Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home Planning Commission approved a new 14-lot planned development and subdivision on east Long Street Monday night.
The new subdivision, located at 3715 Long St., is tucked into among housing on 35th and 38th avenues, across Long Street from Sunshine Industries.
The subdivision was proposed by Salem resident Ty Moore of Homes Handcrafted, Inc.
The planned development drew concern from neighbors about drainage.
“He starts building things up, it’ll be like a dam,” neighbor Jerry Milligan said. The area already has drainage problems, and he has had water running through his shop.
“It’ll act like a dam if they don’t design this right,” Jim McCorkhill said.
John Strickler, director of Sunshine Idustries, and neighbor Judy Gaskey echoed concerns about drainage.
Don and Sally Pelham also were concerned about children crossing their property at the south end of the development to reach the Hawthorne ball fields.
Joe Graybill, the city’s senior engineering technician, told the Planning Commission that drainage plans for the subdivision, which will include some work in drainage lines in the area, should not add to the area’s existing drainage problems. He thinks the work may even mitigate some of the existing problems.
Commissioners approved the development on the conditions that it meets city staff approval for drainage, includes rolled curbs to allow fire trucks to turn by pulling onto the sidewalk and build a fence to prevent children from crossing neighboring properties.
The property is narrow, so the individual lots are a little shallower than the usual 100 feet, said Dan Watson, an engineer representing the applicant. They are a little wider than usual to compensate for the shallow depth of the lots.
As a result, the cul de sac is only 90 feet in diameter instead of the required 96 feet for fire trucks, but Fire Chief Mike Beaver suggested it would be all right as long as rolled curbs were used.
The development also includes variances. Two lots will not meet minimum setback requirements at the edge of the cul de sac, and the four lots on the cul de sac will not meet minimum public frontage requirements as a result even though they are the largest lots in the subdivision. The project also will not include a “beauty strip” between the sidewalk and road because the project is so narrow overall.
Moore intends to begin building this summer.
In other business, commissioners approved a variance from minimum public frontage requirements for a partition of one lot into two at the east end of Vine Street. The request was by Justification Holdings.
The commission required an extension of Vine Street be dedicated as city right-of-way to service provide access to a neighboring lot.