Looking west past one of the two white oaks being saved at the Pheasant Run subdivision in North Albany.
It was a little over two years ago that the controversial Pheasant Run subdivision in North Albany was last in the news. On a neighborhood bike jaunt this week, I went to see how it was coming along.
Some of the streets have been paved, making a bike tour possible as long as I stayed clear of dump trucks and other heavy equipment. Toward the west side of the development, the streets are not yet paved and are still being scraped out of the soil.
Hayden Homes, based in Redmond, is building houses in this subdivision of 147 lots. The city approved the development over the opposition of North Albany residents who spoke at public hearings before the planning commission and then the city council.
The planning commission voted 4-3 on March 19, 2018, to reject the subdivision plans. That May, however, the city council voted 5-1 to overturn the commission and approve the plans. The council had little choice after being told by staff and lawyers that the development met all the requirements of the city code.
One issue was old trees on the 35 acres of the 48-acre tract being developed. (The rest was to be left undisturbed as wetlands.) The developers agreed to save two giant Oregon white oaks while cutting down six others.
Another issue was traffic. In response to lots of new housing off Crocker Lane and elsewhere, the city approved a traffic signal at Crocker and Gibson Hill. Under a $610,000 city contract, Emery & Son of Salem is building the light now.
In Pheasant Run this week, on July 23, one house near the entrance off Crocker Lane looked finished. Complete with landscaping, it serves as a sales office. It was closed that day, but I picked up a brochure.
The brochure told me that Hayden Homes is offering seven models, ranging from a one-story house with 1,408 square feet at $310,990 to a two-story with 2,470 square feet at $365,990.
Several houses were in various stages of completion. Elsewhere, signs indicated that lots had been sold even though they were still vacant.
One of the lots shown as sold is on Imperial Drive. Glad to see that the developer was not unduly concerned with wokeness when it came to naming streets. (hh)
“””One of the lots shown as sold is on Imperial Drive. Glad to see that the developer was not unduly concerned with wokeness when it came to naming streets.”””
One happy outcome of political correctness and counter-correctness would be that we give up on street names altogether and revert to numbers. No more silly, embarrassing names. No more names as political favors. No more names too long to fit on stupid online forms (and websites too stupid to match them properly). No more having to install a spyware app to tell whether Prairie Mountain Valley Vista Drive is east or west of Imperial.
I heard rumors that the large white oak on the southwest side of the development nearest to Dover avenue might still be saved as that phase of the development could potentially be revised. Any news on this?
Well, shoot, I had no idea “imperial” was banned. So I woke up today and cancelled my planned trip to Imperial Beach, California.
Malibu, here I come. Oh, wait, can I be accused of cultural appropriation by going there?
Is there a Guru I can consult to ensure correctness? Huh? It’s not okay for a WASP to say Guru?
I don’t want to insult anyone. Is there a dictionary that I can buy?
I’m transitioning to progressive orthodoxy and I want to use only politically correct words. What’s that you say, I can’t say orthodox because of its Christian root?
Perhaps I’ll just stay silent. Is that the real purpose here?
Gordon, has anyone seriously asked for your silence (besides second-rate trolls)? And, where or what is “here?”
HC
Can’t speak to their quality or qualification, but many have asked for his silence.
Personally, I ignore his stuff as repetitive drivel. Highly recommend that.
Mr. Gordon – Just continue to be your unique self!
im-pe-ri-al
(n) a small pointed beard growing below the lower lip (associated with Napoleon III of France)
Maybe the rest of those new, short streets will be facial hair named after tyrants.
I did not realized builders named streets. After a short search, it seems true but with the approval of city council. The same city council that likes to go down strange and unnecessary avenues supporting gun rights and calling out rioters.
Strange days indeed. Oh and yes Shadle if you want to be silent. Please….
In my years of covering local government, I can’t recall a single case of a street name being ratified by the city council. Whatever city review takes place of street names in new subdivisions, it rarely or never involves the council.
Curious. Maybe spend some time investigating this. Surely someone or some entity at the city gives their stamp of approval on the naming of streets.
As for new streets, here’s how it works. The developer of a subdivision will suggest names for the streets, and the city staff reviews the suggestions. But I’m told the final approval is up to the people running the local 911 system.
The mayor reminded me that while the council is not involved in naming new streets, as I said, the council does sometimes change a street name. This happened, for example, in 2015 with Wilt Avenue and Bartley Place in southeast Albany, and it was a complicated mess. You can read the minutes here: https://www.cityofalbany.net/images/stories/citycouncil/archive/2015/cc_20150211_min.pdf
Good Wokeness Hasso. Thanx … true