Benny Westcott
The Sweet Home Planning Commission on Thursday, Sept. 1, unanimously approved two additions to the city.
The decisions will now go to the city council for final approval.
The commission cleared Mosaic Development Services to dedicate a public right-of-way to the city that is currently two private roads, Mountain Fir Street and Mountain Fir Court.
Mosaic owns Wiley Creek Assisted Living as well as Wiley Creek Memory Care, the latter of which is now under construction.
Community and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen wrote in a memorandum that the roads’ existing infrastructure was built to meet city specifications so it could eventually be dedicated to the city.
When the commission discussed the matter at its Aug. 4 meeting, commissioners expressed two concerns: maintenance of any landscaping on the roadway’s south side, and the construction of a sidewalk in the area, where none currently exists.
Mosaic agreed to retain a strip of land on the south side of the roadway bordering land owned by the neighboring homeowners’ association. By retaining this strip, Mosaic would also be responsible for maintaining its landscaping.
Given the lack of any development on the south side of Mountain Fir Street, Larsen advised in his memo that city staff believed a sidewalk was not necessary at this time.
“City practice has been to require sidewalks on streets where development is present, and to allow developers to enter into development agreements with the city to construct such sidewalks when development occurs,” the memo read. “We have suggested such an agreement to Mosaic, and they have indicated that they are willing to commit to building a sidewalk on the south side of Mountain Fir” when future development occurs.
But planning commissioners opted to approve the dedication only under the condition that a sidewalk be built on the south side of the street when the street is dedicated to the city.
The commission also approved an application to annex an approximately 174,896-square-foot (3.97-acre) property at 1118 47th Ave. in the City of Sweet Home’s urban growth boundary, into the city limits.
The approval included changing the zoning of the property from Linn County’s Urban Growth Area-Farm/Forest Zone to the City of Sweet Home’s Low Density Residential (R-1) Zone.
Applicant Katherine Thrash said she purchased the property in 1995 and the septic has failed.
“I need city services for the sewer and the water,” she explained. “With the drought conditions, my water suffers this time of year. The well just can’t keep up. Everybody in the area is having that problem, but everybody else is in the city.”
Thrash added that the property’s previous owner fought to keep it out of the city, something to which she was not averse.
“I’m very excited to get it in the city and have reliable water and sewer,” she said.
The Sweet Home City Council will host a hearing on the proposed annexation at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, at City Hall.