Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2017)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM can be difficult. Hermiston recently changed its stan- dards for residential devel- opment — allowing more lot coverage and shorter setbacks — to encourage more homebuilding in the area. City planner Clint Spen- cer said developers are al- ready taking advantage of the new rules, which allow more homes to be placed in subdivisions and therefore increase the profit margin on new developments. He said Hermiston is seeing a “mini-surge” of subdivi- sions, including a new one just approved for Gettman Road. Other nearby cities are also adding new hous- ing. “I’m actually fairly ex- cited for where, regionally, we will be in another year,” he said. Umatilla has had some good luck in housing de- velopment lately too, with construction work just be- ginning on a 28-lot subdivi- sion called Virginia’s Place in McNary across Willa- mette Avenue from the golf course. Another 56-lot sub- division on South Hill east of Powerline Road plans to start construction at the end of the month, according to community development director Tamra Mabbott. She said in the McNary subdivision 25 percent of the lots are already spoken for, and there are a couple more subdivisions in the area that are in planning stages. Mabbott credited city manager Russ Pelleberg for actively calling up contacts in the Tri-Cities and finding developers willing to put up new homes in the Uma- tilla area. She said it can be hard to compete with the larger profit margins that come from building on the west side of the state. “The big challenge is to get developers to come here and build ... here in Umatilla we’re just feel- ing fortunate that we have a couple of developers willing to come in and do something,” she said. HOUSING Continued from Page A1 every year. The housing authority manages 364 low-income units in Uma- tilla County and also dis- tributes Section 8 housing vouchers. Stradley said as the quality of housing stock gets worse and land- lords decline to fix prob- lems, fewer apartments in the area meet HUD stan- dards for vouchers. New apartments in Boardman will likely draw in some people who have been commuting, freeing up some more rentals in places like Hermiston. “Any housing will help relieve some of the over- crowding,” Stradley said. The housing authority purchased a 12-acre piece of land north of Stanfield for a 40-unit rent-subsi- dized housing project to help with shortages there, but its grant application to the state for money to build the project has been unsuccessful three times. The authority plans to sub- mit another application in January, but Stradley said it is hard to get funding because much of it goes to Portland-area projects, and other cities around the state are also low on affordable housing. “For the most part everyone’s feeling the crunch,” he said. Last week the state and county hosted a joint meet- ing in Hermiston to get input on an Oregon State- wide Housing Plan being put together. Government housing assistance programs are based on percentages of median income, which in Umatilla County is $58,100 for 2017. Stradley said the data the federal gov- ernment uses to calculate median income is usually a few years old, so min- imum wage increases or new family-wage jobs take a few years to affect hous- ing eligibility. The HUD website states that Umatil- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 FROM PAGE A1 STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Representatives of R.D. Offutt Company, BC Contracting and Boardman break ground on a new 240 unit apartment complex in Boardman. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS The Aspens Apartments in Hermiston consists of 48 family-sized apartment units that is part of the Umatilla County Housing Authority’s 364 low-income units in the county. la County’s 2017 median income was calculated us- ing U.S. Census data from 2010 to 2014. Hermiston assistant city manager Mark Morgan said he has worked with apartment developers who have looked at building more units in Hermiston, but part of the problem is that the land, labor and ma- terial costs of construction are so high that to pay for it the complex would have to charge more than most people are willing to pay for a rental in Hermiston. Home prices have gone up in the last couple of years, but for a long time if rent went up by very much people would realize they could be putting that mon- ey toward a mortgage pay- ment instead. “You kind of bump up against that threshold,” he said. It doesn’t cost develop- ers that much more to build a complex in Portland or Bend instead, but they can charge hundreds of dollars more per month for each unit after it’s built. And while some companies are focused on benefits like cheap utilities, Morgan said at least one company in the last couple of years decided to build in Pasco, Washing- ton, instead of Hermiston because it would be easier for employees to find hous- ing there. Even for those who can afford to own a home, find- ing something that’s open in the right price range BY THE WAY BTW Continued from Page A1 uated based primarily on violent crime and property crimes. The highest ranking local town, which came in fifth, was Umatilla (vio- lent crimes, 2.42 per 1,000 and property crimes, 11.96 per 1,000). Also ranking in the top 10 was Boardman, who placed ninth (violent crimes, 5.96 per 1,000 and property crimes, 14.92 per 1,000). For the full list, vis- it www.safewise.com/blog/ safest-cities-oregon. • • • You can submit items for our weekly By The Way column by emailing your tips to editor@hermiston- herald.com or share them on social media using the hashtag #HHBTW. Follow the Hermiston Herald on Twitter at @Hermiston- Herald. Inaugural natural resource class includes Echo man Sam Taylor of Echo was selected as one of 30 nat- ural resource professionals from throughout the state in the inaugural class for the REAL (Resource Ed- ucation & Ag Leadership) Oregon program. Other Umatilla County participants include Bob Waldher of Athena and Tom Demianew of Pendle- ton. The individuals were selected from a large pool of applicants and reflect a diversity of resource pro- ducers, agri-businesses, advocacy organizations and government agencies. Bill Buhrig, with Sim- plot Food Group and REAL Oregon board chair, said the response to the pro- gram has been overwhelm- ing. He said the more than 30 applicants exceeded ex- pectations and are a good indicator that the program is long overdue. Oregon, Buhrig said, is modeling its program after a similar program in Idaho. REAL Oregon is a col- laboration of industry and other groups throughout the state that have recog- nized the importance of developing and grooming natural resource leaders now and in the future. In addition to networking opportunities and learning more about the state, the program will bring current and future leaders togeth- er from agriculture, fish- ing and forestry sectors in a series of five statewide sessions starting in No- vember. Class 1 includes 10 in- dividuals directly involved in production agriculture, three in timber produc- tion and forestry, 11 from agri-businesses or natural resource organizations and six from local, state and federal agencies. The in- augural class will conclude in March 2018 and recruit- ment for Class 2 will be underway in the coming months. For more infor- mation, visit www.realore- gon.net. Visit us online at www.HermistonHerald.com For every vehicle purchased, Rogers Toyota of Hermiston will donate to Donation provided by Rogers Toyota of Hermiston. Offer expires 10/31/17. 8 NEW TOYOTA MODELS 0 APR % UP T0 72 MONTHS On approved credit. NEW 2017 TOYOTAS $ IN STOCK NEW 2017 TACOMA DOUBLE CAB SR5 4X4 REBATES UP TO 3 , 500 See dealership for details. 329 $ /MO 0 DOWN WN $ #17th925. On approved credit. $3,500 rebates on New 2017 Sienna models. Some restriction apply. expires 10/31/17. ply pl l y. Off Offer e r exp e expi p ire i re s 1 ir 10/3 0 /3 1/1 0/31/1 0/3 1/ / 1 7. 1 7 . 0% offer: On approved credit. In stock vehicles only. Available through Toyota Financial Service. New 2017 Corolla, Corolla iM, M Camry Camry, Cam C Ca Camry am amry ry y Hyb H Hybrid, b rid id d P Prius ri iu s C r riu C, P Prius riu iu u s i iA, A Ra Rav Rav4, a 4 Ra R Rav Rav4 a 4 Hyb Hybrid. b r id d Of Offer ffer r ex expires x pir irress 10/ 10/31/17. 0/ / 31/ 0 3 17 1 7 New 2017 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab SR5 4x4. Stk# 17th925. Sale $34,395. MSRP $35,593. GFV $27,104. 3 year/12k mile per year lease. $0 down = $329/mo. On approved credit. First payment due upon delivery. Includes tax, title and $75 doc fee. Offer expires 10/31/17.
