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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018
City
from 1A
Associate Planner Glen Southerland
gave background on the bill and its
main impacts on the City of Florence.
According to the staff report, SB
1051 was signed by Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown on Aug. 15 and was made effec-
tive that same date.
The bill requires that cities with a
population greater than 5,000 people:
shorten housing development applica-
tion approval time to within 100 days;
establish “clear and objective stan-
dards” and approve applications which
reasonably meet those; allow nonresi-
dential places of worship to use real
property for affordable housing; and
allow accessory dwelling units (ADU)
in areas zoned for single-family
dwellings.
Southerland said the city already
does some of those things, but that code
changes will be necessary for some of
them, including ADUs.
“ADUs come in a variety of styles.
They can be attached to the home,
detached or even within that home,”
Southerland said. “These are becoming
more popular because of lifestyle
changes. Younger couples and individu-
als are not finding it necessary or desir-
able to have a single-family home in the
traditional sense. Also, older people
who are aging in place or have children
who have moved away find these units
to be desirable. They are much smaller,
easier to keep up and generally pretty
trendy. People find them attractive.”
Southerland said properties must be
zoned for single-family dwellings if
they are eligible for an ADU.
“In addition, logistically, there is a
lack of available housing,” Southerland
said. “That is across the board, from
single-family to multi-family, afford-
able — everything. These will have a
smaller footprint. They are affordable
for renters and for owner-occupied
housing, and they also have been an
option for cities, counties and other
states that are looking for needed hous-
ing.”
Under SB 1051, churches will also
have the option to have housing that is
detached from the place of worship,
provided half of the units go to house-
holds with incomes equal to or less than
60 percent of the median family income
for the county and that the property is
zoned for residential use within the
urban growth boundary.
“Taking all that, and what the SB
tells us, we have a number of consider-
ations that are possible when we’re
looking at these types of housing,”
Southerland said.
During the discussion, Southerland
and the Florence City Council brought
up issues of styles, setbacks, size
requirements, and utility and service
billing.
“The code criteria will address all
those issues and hopefully prevent these
structures from becoming a nuisance,
while also allowing these structures to
fill a gap for needed housing,”
Southerland said.
Mayor Joe Henry said, “We’re basi-
cally implementing these changes that
are required by the state, and sometime
in the near future we will sit down col-
lectively as a council, with staff and
community input, to determine which of
the changes we will make in terms of
rate structure, permits, fees setbacks
and garages.”
According to Southerland, these and
other changes will be necessary before
the July 1 date, and that it would be
desirable to address other code changes
as staff goes on.
Reynolds said, “We are running on a
few parallel tracks here to try and
address the obvious housing issues
across the state, and trying to take
advantage of any opportunity that is
available to us as a city. … There’s actu-
ally needed housing in Florence across
every economic scale. … We’re well
poised to take advantage of more of
these opportunities.”
Moving forward, councilors plan to
hold a joint work on the code changes
with the Florence Planning Commission
on the code changes in late February.
“This is something we’ve been work-
ing on for a number of years, along with
our ‘City in Motion,’” Henry said.
“This is a very important first step in
Board
solving some of our housing issues. It
goes well beyond us, because we have a
number of people interested in doing
housing and development in our com-
munity, and these are some of the things
we need to have changed for us to move
forward on that.”
Later in the meeting, the council
heard the quarterly financial report from
Finance Director Andy Parks.
“As a council, as a staff and as a
community, we accomplished great
things in 2017,” Henry said. “I think
that’s just the beginning because of all
the things going on now.”
Reynolds said the mayor will not do
a separate State of the City Address this
year, but will give a presentation during
an upcoming council meeting.
The final topic of the evening was a
letter of interest from the City of
Florence for the development of a
Community Innovation Lab in Old
Town Florence. This would be a part-
nership between the city, RAIN
(Regional Acceleration and Innovation
Network) and Hatch Innovation to cre-
ate a physical working space and
resources for micro-enterprises and
entrepreneurs.
This
Community
Innovation Lab would be “the crucial
next step to support local job creation
and innovation,” the letter said.
Florence Economic Development
Catalyst Jesse Dolin said, “A co-work-
ing space is the logical next step. Hatch
specializes in creating these co-working
spaces, which are not only a space for
bringing entrepreneurs and small busi-
ness owners together, but also a one-
stop shop for co-locating the support
that they need.”
Dolin said the space has a set busi-
ness model that would quickly operate
“in the black.”
Continued information read, “The
community space would also have
the potential to incentivize adjacent
development, creating a higher possibility
of increased housing and retail units.”
For more information about Florence
City Council and where to reach city
staff as City Hall undergoes its remodel,
visit ci.florence.or.us.
from 1A
Grzeskowiak believes the input from
Scurto and the ESD is important for
Siuslaw staff and instructors.
“Superintendent Scurto was here for
two purposes; first, to talk about the
shared service plan, and second, our
progress on the Promise program,” he
said.
According to the presentation, there are
several service areas that local school dis-
tricts cannot administer on their own,
based upon student population.
“We use the ESD as a cooperative to
provide services jointly with other dis-
tricts in our region,’’ Grzeskowiak said.
“This may be a specialist that travels from
district to district to meet the needs of stu-
dents for special programs, trainings or a
program at one location regionally where
students from around the county partici-
pate.”
