NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Council OKs annexation for subdivision
The 20 acres off Punkin
Center Road may see
100 homes, a park
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The Hermiston City
Council voted unanimously
to annex 20 acres of land
off East Punkin Center for
a new subdivision on Mon-
day, citing the city’s need for
more affordable homes.
“I think turning away 100
homes in that area when our
number one goal is hous-
ing — I think that would be
a mistake,” councilor Roy
Barron said.
MonteVista Homes plans
to build a 100-lot, single
family dwelling subdivision
with a public park and walk-
ing trail on the property,
which connects to Punkin
Center on the north, the cur-
rently dead-ended Northeast
Sixth Street to the south and
Bellavista Court to the west.
The annexation was fi rst
discussed by the council on
Feb. 24, when several neigh-
bors showed up to oppose
the project. They asked the
city council to turn North-
east Sixth Street into a cul
de sac instead of extending it
through the new subdivision
as planned because they did
not want to see more traffi c
through their neighborhood.
Others opposed the pro-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Residents near a quiet section of Northeast Sixth Street in Hermiston have expressed concerns
over the extension of their street to help provide access to a 100-home subdivision off East
Punkin Center Road.
posed 5,000-square-foot lot
sizes as too small, according
to the minutes of the meet-
ing, stating that larger lot
sizes would maintain prop-
erty values in the neighbor-
hood and ensure that chil-
dren living in the homes
would have a yard to play in
safely. Some neighbors also
expressed concern that add-
ing a public park to the area
would also bring additional
traffi c to their neighborhood.
When the city council
voted 4-2 to approve the
annexation, however, city
attorney Gary Luisi pointed
out that city ordinances must
either pass unanimously or
pass with at least fi ve votes
at two separate meetings.
On Monday night, when
the issue was revisited, a
neighbor to the property
told the council he wasn’t
opposed to a development
there but would like to see
larger lots required, even if
it meant removing the park
and trail from the plan.
Luke
Pickerill
and
Steve Wilson of Monte-
Vista Homes were on hand
Monday night to encourage
the council to approve the
annexation. They pointed
out that 5,000 square foot
lots are allowable in the
R-3 zone where the prop-
erty is located. They said
the R-3 zone also allows
for multi-family apartment
complexes, meaning roads
in the area were designed to
be able handle far more den-
sity than they’re proposing.
City planner Clint Spen-
cer clarifi ed that the plat
for the project, outlining its
design, had already been
approved by the planning
commission, based on the
commission’s determination
there was adequate access
to the subdivision. The city
council was merely deciding
on whether to annex the land
into the city.
The houses are planned
for somewhere around
$260,000 — a lower price
point than recent subdivi-
sions. Pickerill said fami-
lies right now are wanting
to move to Hermiston but
are being forced to settle in
a nearby town because they
can’t fi nd something in their
price range.
“Families come through,
and I’m hearing all the time
that there are not homes they
can afford,” he said.
Councilor John Kir-
wan was inclined to agree
with Pickerill. He said peo-
ple want housing “the way
it used to be” in Hermis-
ton, with one-acre lots in
city limits, but that just
isn’t fi nancially feasible for
developers anymore.
Barron agreed, saying he
wanted to see more families
in Hermiston be able to fi nd
homes they could afford and
be proud of. He also said he
was bothered by some of
the comments at the Feb. 24
meeting, including the “neg-
ativity” expressed about
having a park in their part of
town and allowing extension
of Sixth Street to relieve
traffi c on Punkin Center.
“If Sixth Street is not
punched through, that makes
it harder for other citizens,”
he said.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann reminded every-
one that a few years ear-
lier, companies were telling
the city they didn’t want to
locate in Hermiston because
they were concerned there
wasn’t enough housing to
support the workforce they
would need. The city made
increasing housing one of its
top goals, and had meetings
with housing developers and
other stakeholders to fi nd
out what was holding them
back. Developers said the
cost of land was the num-
ber one barrier, he said, and
so the city reduced lot size
requirements to help devel-
opments pencil out.
“All the work we’ve
done over the last few years
is coming to fruition in this
project,” he said.
Councilors Jackie Myers
and Manuel Gutierrez both
expressed concern over the
safety of increasing traffi c
on Punkin Center, and said
they wanted the city to work
with the county on improv-
ing safety there. But Myers
also said she understood the
need for more housing in
the area. Although both had
voted against the annexation
in February, they voted in
favor of it on Monday, along
with councilor Doug Prim-
mer, who had been absent
previously, giving the ordi-
nance the unanimous vote it
needed to pass.
