REGION
Thursday, March 25, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Council, planning commission discuss zoning updates
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — A new
state housing law taking
effect soon is forcing adjust-
ments to Hermiston’s resi-
dential codes.
The Her miston City
Cou ncil and Plan ning
Commission held a joint
work session Monday,
March 22, to discuss how to
handle the zoning require-
ments for House Bill 2001,
which in part requires
duplexes to be allowed in all
housing zones and prohibits
cities from placing different
requirements on duplexes
than single family dwell-
ings. If cities don’t rewrite
their code by June 30, City
Planner Clint Spencer said,
then the state has provided
its own model code that will
take effect instead.
“We’ve had some very
spirited discussion regard-
ing how best to implement
and adopt the duplex hous-
ing standards,” Spencer said
of the planning commission.
The new law means
duplexes will be allowed in
the city’s R-1 zone, where
previously only single
family dwellings were
allowed. For minimum lot
sizes and a list of other stan-
dards, the city essentially
has three options under the
new law, all of which were
discussed during the March
22 work session. It can allow
duplexes to be built to the
standards currently applied
to single family homes,
which would allow for more
crowded neighborhoods.
It can star t holding
single family dwellings to
the standards for duplexes,
which would make devel-
opment more expensive for
developers of new single
family subdivisions. Or it
can create a new standard
that falls somewhere in the
middle.
The law was passed in an
effort to provide Oregonians
with more housing choices
by making it easier for devel-
opers to build more types
of affordable housing. But
some components of the law,
participants in the meeting
complained, weren’t writ-
ten with rural communities
in mind. The law states that
cities cannot require devel-
opers to provide more than
one parking space per unit,
for example, even though
studies show rural house-
holds are more likely to have
more than one vehicle.
“The legislation was
written with the assumption
that everyone has one and a
bike and that’s not the way
of life in Hermiston,” Spen-
cer said.
Planning commission
members told the city coun-
cil that due to the June dead-
line, they wanted to get input
before they started going
down a path the city coun-
cil didn’t like and ran out of
time to change course. Over
the course of more than an
hour, city councilors made
suggestions and asked ques-
tions about possible solu-
tions to address concerns
about density.
Most ended the meeting
by saying they would prefer
to see the city maintain its
standards for single family
dwellings for both types of
housing for now, to meet
the state’s deadline, but
continue to study the issue
and possibly make some
adjustments to some stan-
dards in the future.
“Between now and June
30, the time is too crunched
to make any really altering
decisions,” Councilor Roy
Barron said.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
The Umatilla County Justice Center, which houses the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and
jail, is bathed in the afternoon sun on Dec. 4, 2020. Thirteen inmates at the Umatilla County
Jail tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
COVID-19 outbreak at county jail
Two inmates from
same housing unit
test positive on
Tuesday, March 16
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Thir-
teen inmates at the Umatilla
County Jail tested positive
for COVID-19 last week,
according to Umatilla
Cou nt y Sher if f Ter r y
Rowan.
The outbreak began when
two inmates from the same
housing unit tested positive
on Tuesday, March 16, the
same day the jail had begun
offering the first COVID-19
vaccines to inmates, Rowan
said.
In response to the positive
tests, the jail tested the rest
of the inmates in the hous-
ing unit where the two tested
positive, which holds about
20 people. By the end of the
week, 11 more tests came
back positive. The housing
unit was placed under quar-
antine, Rowan said
However, the 13 inmates
who tested positive have
shown “no symptoms what-
soever,” Rowan said.
Rowan said the jail has
been following a vari-
ety of safety protocols to
ensure that infection doesn’t
continue to spread, includ-
ing keeping the quarantined
inmates in a unit where
ventilation does not reach the
rest of the jail. Inmates on
quarantine are also allowed
out of their cells only by
themselves to ensure that
they don’t pass on the virus.
The inmates who tested
positive will be released
from quarantine on March
25, Rowan said.
Rowan added that the jail
has been able to avoid case
spikes like this in the past
by maintaining health and
safety protocols.
Temperature checks and
screening are conducted
before people can enter
the jail. The jail has also
halved the number of people
allowed in housing units of
40 people, Rowan said.
The case spike coincided
with the jail’s first vaccine
effort since Gov. Kate Brown
announced in February that
the state’s jail inmates would
be offered the vaccine. In all,
160 inmates were offered the
vaccine at the jail, but only
17 accepted, Rowan said.
