Oak Creek Trail in south Albany starts here, where a street called Moose Run ends. A proposed new easement across the natural area to access private property also would start here.
The Albany City Council has been asked to allow construction of an access road through a designated nature area and the Oak Creek Trail on the southwest side of town.
Homeowners in the Spring Meadows subdivision are asking the council to deny the request on the grounds the road would interfere with the trail, destroy trees and otherwise harm the nature area, where the city has prohibited motor traffic.
The road request comes from Curt Sorte, who owns about 15 acres of undeveloped land along the Calapooia River. He would like access to the land, which is north of the nature area and, while in the city limits, nowhere near any public road.
The council heard from Sorte and four opponents including Spring Meadows HOA President Connie Erickson Wednesday night. The council asked no questions and took no action. City Manager Peter Troedsson said the staff would prepare a report. One of the questions is whether the donation of the nature area to the city years ago entailed any restrictions.
In 2021, a previous council granted Sorte a 360-foot-long road easement from the end of Moose Run to the southern tip of his property. He said Wednesday his engineers found that would not work because it runs into wetlands. He now wants a road easement of about 1,500 feet to a drier part of his property farther north.
He bought the property in 1999, along with a larger piece and homesite across the Calapooia and fronting on Oakville Road, outside the city limits, where he lives.
In July he filed a land use “application for tree felling with natural resource and floodplain review.” The Albany planning division rejected the application and returned his fees when it realized granting the new and longer road easement could not be done without council approval.
Planning manager David Martineau said in a letter to Sorte that his request for a 1,500-foot access across city-owned land zoned open space would “require the removal of several trees, clearing of existing vegetation, and impacts to habitat within the proposed 16-foot-wide swath.”
There was no indication when the request will come back to the council, or what the council will decide when it does. (hh)
The sign marking the Oak Creek Trail and the nature area at the end of Moose Run, shown on Nov. 7, 2023.
The Planning Manager says his request would adversely affect habitat in the 16-foot-wide swath that he wants. My opinion is Deny, Deny, Deny!! We are killing off creatures with global warming, so let’s help the earth’s creatures when we can!
He bought the property KNOWING it is a reserve. Access changing because he wants access to it now is a big NO from me!
The City should not annex property if they won’t provide roads. I’d say they should immediately apologize to Mr. Sorte for failing to have provided one and immediately construct one post haste.
The city is making the right choice with this request. It would be good if the city would also consider the city residents and their way of life when they make decisions that would affect them negatively. Money seems to be the real deciding factor in their generosity in supporting anything that deserves being protected. Thankfully there is no money to be made in damaging the area that is in question. It is rare that having no monetary value makes something worth saving as far as the city goes.
Yes, you are right. Money is the factor in everything the city does. They are not thinking about environmental impact. However, they have no qualms about throwing CARA money (which is taxpayer money) at downtown Albany. And, downtown Albany is not going to net them all the increase in taxes that they want. One example is that The Wheelhouse being sold to the County is not going to bring in taxes for the city.
Sorte should donate the land to homeless advocates. He’d get a tax write off and the neighbors will wish that they had been more neighborly to their neighbor.
I wish I could ride my bike from Moose Run north to Perfect Ln. – that would open a solid trail from LBCC into town, without having to ride on Pacific.
it’s not worth, trust
Adjacent to this area is land once planned for additional housing in the community. When development began artifacts of the indigenous people, the Calapooia Indians were discovered. Development was stopped and a chain link fence installed to protect the area. Given the proximity of the proposed road construction to this area it is highly possible this is on ancient Calapooia land and artifacts might be found.