SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018 | 9A
CANNERY from page 8A
To be fair, many neighbor-
hoods have setbacks as low as 10
feet, but residents of Florentine
came specifically for peace and
quiet, Nelson said. When other
phases do take place, and the age
restrictions will be lifted, younger
homeowners may cause loud dis-
tractions.
Even though the Cannery lot
is covered with trees right now,
some local residents claimed
they can still hear Highway 101.
A closer, and potentially louder,
family would be amplified, they
said.
And those noises would be
small to the sound of the con-
struction that could take years to
finish.
Nelson said there are two bar-
riers that have been presented to
help with the noise.
The first is the vegetation the
currently exists. On both sides of
the property line, a tall mass of
thick plants and trees can block a
considerable amount of noise.
While Florentine does have
its own thicket, the new proper-
ty would limit its choices in the
future as to what they could do
with the property. And there’s no
guarantee that all the vegetation
on Cannery’s side will be able to
remain as well, though the com-
pany will try to preserve existing
native vegetation.
To create a permanent sound
barrier, Florentine would like a
wall.
Nelson stated that a previous
proposal had suggested a solid
wall be built, but current plans
call for an eight-foot tall cedar
fence.
Not only does Nelson fear that
will not create a strong enough
sound barrier, it will also create a
security risk.
Nelson gave an example of a
child breaking through a fence
to get a ball thrown on the other
side. But childish hijinks really ar-
en’t Florentine’s concern.
“In their plan, they say walking
and paths and trails will be next
to the wall, and that path will be
open to the residents, the visitors,
the shoppers and employers,”
Nelson said. “That to me is every-
body. They say it’s private, but it’s
not completely restricted use.”
Neighborhood kids would be
one thing, but a more open popu-
lation could create more chances
of problems. While simply having
a fence next a walkway is no clear
invitation to crime, Florentine
Estates population can be partic-
ularly nervous.
“It’s a vulnerable population
and a lot of them feel vulnerable,”
Nelson said. “It just scares them
to think that living in a gated area,
where not even a bear is coming
through the bushes, would poten-
tially be accessible to anybody.”
And a wall would also help
protect against any financial bur-
dens the company may face.
“God forbid we have another
economic upheaval and they get
halfway into it and the bottom
falls out, and they have to leave
it again for another 10 years,”
Nelson said. “We want securi-
ty there for the future. If they go
away, who’s going to maintain that
fence? If you don’t have the mon-
ey to do your development, I can’t
call you if a tree falls down on a
wooden fence.”
Nelson sees another advantage
to a wall, and that’s blocking wa-
ter flow from the Cannery.
Water flow
Unlike the wall, the fear here is
concrete.
As of now, the area in which
Cannery Station will sit is filled
with lush, thick vegetation. How-
ever, there are also swamplands in
the area, and it can become thick
with rain.
“There are places I can’t walk
into with boots,” Nelson said.
Because of that, Florentine res-
idents attribute the water to help-
ing create floods.
“We’ve had two feet of water in
Florentine Estates,” one resident
said while raising her concerns at
the meeting. “People were float-
ing their little dinghies and fish-
ing boats.”
Florentine fears that once that
vegetation is gutted and streets
are paved, the flooding could get
worse.
“You add a whole bunch of as-
phalt, the water has to go some-
where.”
And somewhere, Nelson fears,
is Florentine Estates.
Cannery’s plan is to have three
different rain basis throughout
the facility which will retain wa-
ter, along with culvert systems
that will drain the water into the
city storm system.
“At full development 90 percent
of the water that is currently com-
ing down from this site will be
redirected west, and it will go out
to the city storm system in Mun-
conversations with Florentine
Estates,” Cavaness told the com-
mission. “We are sympathetic and
understand the concerns.”
But while walls and storm
drains may be Florentine specif-
ic concerns, there are larger fears
“As long as people make an investment in their
property, I think there’s an opportunity. I don’t
think it will fulfill all the needs that we have, but
it would free up other housing in the areas for
other family types.”
— Wendy FarleyCampbell
City of Florence Planning Director
sel Lake Road, or straight out to
the right of way,” Cavaness said.