Rowan said he wasn’t
sure why inmates largely did
not accept the vaccine. He
added that the jail offered the
Johnson & Johnson single-
shot vaccine because the jail
population “can change by
30 people in a day,” making
it difficult for health officials
to offer second doses two
weeks later.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Car crash
leads to brief
chase and arrest
MILTON-FREEWATER
— The Milton-Freewater
Police Department arrested
a motorist after he allegedly
collided with another vehi-
cle with passengers, includ-
ing a 2-year-old child, in
Milton-Freewater on Friday,
March 19, according to a
press release from police.
Courtney Broxson, 28,
told police that she was driv-
ing westbound in the 200
block of Northeast Eighth
Avenue at around 9 p.m. on
March 19 and was stopping
at an intersection when a car
driving the opposite direc-
tion tried to pass another
vehicle, according to the
press release.
T he vehicle, which
she described as a Toyota
Corolla, entered her lane
and headed straight toward
her, according to the press
release. In Broxson’s car
was her boyfriend, Ryan
Villalobos, and her 2-year-
old son.
Broxson told police that
she attempted to swerve out
of the way, but the Corolla
collided with the rear
section of the driver’s side
of the vehicle. The Corolla
did not stop, so Broxson
said she pursued the Corolla
while Villalobos called the
police, according to the press
release.
Police responded and,
with Broxson’s assistance,
located the Corolla in the 800
Block of North Main Street
in Milton-Freewater. Police
identified the driver as Hisi-
eld Guido Madrigal, 25.
Madrigal was arrested
on charges of driving under
the influence of intoxicants,
reckless driving and reck-
lessly endangering another
person (multiple victims).
He was also charged with
several other noncriminal
traffic violations.
Madrigal could not be
housed in the Umatilla
County Jail due to COVID-
19 restrictions and proto-
cols. He was later cited and
released with a court date,
the press release said.
Items must be on the side-
walk or side of the roadway
and easy to grab. Staff will
not pick up items on private
property, such as yards or
driveways, will not climb
into any trailers or vehi-
cles, and will not collect any
biohazards, such as needles
or animal waste.
Dumpsters will also be
located at the public works
building, 1205 Third St., for
people to drop off their items
themselves.
Gates to the drop-off area
will close promptly at 1 p.m.,
and no more items will be
accepted after that time.
— EO Media Group
3/26- 4/1
Cineplex Show Times
Umatilla plans
spring cleaning day
UMATILLA — The city
of Umatilla is holding a city-
wide spring cleaning day
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Satur-
day, April 10.
For people who need
the city to pick up items
for disposal, pickups can
be scheduled until April
5 by calling 541-922-
3226 ext. 113 or emailing
hannah@umatilla-city.org.
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.EastOregonian.com
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
Nobody (R)
1:40p 4:40p 7:40p
The Courier (PG13)
2:00p 5:00p 8:00p
Raya and the
Last Dragon (PG)
1:00p 4:00p 7:00p
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Sunset Elementary School teacher Natalie Trotter leads a class on the first day of in-per-
son instruction for the Hermiston School District on Feb. 17, 2021.
Hermiston School District
announces full-time school
Full-time status
set for April 13
East Oregonian
H ER M ISTON —
Hermiston School District
announced on Tuesday,
March 23, that all students
will return to in-person
classes full time, five days a
week starting April 13.
The announcement,
which came shortly before
the Hermiston Herald went
to print, stated the change
was made possible by the
unexpected update to the
state’s Safe Schools, Ready
Learners safety rules on
Monday, March 22, that
allowed districts to shrink
the space between students’
desks from 6 feet to 3 feet.
Students will have school
off on April 12 to allow
staff to prepare. When they
return, elementary students
will attend from 7:55 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m., with a 1:45
pm release on Wednesdays.
Middle school students will
attend from 8:30 a.m. to
3:18 p.m., with a 9:15 a.m.
start on Wednesdays. High
school students will go from
8:25 a.m. to 3:25 p.m., with
a 9:10 a.m. start on Wednes-
days.
“This is welcome news,
following updated federal
guidance,” Superinten-
dent Tricia Mooney said
in a statement. “I want to
express my gratitude for the
community’s support and
for everyone doing their part
to help keep each other safe
and reduce case counts.”
On March 23, Gov. Kate
Brown also announced
Umatilla County will
remain at the high risk level
of restrictions for COVID-
19 for another two weeks
and Morrow County will
remain at low risk.
Oregon Health Author-
ity assesses COVID-19
cases and test positivity
every 14 days to determine
the level of restrictions for
each county. The risk levels
determine the capacity
allowed for indoor dining
establishments, gyms,
churches, event centers and
other gathering places.
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