land use

Road request in nature area is blocked

Written January 15th, 2024 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 8 responses.

A land owner’s plan for a road through a southwest Albany nature area to access his landlocked property along the Calapooia River is dead, for now anyway.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: access easement, Curt Sorte, land use, landlocked parcel, natural area, Oak Creek trail, restrictive covenant, southwest Albany, Spring Meadows, wetlands, woodlands

Where Albany plans for lots of growth

Written July 12th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 15 responses.

Every once in a while the bike takes me to the part of Albany east of Interstate 5. It did so on Wednesday, which gave me a chance to take another look at the new Eagle Pointe apartment complex south of the roundabout on Knox Butte Road.

Posted in: Bicycling, Commentary, News
Tags: apartments, bicycling, East Albany Plan, east of I-5, growth, land use, neighborhoods, Planning, Timber Ridge Street

Housing development appears stuck in limbo

Written March 30th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 10 responses.

What happened to the plan to build 44 apartments and 11 single-family houses at the corner of Airport Road and Franklin Avenue, a plan approved by the Albany Planning Commission in August 2020?

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Airport Road, apartments, Franklin Avenue, housing, land use, Oregon white oak

Linn board nixes Millersburg land application

Written March 14th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 5 responses.

Linn County commissioners voted 2-1 this morning to reject an application by Millersburg to add a 164-acre filbert orchard to its urban growth boundary on the town’s west side.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: filbert orchard, land use, Linn County board, Millersburg, Sofidel, urban growth boundary

Oregon bill on housing and homeless falls short

Written March 11th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 32 responses.

Leaders in the Oregon legislature say they want to encourage more housing to be built and to reduce the number of homeless people. That’s what they say, but their legislation does nothing to achieve that goal.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: HB 2001, homeless, homeless camps, housing, land use, legislature

Less parking: Does the state have the right?

Written March 7th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 18 responses.

The Heritage Mall parking lot is not usually as empty as it was on a Sunday afternoon in March 2020, the start of the Covid pandemic. But it’s not often completely full even during normal times.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Albany parking, carbon emissions, climate action, land use, less driving, Oregon LCDC, parking lots, parking requirements

Albany lists potential ‘climate friendly areas’

Written February 21st, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 10 responses.

Seven Albany neighborhoods are candidates for designation as “climate friendly areas” or CFAs, where zoning and development rules may be changed to allow more people to live there and a variety of business services to open up.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Albany city planning, Climate Friendly Areas, land use, mix of uses