“From a practical standpoint, any
drop of water that lands next to
Florentine will go out to Highway
101. … There will be less water
flowing in this site from a storm
than what presently comes off
from the property.”
“I’m not disclaiming what he
said,” Nelson said. Nelson brought
up Cannery’s plans to use six-inch
curbs to redirect water.
“A six-inch curb is actually a
very good answer, and it’s what
we would like to see,” Nelson said.
However, looking at the plans,
Nelson feels that there may have
been some areas missed the could
use better fortification, including
more catch basins.
Nelson gave another example,
saying, “They talk about using
street level sidewalks. We just
want to know that they have a six
inch back.”
It’s not that Florentine residents
believe that Cannery is skimping
on storm water containment, they
just want to have assurances that
all contingencies have been cov-
ered.
“To be honest, I think for the
most part they’re addressing our
concerns, and a lot of what is not
addressed will be picked up by
the city and ODOT,” Nelson said.
“I can’t speak for the board, but
I wouldn’t support a recommen-
dation of boycotting their project
because we don’t get variances.
We’re not that petty. It’s not about
stopping them, but just doing
what’s best for our community.
We need to be on the record that
we have concerns about it.”
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that can affect the entire city.
Traffic
One speaker said that traffic
was “going to be a nightmare” on
Highway 101, both during con-
struction and once Cannery Sta-
tion begins occupation.
“The problem with traffic is the
people coming up and down 101.
That’s a dangerous intersection
and you’re going to get people
killed there,” he said.
Planning Commission Vice
Chairperson Sandi Young said,
“I’m still talking about traffic,”
when asked if she had further
questions in the Tuesday meeting.
The issues regarding traffic
are complex, but important. At
the heart of the issue is whether
or not Cannery will create more
traffic in the Munsel area, a place
already known locally to have
difficulties during the summer.
This is the same area as the gro-
cery store Fred Meyer, where it
is known to be difficult to turn
north onto Highway 101.
Munsel Lake has the same
problem.
“Everybody at Florentine shops
at Fred Meyer, but everybody
takes 35th Street because they’re
afraid to go on Munsel,” Nelson
said. “And they do the same thing
coming back because they’re
afraid to get out of Fred Meyer.
It should be known that they do
that because they’re trying to stay
safe.”
Cannery will present another
road onto the highway, as a new
road currently referred to as 47th
Street will become one of the
main thoroughfares outside the
complex. The other exit point will
come out on Munsel Lake Road.
“You have an awful lot of traf-
fic, and it’s not going to be pretty,”
Young said at the meeting. “I’m
not a traffic engineer, but at this
point I wish I was. I would like
to look carefully at your numbers
because I don’t believe it’s going
to work very well. You have too
many driveways and too much
traffic.”
At that point, the audience
cheered and clapped.
Originally, there was a traffic
light planned for the intersection.
“On the last approval in 2008,
they needed a right-hand turn
lane, an additional turn lane on
Munsel Lake Road and also a
light,” FarleyCampbell told the
Siuslaw News.
But recent estimates have
shown that traffic does not yet
warrant a stoplight, though turn
lanes are being looked at.
“We are not yet to the point in
full development to trigger a light
at the location,” said Kelly Sand-
ow of Sandow Engineering, who
worked on a traffic analysis for
Cannery Station. “That said, as
the project is developed, if some-
thing does change seven years
from now and there is additional
development [in the area], we can
revisit it. But keep in mind, this is
for the entire 10-year project, not
just for phase one. All of the pro-
posed access points are expected
to be safe.”
But what happened between
2008 and now that would have re-
duced traffic?
“When ODOT was talking
about putting in a light back in
2008, there was significant traf-
fic flows back then,” Sandow
explained. “We expected traf-
fic flows to grow over the years,
but what happened was we had
a recession, and traffic counts
dropped all over the states. The
math changed, and what changed
was the recession we had.”
Sandow did take a traffic count,
but that was in February.
