Albany is working on changing its development code to allow more “middle housing” as demanded by the legislature, but some on the city council doubt that it’s a good idea or that it’ll work.
The legislature wants Albany and other Oregon cities to allow more housing, and different kinds of housing, to be built in the space available, which makes sense. But instead of easing up on Oregon’s insanely convoluted land-use laws, it has added new complications with House Bill 2001.
The bike took me to the wide-open spaces of northeast Albany this week, and they’e no longer wide open. Everywhere I went, there’s construction– new streets, houses, apartments, and of course the new Meadow Ridge School itself.
Since housing seems to be on everybody’s mind, it may be worth noting that in 2018 Albany approved plans for 300 apartments, most recently 96 units in the Santiam Neighborhood between Waverly Drive and Davidson Street.
A ride this week took me down Fourth Avenue in Albany’s Hackleman Historic District, and I stopped to photograph a newly built house that looked close to being completed. I was struck by how nicely it fits in with the older houses on the street.
North Albany housing project: Another step
The Portland owner of about 15 acres in North Albany has taken another preliminary step in a project to build 195 townhomes and duplexes on the land.
Tags: Albany housing, Albany zoning, James Winkler, North Albany, Oregon housing, Winprop I