The Planning Commission has initiated legislative amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Map and the Official Zoning Map. These amendments affect areas with existing single family dwellings that are zoned commercial or industrial. The intent of the amendments is to reduce the number of nonconforming uses and have the zoning better reflect the existing development patterns. These are areas that have been in residential uses since they were developed, but have been zoned commercial or industrial since the late 1970s.
There are three areas that the Planning Commission has proposed changing the Comprehensive Plan designation from commercial or industrial to residential and proposed changing the Zoning Map from commercial or industrial to a residential zone. The maps at the bottom of the page, show these area.
The first area is along W Washington St and N Birch Ave. West of the Stayton Plaza shopping center and the Mary Artz bookkeeping office, all of W Washington is in residential use except for Stayton Dry Cleaning and Russ Strohmeyer’s photography studio. The west side of N Birch Ave is zoned Commercial General, but the entire block is in residential use. There are a total of 16 single family detached dwellings in this area. The proposed amendment would change all of N Birch into the Low Density Residential Zone, as the west side of the street currently is, the north side of W Washington into the LD zone, from the dentist office to the MD zone at N Douglas Ave, and the south side W Washington into in the MD zone from the Mary Artz bookkeeping office to the existing MD zoning. This proposal would convert 3.67 acres from Commercial General to LD and 1.46 acres from CG to MD. In addition, there would the conversion of 0.23 acres from Commercial Retail to LD and 0.27 acres from CR to MD. While this amendment would make 16 homes conforming uses, it should be noted that two existing businesses would become nonconforming.
The second area is along W Washington St and N Noble Ave. On the north side of W Washington St, south of the Salem Ditch, there are seven single family homes on five tax parcels, zoned Light Industrial. These parcels range in size from 6,000 square feet to 2 acres, though two of the parcels extend on both sides of the Salem Ditch. On the south side of W Washington, between Myrtle and Noble, there are four single family dwellings in the CG zone. The proposed amendment is to place the properties on the north side of W Washington, the two properties on the west side of N Myrtle, and the two properties on the east side of N Noble in the LD zone and the properties on the west side of N Noble and east side of N Oak Ave be placed in the MD zone. This proposal would convert 2.44 acres from Light Industrial to LD and 1.40 acres from CG to LD. In addition, there would the conversion of 1.86 acres from CG to MD.
The third area is along N Second Ave and N Third Ave between the Stayton Elementary School and E Cedar St. The seven block area includes 32 single family dwellings and just two businesses. There is also a storage building that is that is not used commercially. The proposed amendment would change the designation of 8.03 acres from Commercial to Residential and change the zoning of the same area of land from Commercial General to Medium Density Residential. The new veterinary clinic at the northwest corner of N Second and E Hollister and the pet supply warehouse at the southwest corner of N Second and E Cedar would remain in the Commercial General Zone.
The staff report for the May public hearing is also posted at the bottom of the page.
Following the May public hearing the Planning Commission voted to change the proposed amendments and to continue their deliberations at the June 25 meeting.