Rural Linn County residents will soon be allowed to site Accessory Dwelling Units on their properties if they meet state and county requirements, Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist and Sherrie Sprenger agreed at their Nov. 4 meeting.
After a brief regular meeting, the commissioners reconvened a public hearing that began at their Oct. 28 meeting. At that time, the commissioners agreed to accept written public comments about the issue until 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.
The Planning & Building Department received three written comments and the commissioners accepted them into the record.
One comment concerned why the county proposed a two-acre minimum instead of a one-acre minimum property size, another focused on why the ADU would need to be placed within 100 feet of the main home, and the third comment was that ADUs larger than 900 square feet should be allowed.
Planning Manager Alyssa Boles said the county is following the state’s Oregon Revised Statutes on all three issues.
Commissioners Nyquist and Sprenger approved the Code Text Amendments and the order will come back for signatures at a later meeting. The Code Text Amendments will take effect 21 days after signing.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Approved the transfer of $75,000 within the General Fund from Materials and Services to Personal Services.
- Approved the purchase of a Falcon Asphalt Hot Box from SealMaster for $82,076.18. The unit holds asphalt at proper temperature while crews are repairing potholes.
- Talked about Stahlbush Island Farms donating five truckloads of food to Linn-Benton Food Share last week in response to the shutdown of the federal government and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Commissioner Nyquist said the donation will provide up to one million servings. Ryan McCambridge, director of Linn-Benton Food Share, also provided the commissioners with a written update about food distribution activity for the first nine months of the year and recent food donations.
- Were asked by Roxie Putman to contact Republic Services to see if a yard debris pick-up program can be developed for rural Albany area residents.
- Announced that a management staff meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the courthouse basement meeting room.
- Announced the Board of Commissioners would not meet Tuesday, Nov. 11, due to the Veterans Day holiday. All Linn County buildings, except the Sheriff’s Office, were to be closed that day.