That big hole in the ground you see at the corner of Santiam Road and Main Street in Albany will become a swale to retain storm water when the warehouse in the background is rebuilt, with parking on the lot in front.
The bike you see here was leaning against a trash can because I didn’t want to lean it against the plate glass windows. Which brings me to the topic for today…
When Yohn Baldwin bought the site of the former Cumberland Church from the City of Albany last year, no one said anything about the regulatory obstacles he would face in doing something with the land.
For some reason, the word “family” has become a bad word in connection with housing and zoning, at least in the eyes of the Oregon legislature and the governor.
Wanting to save a big old walnut tree was the main reason the Albany Planning Commission turned down a site plan for eight townhouses on July 19. On Aug. 2 the commission rescinded that decision and scheduled a new hearing for Sept. 13, but the tree issue is still there.
Albany has a revised sign code, but I can’t see that it will make a noticeable difference in the bewildering array of signs in many of the commercial parts of town.
Albany pushes to add houses and density
On a bike ride last week, I passed a building under construction on Southwest Queen Avenue that struck me as being in line with Albany’s continued effort to increase housing density in residential districts.
Tags: comprehensive plan, density, Development code, dwellings, housing, zoning