A6
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
City to consider rezoning Kam Wah Chung lots
Main Street
parking space
lines could be
repainted
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The city took another step
toward consolidating the lots
around the Kam Wah Chung
State Heritage Site, as the
John Day Planning Commis-
sion looked at rezoning the
properties at their Sept. 11
meeting.
The state Parks and Rec-
reation Department is consid-
ering acquiring the city park
properties that include the
Gleason Pool facility as part
of a master plan to improve
the historical Chinese land-
mark for increased tourism.
The department’s rezoning
request grew out of a variance
request to allow a volunteer
park host for the Kam Wah
Chung site to park an RV on
site during the tourist season.
City Manager Nick Green
John Day Mayor
Ron Lundbom
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
John Day City Manager Nick Green updates the city
council about progress toward the city’s economic
development goals on Sept. 11.
said the lots owned by the
state, as well as the city lots
the state wants to acquire, are
zoned general commercial
and residential limited. Both
zoning districts prohibit peo-
ple from living in RVs outside
of a mobile park.
Instead of a variance, he
suggested rezoning all the
lots as park reserve, the same
Grant County
as the Grant County Fair-
grounds. The rezoning would
also conform with the Parks
and Recreation Department’s
plans for the Kam Wah Chung
site.
Chris Labhart, a volunteer
at the historic site, noted that
once the properties are zoned
park reserve RV parking could
be allowed as a conditional
use. Currently the volunteer
hosts park their RVs at Clyde
Holliday State Park, but they
would be willing to stay longer
if they could park close to the
Kam Wah Chung site.
Green laid out a timeline
for the rezoning process. The
planning commission will see
the request at their Oct. 23
meeting along with the city’s
annexation request for the for-
mer Oregon Pine mill site and
a property recently acquired
from the Hills, he said.
At the city council meet-
ing following the planning
commission meeting, Sherrie
Rininger, owner of the down-
town store “etc.,” asked the
city to consider repainting
the yellow and white lines on
curbs along Main Street to
control parking.
Councilor Dave Holland
explained that the city stopped
repainting the lines a number
of years ago because of cost.
Rininger said large vehicles
were not just taking up more
than one parking space but
blocking views of her build-
ing from passing vehicles. She
said she spoke to Public Works
Director Monte Legg about the
matter, and he told her people
don’t obey parking space lines.
Councilor Shannon Adair, a
part owner of the 1188 Brew-
ing pub and restaurant on Main
Street, said oversized vehicles
parking downtown was a com-
mon problem and she support-
ed Rininger. Adair noted that
she and Rininger have talked
about forming a downtown
merchants association, which
would discuss various down-
town issues including parking.
Mayor Ron Lundbom not-
ed he’s seen pickups with long
trailers parked in front of Len’s
Drug taking up several spaces.
Councilor Brandon Smith,
however, wanted to know
where oversized vehicles
could park in the downtown
area.
Green said he would see
about getting the lines repaint-
ed, but any effort to change
parking regulations might take
more time.
Green also updated the
council on talks with the state
Department of Environmental
Quality about a brownfield
grant that could be used for as-
bestos abatement at the down-
town Weaver Building.
The city purchased the
building in 2017 after discus-
sions with downtown mer-
chants in order to see it re-
stored as a mixed-use building
with commercial businesses
on the ground floor and res-
idential units on the second
floor.
If awarded the grant, the
city could strip the upper floor
down to structural framing,
which would make it a more
attractive investment proper-
ty, Green said. The city could
then put the property on the
market.