NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
Council, planning
commission discuss
zoning updates
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
A new state housing law
taking eff ect soon is forc-
ing adjustments to Hermis-
ton’s residential codes.
The Hermiston City
Council
and
Plan-
ning Commission held a
joint work session Mon-
day, March 22, to dis-
cuss how to handle the
zoning requirements for
House Bill 2001, which
in part requires duplexes
to be allowed in all hous-
ing zones and prohibits cit-
ies from placing diff erent
requirements on duplexes
than single family dwell-
ings. If cities don’t rewrite
their code by June 30, City
Planner Clint Spencer said,
then the state has provided
its own model code that
will take eff ect instead.
“We’ve had some very
spirited discussion regard-
ing how best to imple-
ment and adopt the duplex
housing standards,” Spen-
cer said of the planning
commission.
The new law means
duplexes will be allowed
in the city’s R-1 zone,
where previously only sin-
gle family dwellings were
allowed. For minimum lot
sizes and a list of other
standards, the city essen-
tially has three options
under the new law, all
of which were discussed
during the March 22
work session. It can allow
duplexes to be built to the
standards currently applied
to single family homes,
which would allow for
more crowded neighbor-
hoods. It can start holding
single family dwellings to
the standards for duplexes,
which would make devel-
opment more expensive
for developers of new sin-
gle family subdivisions. Or
it can create a new stan-
dard that falls somewhere
in the middle.
The law was passed in
an eff ort to provide Ore-
gonians with more housing
choices by making it eas-
ier for developers to build
more types of aff ordable
housing. But some com-
ponents of the law, partic-
ipants in the meeting com-
plained, weren’t written
with rural communities in
mind. The law states that
cities cannot require devel-
opers to provide more than
one parking space per unit,
for example, even though
studies show rural house-
holds are more likely
to have more than one
vehicle.
“The legislation was
written with the assump-
tion that everyone has one
and a bike and that’s not
the way of life in Hermis-
ton,” Spencer said.
Planning
commis-
sion members told the
city council that due to
the June deadline, they
wanted to get input before
they started going down a
path the city council didn’t
like and ran out of time to
change course. Over the
course of more than an
hour, city councilors made
suggestions and asked
questions about possible
solutions to address con-
cerns about density.
Most ended the meet-
ing by saying they would
prefer to see the city main-
tain its standards for sin-
gle family dwellings for
both types of housing for
now, to meet the state’s
deadline, but continue to
study the issue and pos-
sibly make some adjust-
ments to some standards in
the future.
“Between now and June
30, the time is too crunched
to make any really altering
decisions,” Councilor Roy
Barron said.
During the regular city
council meeting, which
followed the work session,
councilors voted to autho-
rize City Manager Byron
Smith to accept a grant
from the Federal Aviation
Administration to recon-
struct the “apron” at the
Hermiston Municipal Air-
port where airplanes can
park once they land on the
runway.
Assistant City Manager
Mark Morgan said the FAA
grant will cover 90% of
the $2 million project, and
a $150,000 grant from the
state will help cover most
of the rest of the local match
of $200,000. He said there
was also rumor that as part
of the latest federal stimu-
lus package, known as the
American Rescue Plan, the
FAA may end up funding all
its grants 100% this year.
“It’s looking like our
(contribution) will be quite
small, perhaps zero,” Mor-
gan said.
Video of the full work
session and city coun-
cil meeting can be
found at youtube.com/
watch?v=5ZPa9x_1UOo.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Fire bond on the May ballot
for Hermiston voters
HERMISTON HERALD
Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 is asking vot-
ers to approve a bond that
would help the fi re district
cover equipment, vehicle
and facility upgrades.
If voters approve Mea-
sure 30-148 during the May
18 election, the 20-year
bond package would raise
$13.1 million for the fi re
district and add 23 cents per
$1,000 of assessed value to
property taxes in the dis-
trict, which covers Herm-
iston, Stanfi eld and the Hat
Rock area.
