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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2019)
REGION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Hermiston wins Urban Renewal Project of the Year By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR I n 2017, the opening of a new Holiday Inn Express kicked off a transformation of one of Hermiston’s most visible inter- sections, bridging the city’s east- west divide. On Monday, the city was awarded Urban Renewal Project of the Year by the Oregon Eco- nomic Development Association for its work in building a festival street and supporting the $7 mil- lion hotel and other private devel- opment downtown. “These projects have changed the face of downtown Hermis- ton for the better, combining pub- lic planning and private invest- ment to create a more attractive and cohesive core,” Mayor Dave Drotzmann said in a statement. The hotel property on the cor- Contributed photo by the city of Hermiston Hermiston Avenue in 2016 and 2019. ner of Hermiston Avenue and Highway 395 was a former Tum- a-Lum Lumber yard. Accord- ing to a news release, the city of Hermiston invested $80,000 in assisting the developer with moving a sewer main and vacat- ing an adjacent portion of West Ridgeway Avenue. The Hermis- ton Urban Renewal Agency then awarded the hotel $36,000 in facade grants. Local developer Mitch Myers sold the yard to Holiday Inn, and after the hotel was built he devel- oped properties around it, includ- ing the Maxwell Event Center, Maxwell Pavilion, landscaped parking and the addition of a sec- ond kitchen to the Hermiston Brewing Company in order to cater to the hotel and event center. The city provided assistance to some of those projects, according to the release, including a $10,000 grant for parking development in exchange for public use of the lot. The city also constructed a $1 million festival street a block away, which has hosted events this summer, such as MelonFest and SpudFest. Next to the fes- tival street, a private business recently opened the Union Club coffee shop and bar, assisted by a $10,000 facade grant from the urban renewal agency. The projects fell in line with results from a 2015 “Livable Hermiston” community study, which included the need for more event space, restaurants and hotels. The Oregon Economic Devel- opment Association is a statewide nonprofi t that supports economic development professionals. The city of Hermiston was recognized at its annual conference in Salem. Council disagrees with planning commission over mini-storage project By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The Hermiston City Coun- cil decided Monday that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, siding with a mini-stor- age project on land that the planning commission had hoped might be preserved for a restaurant or store. The property in question is a triangle-shaped 9-acre piece of land stretching between Highway 395 and Northeast Fourth Street on the north side of Rogers Toyota. The tip of the triangle is 40 feet of access off of the highway, which then stretches to 600 feet on Fourth Street. Steve Richards, who recently build Highland Mini Storage in Hermis- ton and owns storage facil- ities in Pendleton and Stan- fi eld, hopes to purchase the property and create another mini storage facility with a live-in caretaker on the back 5 acres of the property, border- ing Fourth Street. To do so, he would need the city to approve a Neighborhood Commercial Overlay on the current com- mercial zoning. City Planner Clint Spencer told the council that the plan- ning commission thought the property — one of the few undeveloped pieces left along Highway 395 in town — could someday attract a restaurant or other retail operation that will only build on roads with high traffi c counts. The city has dis- cussed the possibility of cre- ating an urban renewal dis- trict and placing a road on the north side of the property to help make it more attractive to such a business. “They felt mini-storage was not the highest and best use of the property,” he said. City Manager Byron Smith said he hears all the time from residents who want the city to attract more restaurants and retail, and while Hermiston also needs storage units, he felt many people would prefer to see that particular space go to something else. Richards, however, said that the property has several limitations he felt will continue to keep retailers out, includ- ing a 100-foot-wide Bureau of Reclamation easement run- ning through the property and the narrow 40-foot access off of Highway 395. “There’s not a lot of visibil- ity there,” he said. He said other properties zoned for mini-storage were too small, and pointed out that he only planned to pur- chase 5 of the 9 acres, leaving the land closest to Highway 395 open. And even if the city kept the current zoning, he said, he could still build other non-restaurant options such as a car wash, RV park or laun- dromat without needing the city’s permission. He said area storage units currently have a 93% occu- pancy rate and many Herm- iston residents are spending their money outside of Herm- iston for their storage needs. Out of 112 doors he knocked on, he said, 107 residents signed a petition in favor of the project. City councilors were not all in agreement about the idea. Roy Barron said he didn’t want to be hasty about allowing mini-storage there when city staff were still look- ing at running a road through the property that would make it more attractive for retail. “I don’t want us to be short-sighted in jumping on an opportunity, when we do have other plans,” he said. Councilor Rod Hardin, who lives near Richards’ Highland project, said those facilities were attractive and improved the neighborhood, and he thought the proposed project would do the same. Mayor David Drotzmann and several other councilors said the land had been sitting vacant for many years and no one had wanted it so far. They noted that creating an urban renewal district and building a road there would be years in the future and was no guaran- tee that someone would build there afterward. “I’ve never seen anyone interested in that property,” Manuel Gutierrez said. In the end, Gutierrez, Har- din, Doug Primmer and Doug Smith voted in favor of chang- ing the zoning, while Barron and Jackie Myers voted no. Spencer said he would bring the proper resolution before the council at their next meet- ing for offi cial adoption. The council also voted Monday to vacate an undevel- oped right-of-way in its South Hermiston Industrial Park to clear the way for a major developer. The portion of Southeast 10th Street between Penney Avenue and Feedville Road exists only on paper right now, and the city’s transportation master plan does not note a need to create an actual road there in the future. Spencer said the right of way runs straight down the middle of a property slated for major development through Hermiston’s long-term enter- prise zone, and giving up the right of way to the devel- oper would not landlock any properties. Join us for a retirement open house Phyllis (Gilbert) Bracher Saturday, Nov. 2nd 3-5:30pm Phyllis attended Pendleton College of Beauty in 1971 & ‘72 and received her license in January of 1973. She worked 6 months at The Personality Coffures, 10 1/2 years at Carol’s Carousel and then moved to Buttercreek Salon, where she has been for 37 years. 315 SW 11th Street Hermiston, OR 541-567-2911 THE BEST VALUE IN WIRELESS UNLIMITED DATA Good Shepherd Health Care System’s SECOND ANNUAL Community Meeting /MO. /M WITH 4 LINES With special guest speaker, Marcus Engel, author of five best-selling books, honorary doctorate awardee from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame. Good Shepherd Health Care System cordially invites you to our 2nd Annual Community Meeting and Health Fair. Join us for an evening of fun, food, raffle prizes, and, most importantly, learn about the positive impact GSHCS is having on the communities we serve with President & CEO Dennis E. Burke. Flu Shots available from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Limited Supply, First-Come, First-Served Wednesday, October 30, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Hermiston High School Commons & Auditorium 600 S 1st St Hermiston, OR, 97838 RSVP 541.667.3509 Or register on Eventbrite at https://gshcsannualcommunity meeting.eventbrite.com 1565 N. 1st St., Hermiston, 541-289-8722 Data may be temporarily slower than other traffic in times of congestion. Video streams at up to 480p (DVD quality). Credit approval and Auto Pay/Paperless Billing required. Additional terms apply. Things we want you to know: New unlimited plan and Customer Service Agreement required. New unlimited plan does not include hotspot functionality or Payback Credit. Existing customers may switch to new unlimited plans but, in most cases, any previous promotional credits requiring a Total Plan Unlimited or Unlimited Plus Plan subscription will not transfer. 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