, but councilors did mention collaborating with the planning commission.
As in previous public hearings, the affected homeowners came out in full force, and all emphasized they have no plans to develop their properties. Even though the ordinance has been revised many times, reducing the number of homes impacted, raising the height limits and possibly giving owners additional rights to develop, they weren’t satisfied.
“I am now, too, also as confused as you guys are. In fact, every time I come around to this, I get more and more confused,” said Andrew McElderry, who owns two of the properties on Lincoln Ave. “Why does this feel like it’s being so rushed? What’s the hurry?"
Councilors spent 10 minutes just trying to figure out how building heights are calculated under the city’s existing zoning codes.
“This whole process has been very taxing, to say the least, and we feel that this could’ve been handled in a better fashion, pitting the townspeople against us few homeowners,” said Hanson Urdahl. More than 200 people signed a petition supporting the ordinance, but Urdahl claimed some people thought a single developer bought out the whole street, which didn’t occur.
Others, like CityLab Board Member Kate Bennett, along with many councilors, questioned whether the ordinance should be a priority. Bennett argued that early childhood education efforts are, for instance, more important to residents than one specific view. Mayor Marla Keethler later reminded everyone the viewshed ordinance has not altered the city’s agenda.
Gabrielle Gilbert, White Salmon resident and nanny, was the lone voice testifying in support of the ordinance. “Everybody knows developers are coming,” said Gilbert. “We want to protect the view because putting a child in that swing and looking at that mountain from various places in that park means something.”
Once public comment closed, councilors considered tabling the ordinance entirely. Between the local response, the city’s admittedly poor outreach and since the ordinance would likely complicate White Salmon’s building code further, no councilor felt comfortable moving forward.
“We don’t have an ordinance that a single one of the property owners supports, and we don’t have a single property owner that would look at us and say that they approve how the ordinance was brought forward,” said Councilor Jason Hartmann.
“I honestly take my neighbors at face value that they’re not going to redevelop right now, so I honestly don’t see the urgency,” said Councilor David Lindley. He felt it was necessary to step back and reframe the ordinance’s purpose in a more collaborative manner. When Lindley posed the idea of a workshop, the other councilors were in support, especially since city staff had already devoted so much time and resources.
In other matters to note, Mayor Marla Keethler announced the Rhine Village renovations, White Salmon’s only affordable housing complex, should be finished by the end of October. She also said the relocation Washington Gorge Action Program’s (WAGAP’s) community youth center is nearly complete. Tentatively, WAGAP will move into the Parks Building near Rheingarten Park over winter break.
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