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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2016)
COMMUNITY B6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 McNary grapples with identity, future By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer A request for a zoning change in Umatilla has revealed conflicting vi- sions for the future of the McNary neighborhood. The city council grap- pled with questions last week about whether to pursue commercial or residential development opportunities on empty lots in McNary, and in the end decided to extend a public hearing to its April 5 meeting in order to give residents a chance to dis- cuss and make their opin- ions heard. “I can see both sides of the coin,” councilor Mark Ribich said. At the heart of the mat- ter is a 9-acre piece of property located on Wil- lamette Avenue across from the Quality Inn. Currently, the property is zoned commercial, but a Pasco-based develop- er called Fastrack Inc. is requesting the city re- zone the property for sin- gle-family dwellings so that it can build 38 new homes. The request sparked a larger conversation: Does the city maintain its vision of McNary as a community where some- day residents could walk down the street to get a haircut, a cup of cof- fee and a new shirt? Or does it give up that land to housing, keeping Mc- Nary largely residential but possibly attracting new families — followed by new businesses — into the city’s tax base? Councilor David Lou- gee called providing more quality housing for fami- lies a “noble effort” that the city should support. “I’ve lived in McNary for 13 years and I like the idea of it being a bedroom community,” he said. Councilor Sharon Farnsworth agreed, not- ing that the property in STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS The Umatilla City Council is looking for input on whether to rezone areas of the McNary subdivision from commercial to residential, which would allow a new housing development. question had been on and off the market for decades and no commercial devel- opers had ever taken the opportunity. The city recently com- pleted a year-long over- haul of its comprehen- sive plan, however, and councilor Mel Ray ques- tioned why the city hadn’t changed the zoning to residential then if it was really the best option. “We’ve only had this comprehensive plan for that area in place for four months. ... All of the sud- den we’re going to throw that whole thing out and build houses?” he asked. Ribich said he thought the city should focus on encouraging develop- ers to build new housing closer to downtown, cre- ating more of a demand for businesses to fill emp- Advising members on the appropriate investment based on their agricultural needs. Old West Federal Credit Union is the number one USDA guaranteed loan servicer headquartered in Oregon. No one knows more about USDA Farm Service Agency Business and Industry loans than Old West. 650 W. Main St. John Day, Oregon (541) 575-0264 • 1-888-575-0264 Fax (5410 575-2538 162 W. 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HARRIS The Umatilla City Council is looking for input on whether to rezone areas of the McNary subdivision from commercial to residential, which would allow a new housing development. home moved on. In 1964 the entire townsite was purchased from the fed- eral government by a pri- vate developer. McNary changed hands again in 1973 when Jerry D. Smith and Asso- ciates purchased the 344- acre site for a reported $750,000 and began sell- ing off the houses there. At the developer’s request the McNary townsite was annexed into Umatilla on Oct. 1, 1973, adding 204 residents to the city. “The townsite will be developed as we see the needs unfold,” developer Shannon Kollmeyer told the Hermiston Herald at the time, noting plans for new apartments, houses and 15 acres set aside for commercial development. Today McNary’s com- mercial offerings are mostly limited to a few offices, McNary Market, the Quality Inn and Big River Golf Course. Fastrack Inc. owner Arnie Wick said he re- cently built two hous- es in McNary, and the first time he and his wife drove through there they wondered why no one had snatched up property across from a golf course and down the street from a school for a housing de- velopment. “We thought, ‘What’s going on here?’” he said. When he found out from Linda Andreason of Miller Realty that the property was zoned com- mercial and had been on the market for most years since 1979, he decided to approach the city about changing the zoning des- ignation so he could build 38 homes with a value of $130,000 to $160,000 each. Andreason said there is a strong demand for ranch-style homes in that price range in Hermiston and Umatilla. “We get phone calls all the time,” she said. “People are looking and there’s not a lot out there for them.” McNary resident Dar- en Dufloth told the city council that he supported the zoning change. “I drive past there all the time and I’ve won- dered the same thing: Why the heck isn’t there anything there?” he said. “If it’s a zoning issue, let’s fix it.” The downside to the proposal is that the de- velopment would leave little room for commer- cial growth in McNary. Approving Fastrack’s request would reduce the amount of buildable commercial land there from 15 acres to 6, spread across five lots. Another concern ex- pressed in planning com- mission documents and at the March 1 meeting is that a crop of tightly spaced new homes would overload resources like parks, schools and on- street parking. Citizens wishing to weigh in on the proposed zoning change can testify at the city’s public hear- ing on April 5 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
