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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2021)
4 The Columbia Press March 26, 2021 Chelsea: City needs to set development fees in area Continued from Page 1 together to determine what should go in Chelsea Gardens and what it should look like. The results were stunning, if a bit of a reach. At a work session Tuesday night, Scott Hess, the city’s new community development director, and Public Works Director Collin Stelzig asked city commissioners for clarity. “The plans are … conceptual in nature,” Hess said. “Think of it as a very miniature com- prehensive plan. … there will be many onesie-twosie deci- sions over the next 20 yrs.” Normally, zone changes and master-planned communities come at the request of a single developer. But conditions at Chelsea Gardens were insti- gated by the city. City standards put in place for Chelsea Gardens allow up to 350 housing units and 50,000-square-feet of com- mercial space. Trillium House, a four-sto- ry 42-unit affordable housing project, is the first develop- ment proposed in Chelsea Gardens. And it’s unclear how much the city should ask the builder to pay for improvements that will benefit everyone in the area. There are some essential el- ements missing from the mas- ter plan for Chelsea Gardens, Mayor Henry Balensifer said. “Namely, how to ensure the master plan is realized and costed fairly,” he said. The plan needs to ensure “the first and last developers aren’t Spencer West of SERA Ar- chitects shows design ideas to participants at a May 2019 charrette, in- cluding former Community Development Director Kev- in Cronin, in green. City of Warrenton bearing the brunt of the costs. It should be assessed accord- ing to the impacts and size -- fairly.” City planners need to figure out how much the streets, parks, paths, lights and other amenities will cost and devise a fee scheme for each devel- oper to ensure everyone is charged equitably. The city needs to figure out where to put and how to fund a park within the develop- ment, Hess said. Otherwise, “we’ll wind up as we did on Juniper (Avenue). The scrap heap will become the park and it never gets developed.” A second problem centers on traffic. Ensign Lane at Highway 101 – the intersection that hosts traffic from Wendy’s, Home Depot, Costco and Walmart – is likely to see more vehicles after Chelsea Gardens is built out. Other intersections, in- cluding the one at Ensign and Alternate Highway 101, will require improvements. A July 2018 traffic impact study conducted on behalf of the city found that, under the new zoning, the area could generate an additional 359 morning peak-hour trips, 750 evening peak-hour trips, and a total of 8,396 weekday trips. Seven nearby intersections are projected to exceed what Oregon Department of Trans- portation considers the maxi- mum allowable traffic load. Commissioners agreed the intersection improvements need to go in the city’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan and that those who develop in the area pay an equitable share for amenities built with- in the area. Ultimate proper- ty owners will be expected to contribute to funds for the upkeep of parks, trails and utilities. “It’s important to note that this is not to raise revenue,” Balensifer said. “It’s to pay for the improvements.” Trillium House, which is proposed on 14th Place near Alternate Highway, is expect- ed to come before the Plan- ning Commission at its April 8 meeting. Election: Only 4 of 35 districts have challengers Continued from Page 1 small business owner. Zone 2, Position 3: Bob Duehmig of Astoria, inter- im director of Oregon Office of Rural Health; Trudy Van Dusen Citovic of Astoria, co-owner Van Dusen Bever- ages; Christina Secord of As- toria, a real estate agent. Zone 3, Position 5: Rosemary Baker-Monaghan of Seaside, incumbent, a self-employed consultant. Zone 3, Position 6: David Zunkel of Warrenton, a re- tired physician; Suzanne Iver- son of Astoria, retired college instructor and former small business owner. To see the full list of contest- ed races in other parts of the county, go to thecolumbia- press.com.