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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove Est. 1889 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Cottage Grove football starts the season with a dramatic win B1 Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL By Caitlyn May Cottage Grove Community United encourages dialogue to promote diversity O n Aug. 22, com- munity members and guests came together to discuss hate; where it comes from, what it means and how to elimi- nate it from Cottage Grove. The event, billed as a dis- cussion with guest speakers from around the region, was put on by Cottage Grove Community United as part of an ongoing effort by the group to Promote diversity in the community. Other efforts by the group include the signs on several windows in downtown businesses urg- SquareOne, the non-profit responsible for Opportu- nity Village in Eugene and the forthcoming Cottage Village, both aimed at alle- viating homelessness in the communities they serve. Rabbi Ruhi Rubenstein, Lise Colgan, Vida Ellins and Bill Harris also took part in the discussion that opened with anecdotal instances of hate each panelist had encountered. They told sto- ries of parents keeping their children home from school and students arriving to class hungry because their families hadn’t gone gro- GREG LEE/FOR THE COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL cery shopping; they were afraid to be in public, citing A roundtable discussion between area citizens was held last week in an effort to focus on post 2016 election rhetoric embracing community diversity. surrounding immigration. ing a community “united presence, it is “dedicated to as what binds us to-gether.” There were stories of The Aug. 22 discussion school children drawing against hate” that appeared encouraging and celebrat- earlier this year. According ing diversity, the elements featured panelists Pastor See UNITY 6A to the group’s social media that make us unique as well Dan Bryant who heads CG City Council approval helps tiny house village The ordinance decision clears the first of several logistical challenges for accessory dwellings By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com On Monday, Aug. 27, the Cottage Grove City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would bring the city’s existing accessory dwell- ing codes into line with the state’s updated legislation passed during the last session. The change, essentially, according to city planner Amanda Ferguson, just means a change from allow- ing one accessory dwelling per lot to one accessory dwelling per existing residence. The change follows the state legislatures approval of Senate Bill 1051. However, Cottage Grove has allowed accessory dwell- ings for years prior to the state legislature’s vote. According to Ferguson, it wasn’t uncommon for An artist's rendering of a potential tiny house village in Cottage Grove off of Madison Ave- nue. residences in the city to have apartments over garages or tiny homes in the backyard. And while it may not have been uncommon, the re- newed interest in accessory dwellings and tiny hous- es, along with the clarification in the city code, may help usher at least one tiny neighborhood. Cottage Village Coalition has been meeting for the last three years to discuss solutions to the housing crisis in the region. Nearly two years ago, the group partnered with Eugene-based non-profit SquareOne to obtain a grant to build a tiny house community of 13 dwellings and pur-chased land on Madison Ave. According to the terms of the initial grant from Meyer Memorial Trust, the project was supposed to be com- pleted by the summer of 2018. With the change in the code and renewed interest in tiny houses, the group is hoping to build its first house this fall. According to Cottage Village Coalition’s Bruce Kelsh, the terms of the grant have been extend-ed and the group has the funds to build the first tiny home through the accessory dwelling or-dinance. The exact logistics of electricity and water and how that initial See VILLAGE 7A ‘Zombie houses’ deemed nuisance by council — again City Council voices concerns about ineffectiveness of current nuisance laws in dealing with va- cant homes By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Last Monday night, the city council renewed its search for additional tools to combat the public safety issues caused by abandoned houses within the city’s limits. Planning tech Eric Mongan submitted a memo to the council that outlined the issue noting that the public works and development department had draft- ed code amendments to the city’s nui-sance codes. “Recently, the city has tried unsuccessfully to use the existing nuisance code to abate and de-clare pub- A 'zombie' house on Adams Ave., above, was the subject of arson earlier this year. SPORTS Warriors victorious Community gets its first look at new Harrison Elementary School North Douglas volleyball start off league play with win PAGE B1 INDEX COMMUNITY Ribbon cutting PAGE A3 Rain Country Realty Inc. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Licensed in the State of Oregon wrote. The council heard proposed changes to the current code including the ability to classify build-ings as be- ing vacant and adopt standards for vacant buildings’ security and maintenance. “Before we vote, one thing,” councilor Garland Burback said. “The city can’t do anything on the old Soloman house on 12th and Adams. I think the city needs the ability to find out who owns these places. I want to hold off until the city has a way to deal with these places.” In February of this year, an abandoned house, also known as a zombie house, was the subject of arson when unknown individuals caused the property’s ga- rage to burn down, threatening other houses on the street. The incident came on the back of a lengthy le- gal juggling act on the part of the city to deal with a separate zombie house on S. Sixth Street that had lic nuisances on vacant, derelict and dangerous struc- tures that pose a risk to public health and safety,” he RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246 Calendar ........................................ B9 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM Local group facilitates ‘love, not hate’ cmay@cgsentinel.com WED 83º/51º See NUISANCE 6A City gets funds for housing consultant By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove’s ef- forts to sooth a growing housing crisis is getting a helping hand. The city has been se- lected to receive funds by the Department of Land Conservation and De- velopment through the Oregon Housing Proj- ect — a statewide effort to examine and work to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing with- in the state. The funds will go to- wards hiring a consul- tant to work with the city to identify ways to im- plement a concrete hous- ing plan to address the needs of the city which is currently experiencing a housing crunch and a soaring population of rent burdened residents. According to city plan- ner Amanda Ferguson, the partnership, which is set to end by June 2019, would yield tangible re- sults. “It would render a plan of action that will say ‘do this like urban renew- al or district or change your zoning,’” she said. The housing crunch felt in Cottage Grove is regional, as well as na- tional. Rents continue to rise with averages reaching $1,200-$1,500 in Eugene for a one-bed- room apartment while inventory continues to struggle to keep up with de-mand. Earlier this year, it was announced that the Stewart Building on Main Street would serve as a retail shop with sev- en to eight apartments on the second floor that would be “mid-market” in price and the old hos- pital building adjacent to Community Sharing will be apartments as well. The Department of Land Conservation and Development funds come just as EchoNorth- west finished it analysis on housing needs See HOUSING 7A cgnews@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-3325 ph • (541) 942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove _______________ VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 46 Emerald Valley Armory, LLC Handguns • Long Rifles Concealed carry classes Tues. - Sat. 10-6 147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426 541-895-2666