"The Grove" developers obtained a city permit to install a perimeter fence around their proposed development site. Limited ground work has also begun at the site, but that work is not substantial enough to require a permit, according to city staff.
"The Grove" developers obtained a city permit to install a perimeter fence around their proposed development site. Limited ground work has also begun at the site, but that work is not substantial enough to require a permit, according to city staff.
THE DALLES — The City of The Dalles erred in its denial of “The Grove,” a proposed 83-lot subdivision sought by Legacy Development LLC, according to a Feb. 24 decision by the The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). The proposed project is located off Richmond Street between E. 10th and 12th streets in The Dalles.
The city denied the project primarily based on traffic and safety concerns on surrounding streets and a nearby intersection on Highway 197, reversing staff and planning commission approvals of the project by a vote of four to one on Sept. 24, 2020. At that time, Councilor Darcy Long-Curtiss, who said she did not think the city’s argument for denial would stand up at the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), voted against the proposal. “I think that instead of trying to deny or approve this appeal, we should be finding ways to make this use safe,” she said, noting the property was currently zoned for high-density development. “I really think we need to be smart, as a city council, and we need to not put ourselves in a position where we are going to have go and spend money litigating this. I think we could potentially rescind our previous motion, and then approve the subdivision, but adding in the conditions identified within this resolution, basically to shore it up. I was willing to let that go back to staff, in order to come up with some additional relevant criteria. The criteria presented in this ordinance really isn’t something that I think is going to stand up in LUBA,” she said at the September meeting.
Other councilors disagreed, noting that the safety concerns had not been emphasized enough in the staff report.
Mayor Rich Mays was among those who disagreed with granting approval to the project. “I would submit that by adding 80 units, over 100 cars, and 82 trips during peak hours, the developer would contribute substantially to the dangerous conditions on 10th and 12th streets,” he said. “Maybe he is not solely responsible for those conditions, but I would submit that by adding all those homes and cars and vehicle trips, he would be contributing to existing dangerous conditions on those streets.”
On appeal of the September decision to LUBA, the state ruled against the city and in favor of the applicant, citing Oregon Revised Statutes requiring “clear and objective” standards be applied to the city’s decision to grant the appeal and reject the project. As a result, the council’s decision to deny the project was “outside the scope of authority of the decision maker,” according to the LUBA decision.
The decision noted that “approval standards are not clear and objective if they impose subjective, value-laden analyses that are designed to balance or mitigate impacts of the development on the property to be developed or the adjoining properties or community.”
In response to a question at the March 8 meeting of The Dalles City Council, Mayor Rich Mays said the city was not yet prepared to respond to the LUBA decision.
Community Development Director Alice Cannon said her department will be moving forward in the coming weeks, looking at directions received from the state. She added that the developer had been granted a permit to install a fence around the perimeter of the project area, and added that earth work currently underway does not require permitting. “We did talk to the applicant about what the parameters are, what permits will be needed,” she said.
Steve Murray, a resident of nearby 11th Street, asked if the city would be looking at bringing roads up to a safer standard.
“Does the city plan to upgrade those streets for safety?” he asked.
Mays noted street safety was a concern, but the city was not in a position to discuss the specifics yet. “This is the first meeting we have had since the decision was made,” he explained.
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