The district is also looking to ensure
that there is parity among common col-
lege-level courses that are taught around
the county.
According to Scurto, the high mobility
rate of students in Lane County makes it
important to make sure that students who
are enrolled in college-level writing or
mathematics get the same content, no mat-
ter where they move within the county.
A report from Special Programs
Coordinator Lisa Utz, followed, updating
the board on the Youth Transition Program
(YTP). Utz said the YTP has fulfilled its
mandate for the term and is expanding its
outreach to include students beyond those
whom it was originally intended to serve.
“YTP is important simply because it is
a great way to help many of our life skills
students transition into meaningful work
after high school,” Grzeskowiak said.
“Once the coordinator meets the place-
ment quota, they can expand out into help-
ing with general education students.”
He said the program functions as an
extension of co-op work credit classes and
helps to place students in jobs that may
become careers after high school.
Another presentation came from
Stephanie Rogers, coordinator for the
Siuslaw High School Alternate Education
Program, Siuslaw West.
Rogers is committed to offering alter-
natives for students that have unusual cir-
cumstances to contend with, in addition to
attending traditional classes.
Rogers is an enthusiastic supporter of
the program and believes it can be essen-
tial to some students that have other
responsibilities in addition to attending
school.
“We as a team think the ability to give
struggling students choices allows them to
take accountability for their academic suc-
cess,” Rogers said. “This is why we keep
the programs so fluid. If a student realizes
they did not choose a correct placement,
or we realize that they are struggling, we
can move them back and forth without
much interruption since each class is truly
tailored to the individual.”
Grzeskowiak said, “Over the years, the
idea of alternative education has really
developed into something beyond the sim-
plistic ‘behavior’ program. There is wide
variety of needs; there are students that
need something that cannot be done dur-
ing the regular day in the traditional set-
ting. Some of what occurs is credit recov-
ery, with students getting back on track
after a rough start at high school. Other
students have medical conditions that
make attendance during a regular day dif-
ficult. Many students are working full-
time and supporting their family, so alter-
native school is the only way to complete
their education.”
Following the presentations from
Scurto, Rogers and Utz, the Siuslaw
Board of Directors once again delved into
the latest financial information presented
by Pivot Architecture spokesperson, Curt
Wilson.
The board is still in the process of sift-
ing through the various options for
upgrade and improvements to the districts
school buildings. Many questions remain
as to the need for and cost of many of the
proposed improvements.
Some members of the board expressed
concern that the public will be willing to
approve a large bond request and believe
the project’s scale and cost need to be
closely examined before they are present-
ed to the community for approval.
Enjoy great food and good times.
MEATLESS MONDAY
Healthy vegan and Vegetarian expertly prepared meals!
Homestyle Comfort Food
WINE WEDNESDAY
Enjoy a palate-pleasing variety of half price wines by the bottle!
ALL YOU CAN EAT COD THURSDAYS 5-8PM
Enjoy all the hand-battered, golden fried cod and chips you can eat!
CULINARY CELEBRATION WEEKENDS
Ask about our featured specials!
New Fall Menu
Including:
Shephard’s Pie &
Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes
Wine | Beer | Martinis | Small Plates | Seafood | Dessert
1297 Bay Street Florence • 541-997-1133
www.bridgewaterfi shhouse.com
ALL NEW DINNER SPECIAL!
2 Entrees FOR $20.00
Sunday - Thursday 4pm-6pm
AND Don’t forget our
2 FOR $16.00
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Monday - Friday
The Grill Restaurant & Lounge
Open Daily for
Breakfast 10am-1pm
Lunch 10am-5pm
Daily Happy hour 2-5pm,
Beer, Wine, Cocktails
Hi, Welcome Restaurant
to Mo’s
Mo’s
®
Call: 541-997-8263
at Sandpines
1201 35th Street at Kingwood, Florence
Highway 101 & 35 St.
541-997-4623 ext. 5
Where good friends &
great food come together!
~ FEATURED LOW-CARB SELECTIONS ~
GRILLED OR
BLACKENED COD
FISH TACOS $12.95
SALMON: Grilled, Poached, or Blackened
CHICKEN BREAST: Boneless, Skinless Breast of Chicken
SHRIMP SKEWERS: 2 Grilled Shrimp Skewers
All of the above are served with
Green Beans or Mixed Steamed Veggies and a Shrimp Dinner Salad
NEW ITEMS
and for dessert...
BBQ PORK RIBS: Baby Back Pork Ribs with the
S NICKER OR P EANUT
B UTTER
$5.95
James
Gang PIE
BBQ FOR
Sauce
Surfside Restaurant
Fall/Winter
Hours:
10am-5pm
Daily
BLACKENED SALMON CEASAR SALAD
Mo’s Old
Town, Florence • Daily 11 am - 8 pm
®
Mo’s
Town,
Florence
• Daily
11 am - 8 pm
Serving Old
Bowls
of comfort
for Over
50 Years
Serving Bowls of comfort for Over 50 Years • 541-997-2185
Wednesday dinner special:
10 oz. Prime Rib and Salad,
with your choice of
Pasta or Potatoes!
Great Food
Happy Hour • Monday-Friday 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Enjoy discount food and drink specials at the bar!
1285 Bay Street in Old Town Florence • (541) 902-8338