By Benny Westcott
Of The New Era/Lebanon Local
The Sweet Home Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday, March 16, to grant the Linn County Parks and Recreation Department a conditional use permit for a four-lane public recreational vehicle wastewater disposal facility with a potable water fill station.
The facility would be located off 24th Avenue, south of the railroad tracks and west of the Family Assistance and Resource Center’s managed outreach and community resource facility for the homeless. The proposed 4.62-acre site was previously used for industrial purposes as a wood products mill.
“I don’t have an RV, but I know a lot of people that do, and this is going to be something that’s pretty welcome – a nice, easy, clean facility,” Commission Chair Jeffrey Parker said. “I think this has been something that’s missing in town.”
“Originally, I was thinking the spot was kind of weird,” he continued, “but at the same time as that other property across the tracks is being developed and, at some point, possibly Quarry Park and the [Oregon] Jamboree, it actually is a good spot for something like this. And it’s not a very developable piece of property.”
Former Linn County Parks & Recreation Department Director Brian Carroll noted in writing that he did not believe the facility would have any significant negative impacts on adjacent properties.
He explained that most of the surrounding properties would not experience any noise, odors or significant negative effects, citing a “good separation” between them and the facility.
Carroll added that site access could be controlled, if necessary, with gates and fencing, and that hours of operations could also be limited. He noted that the department would monitor the site with security cameras and digital technology.
He estimated that patrons would be onsite for only 30 to 45 minutes on average, with most of the facility’s use taking place during working daylight hours. Traffic impact would be “light,” he wrote – 10 to 15 vehicle trips per day on average, with a maximum peak season average of 60 per day on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day.