“We didn’t have any choice but
to take traffic counts then,” Sand-
ow recalled. “So we worked with
ODOT who did traffic record-
ings north of Munsel Lake that
looked at 24-hour a day traffic.
We looked at what happens in
July and August. February is 30
percent lower traffic. So we took
our traffic numbers and increased
them by 30 percent to match that
number. That’s what our analysis
is based on.”
But the idea that traffic has de-
creased since 2008 didn’t sit well
with the commission. The 30 per-
cent increase didn’t seem correct.
ODOT had also written a letter
asking the Cannery to re-analyze
some of the assumptions made in
Sandow’s report.
“We’re discussing that,” Sand-
ow said. “The traffic recorder was
located quite a bit north of city
limits. That flow doesn’t consid-
er urban traffic. But in our area,
there’s a baseline. You have a lot
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of homes in the area, Driftwood
Shores and Fred Meyer. So there’s
minor difference. If ODOT says
we have to change the number,
we have to change the number.
We don’t think a new analysis will
change the numbers.”
It was also noted that this anal-
ysis was one-and-done. Sandow
expects to be continually analyz-
ing traffic whenever a new subdi-
vision is put forth.
It’s important to get these num-
bers right as soon as possible. If
construction is completed and it’s
discovered that traffic is indeed
too heavy, it could take months
for a light to be actually approved
and installed. During that time,
drivers could be put in danger.
This is not to say that the in-
tersections will be dangerous
without a stoplight. The numbers
could be correct.
“Does the traffic model that
you use do visuals?” Young asked
Sandow at the meeting. “Is there
a way to run a model to show all
the interaction at peak, so we can
all see?”
Young suggested that the issue
be revisited during the June 26
meeting, with Sandow brining
visual representations of traffic
flow.
Sandow stated that she could,
and would also be making revi-
sions to the plan.
The concerns regarding the
traffic light underlies another
concern. While most of those who
spoke about Cannery believed the
project was good for Florence,
there were fears of growing pains.
Motion
Cannery Station will be a big
job creator, according to Mc-
Glade.
“If you look at a typical assist-
ed living building and memory
care, there are a lot of jobs that are
created, and if you add in a home
healthcare component to that,
you would be looking at a very
significant job creation on a day
to day basis,” he said.
McGlade stated that the in-
dustry itself has seen increases in
income levels, particularly in the
last two years. The jobs would be
“considerably above minimum
wage.” And there’s opportunity
for those without a college edu-
cation to train, gain skills and be
allowed upward mobility.
These would be careers, with
year-round schedules, a possible
relief for many from the boom
and bust job market of a seasonal
vacation town.
“I’m hopeful that people will
find meaningful employment that
would allow them to live in an
apartment building in Cannery,”
he said.
This is not considering the
employment opportunities that
would come with the many shops,
restaurants and businesses that
would populate Cannery.
And McGlade stated that all of
these job opportunities are always
best when filled by local residents.
But a bellwether of growing
pains lies in the construction in-
dustry.
“We don’t have a lot of com-
mercial contractors here,” Farley-
Campbell told the Siuslaw News.
“It’s not a lack of workers, but a
lack of credentials to do the work.
And the right kind of insurance
and certification.”
And the contractors who are in
town have been busy with other
projects.
“There have been people who
have done housing analysis, and
they’ve come back and said, ‘I
can’t get anyone in here to build,’”
FarleyCampbell said. “It’s just ex-
pensive because you have to im-
port workers.”
While McGlade said they
would try to hire locals first, it’s
a probability that he would have
to hire outside. And when this
happens, the housing problem
continues.
A recent housing needs analysis
by the City of Florence found that
more than 500 affordable housing
units are needed in the area. It’s
possible that construction work-
ers could not easily come, rent
a home and set up a family for a
year.
FarleyCampbell stated that sev-
eral times, companies have rented
out hotels for an entire summer,
just to house workers.
After Cannery Station’s phase
one is fully completed, there will
be multiple other job opportu-
nities. It is hard to predict where
those employees come from, and
McGlade hopes that they will
come from the community. But
it’s possible a portion of them
won’t.
See CANNERY page 10A
