The Lebanon Planning Commission recapped a tour given to the Land Conservation and Development Commission, which the City of Lebanon hosted at the end of April, during its May 15 meeting.
According to Community Development Director Kelly Hart, they took the LCDC on a tour of the city, including the development of the Mill Race project and Western University’s mixed use developments. They also discussed the redevelopment of downtown Lebanon, which will bring visitors to the downtown area, and the development and cultural expansion for the city.
They also had a roundtable conversation between the commission, LCDC and Lebanon’s mayor and development staff alongside representatives from Linn and Benton counties and the Community Services Consortium, among others.
“(They) are sort of the representation of our region in terms of development and movers and shakers of our area,” Hart said. “We talked about the needs of our community and the way the state can help us be successful.”
Hart said they also discussed infrastructure needs, wetland constraints and more.
“I think it was an incredibly positive conversation,” she said. “It definitely felt like they were listening to us.”
A community member mentioned concerns over continuing expansion within the urban growth boundary without taking farmland away or impacting wetlands and green spaces; she also acknowledged that the LCDC took lots of notes during the meeting, which was good to see.
According to Hart, they received positive feedback on their preparation as many of these meetings in other areas are often only attended by the mayor and a couple of city employees, so it was meaningful that they had such a “presence.”
“It provided weight to our statements, that we were taking it seriously,” Hart said.
In other business, the commission held a public hearing for and approved the annexation of a residential mixed-use property at 810 Kees St.