By Sarah Brown
Lebanon Local
The Planning Commission at its May 18 meeting held a public hearing for and approved a subdivision plat and variance for a private street on property located off Weldwood Drive, just south of Spin City Laundromat.
The subdivision would include nine lots between 5,005 and 5,791 net square feet each with access from a private street off Weldwood. Developers Ben Neuhaus and Jeremy Kinzer indicated at the meeting that they hadn’t yet decided whether to build single-family or duplexes but were leaning toward the latter.
Community Development Director Kelly Hart said that within the city’s transportation system plan and development code, access was limited to 16 dwelling units from private streets. The developers requested the variance to allow for a maximum of 18. Hart indicated that a key reason for the request was because driveways onto property from Weldwood Drive could create problematic issues, so it was better to keep them on the private street.
Commissioner Don Robertson asked Engineering Director Ron Whitlatch about the potential to readdress the subject of installing a signal at Weldwood and Cascade drives. When Farmworker Housing Development Corporation began the process in 2020 to develop its Colonia Paz apartments south of Walmart, the city decided against channelization on Weldwood due to cost, Whitlatch said. But with this new development, they are again exploring the possibility of a roundabout or signal.
The commission also held a public hearing for and approved an amendment to the comprehensive plan and zoning maps for two vacant lots at 4070 S. Santiam Hwy., the former home of the Moose Lodge, at the intersection of Santiam Highway and Crowfoot Road.
The amendment allows for the 1.71 acres to be zoned from residential mixed density to mixed-use, to allow for mini-storage. No development was proposed as part of the application, but a city memorandum indicates that owners David and Laura Gillott might temporarily use it as an RV and boat storage facility, with potential future redevelopment as mixed-use property including potential commercial/residential mix.
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