Health offi cials continue to provide COVID-19 updates
that they can offer lifesav-
ing care to those who need
it, when they need it. Num-
ber two is we need to protect
the elderly and the medically
fragile because it is increas-
ingly clear that those indi-
viduals are at high risk of
serious complications and
death.”
That high risk is illus-
trated by the death toll so
far in the United States — as
of Tuesday, 22 of the coun-
try’s 28 deaths are in Seat-
tle, where the virus spread in
a nursing home. Worldwide,
about 118,000 cases have
been diagnosed, with 4,264
deaths.
While people are asked
to be cautious in helping to
slow the spread of COVID-
19, health offi cials have
emphasized that people
should not panic or resort to
prejudice.
Joe Fiumara, director
of Umatilla County Health
Department, said they have
been hearing reports of prej-
udice against people of
Asian decent and against
members of the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation based
on unfounded fears they
may be more likely to have
the virus. He reminded peo-
ple that COVID-19 does not
target people of any certain
race, ethnicity or country of
origin, and people should
not make assumptions about
someone’s health status
based on those factors.
“Viruses don’t care where
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
After a Umatilla County
resident tested positive for
COVID-19 last week, pos-
itive cases in Oregon have
jumped to 15, with fi ve of
those cases hospitalized.
All but one of the 15
cases is a “presumptive pos-
itive,” meaning the sample
tested positive in a state lab
but under current Centers
for Disease Control guide-
lines aren’t offi cial until they
have been verifi ed by a sec-
ond test in a CDC lab.
One hundred and sixty
fi ve tests have come back
negative and 52 results were
pending as of Monday. Three
of those negative tests were
Umatilla County residents
who had close contact with
the resident who tested pos-
itive last week.
On Monday Oregon State
Health epidemiologist Dr.
Dean Sidelinger said the
patients involved had not
traveled to a region with
COVID-19 recently or had
contact with a known case,
indicating they contracted
the virus from people whose
cases have gone undetected.
“We do think that even
though we are reporting
14 cases that this disease is
much more widespread in
our community,” he said.
Guidelines outlined by
public health professionals at
Monday’s news conference
and by the CDC include:
• If you are sick, do not
leave your home until at
least 24 hours after all
symptoms, including a
cough, are gone. If your
symptoms are not severe
enough that you would
have sought medical care
for them in the past, there
is no need to visit a doc-
tor’s offi ce now. If you do
decide to seek care, call
ahead so that the offi ce
can take precautions.
• People over age 60 and
Contributed by CDC
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention shows the novel coronavirus.
people with underlying
health conditions are most
at risk for serious compli-
cations from COVID-19.
The CDC recommends
people in those categories
avoid large gatherings
such as sporting events
for now to minimize their
risk of exposure.
• Wash your hands fre-
quently with soap and
water, or use hand san-
itizer with at least 60%
alcohol if you’re not
able to wash your hands.
Take particular care to do
so before eating, cook-
ing taking in/out contacts
or touching your face.
Cough or sneeze into
a tissue and wash your
hands afterward. Sani-
tize frequently-touched
surfaces regularly. Avoid
people who are sick.
• Those who are host-
ing large gatherings are
asked to emphasize in
their advertising that no
one who is sick should
attend, and be prepared
to ask people who are
sick to leave. Organizers,
along with businesses,
schools and other gath-
ering places, should do
what they can to provide
hand washing areas and
other sanitary measures.
• Seek
information
from credible sources
such as public health
departments.
• Get a fl u shot. It won’t
protect from coronavirus,
but it will help keep the
number of people being
treated for the fl u down
as medical providers are
using resources to treat
COVID-19.
During Monday’s news
conference, Jennifer Vines,
the lead public health offi cer
for Multnomah, Clackamas
and Washington counties,
said while most COVID-19
patients experience mild to
moderate symptoms, precau-
tions such as “social distanc-
ing” help protect the more
vulnerable
populations.
It also helps the outbreak
spread more slowly, which
can help keep resources such
as hospital beds and venti-
lators from becoming over-
whelmed during a spike in
cases.
“With no vaccine and no
treatment, we have two goals
right now,” she said. “The
fi rst is to slow the spread of
the virus enough to keep our
health systems running, so
you live, who you are or
where you come from,”
he said. “They’re equal
opportunity.”
He also reiterated that
unlike some diseases such as
measles, merely being in the
same room as someone car-
rying the virus is not enough
to infect someone. Respira-
tory viruses like COVID-19
spread when carried through
tiny droplets from an infected
person to the nose, mouth, or
eyes of someone else. Often
that happens while standing
within six feet of someone
while they sneeze or cough.
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