UCFD
Fire
Chief
Scott Stanton said contin-
ued population growth in
the area is creating new
challenges for the dis-
trict to continue to meet
Hermiston Herald, File
New decals adorn the door of a Umatilla County Fire District
No. 1 engine at the main station in Hermiston in 2017. The
district is seeking voter approval of a $13.1 million bond.
the accompanying rise in
demand for services.
“At peak service times,
including summer fi re sea-
son, outdated vehicles and
Hermiston School District shuffl es
administrators to new roles
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston School Dis-
trict is moving some of its
administrators around to
new jobs next year to fi ll
open positions from within.
The district announced
that Director of Student
Services Neely McKay will
service as director of spe-
cial programs. McKay had
been serving in the posi-
tion on an interim position
during the current school
year in addition to her job
in student services, but will
permanently fi ll the director
of special programs posi-
tion starting July 1.
Desert View Elemen-
tary School Principal Dan-
iel Greenough will become
the new director of student
services, according to the
news release, drawing on
his experience working as
a principal of both elemen-
tary and high school stu-
dents over his career.
Sandstone
Middle
School Assistant Principal
David Melville will move
to Desert View to replace
Decorate your car!
Limited Entries!
2PM
April 2nd
Greenough as principal. His
past experience includes
teaching and a position
as a high school dean of
students.
Joshua Browning, an
instructional coach who has
been training teachers in the
district and working with
data to help meet student
needs, has been named the
new principal of Loma Vista
Elementary School. The
new school is scheduled
to open in fall 2022, and
Browning will help hire
staff and plan for its open-
ing over the course of the
next year while the build-
ing is under construction.
The most valuable and
respected source of local news,
advertising and information for
our communities.
www.eomediagroup.com
Reserve your lane online at wildhorseresort.com!
AT
Sun Terrace - Presents
Easter
Car Parade
equipment become a real
concern,” he said. “We need
safe and healthy personnel
to make sure we can protect
the residents and property in
western Umatilla County.”
According to a news
release, a citizen over-
sight committee would be
formed to oversee use of
the funds.
Projects funded by the
bond would include:
• Safety apparatus for
responders, such as pro-
tective equipment and
portable radio systems
• Fire station renova-
tions that would cre-
ate separate quarters for
male and female person-
nel, new roofi ng, alert
systems and expanded
vehicle bays
engine
• Upgraded
exhaust systems to bet-
ter protect personnel
health
• Upgraded fi re and
ambulance vehicles
FAMILY PACKAGE
MON–THU
$
45
Prices subject to change.
BRING THE
WHOLE GANG
AND ENJOY
BOWLING
& PIZZA!
Includes:
h 90 Minutes Bowling
h Shoe Rental
h One Large Pizza
(up to 3 toppings)
Package is good for up to six people.
Receive a goodie
bag at end of
parade route!
Call 541-564-2595
To reserve your spot!
Entry Deadline:
Thursday
April 1st
ARCADE BONUS CREDITS
BUY MORE GET MORE!
PURCHASE
PURCHASE
PURCHASE
PURCHASE
Get 80 Credits
Get 160 Credits
Get 240 Credits
Get 400 Credits
GET AN
ADDITIONAL
GET AN
ADDITIONAL
GET AN
ADDITIONAL
GET AN
ADDITIONAL
$
20
$
40
$
60
20
48
80
BONUS
CREDITS
BONUS
CREDITS
BONUS
CREDITS
CASINO • HOTEL • GOLF • CINEPLEX • RV
MUSEUM • DINING • TRAVEL PLAZA • FUNPLEX
Call Pam 541-564-2595 for assistance!
Check out our virtual tour on Youtube: Search for
Sun Terrace Hermiston
800.654.9453 • PENDLETON, OR • I-84, EXIT 216 • wildhorseresort.com. Owned and operated by CTUIR
$
100
160
BONUS
CREDITS