McLoughlin Neighborhood Association

Noteworthy Articles that Affect the Hood

Proposal for Oregon City Wal-Mart delayed

01/20/03

SARAH HUNSBERGER

OREGON CITY -- It will be at least another month before the planning commission begins the long and complicated process of deciding whether to allow a Wal-Mart store in Oregon City.


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The first public hearing had been scheduled for late January, and the city planners' analysis of the proposal -- which would recommend approving or denying the plan -- was to have been released Friday.

But the developer, PacLand of Clackamas, requested more time to talk with the city and provide additional information the city requested, including new architectural drawings, said associate planner Christina Robertson-Gardiner.

The developer needs city approval of changes in zoning and the city's comprehensive plan, the document that lays out how the city should grow.

Part of the land where the Wal-Mart is proposed includes residential-zoned property near Hilltop Lane. The property also includes the site of Dale's Auto Wrecking and a vacant lot near Beavercreek Road and Molalla Avenue.

On Friday, the city sent PacLand a letter with a list of still-needed documents.

The city asked for an updated traffic-impact statement that provides a worst-case scenario for how the store could affect traffic in Oregon City.

The city also asked for a revised hydrology report and more information on how the project would comply with sections of the comprehensive plan relating to housing and commercial need.

The letter listed more than a dozen approval criteria that the Wal-Mart proposal does not meet, based on information the city has received.

According to the letter, the proposal falls short on several criteria involving transportation and is not consistent with the Molalla Avenue Boulevard and Bikeway Improvements Plan, an ongoing project to calm traffic on one of the city's main roads and make the street safer for pedestrians and bicycles.

The city is continuing to take issue with the building design. Some of the required elements that the letter says are missing from the proposal include: A minimum of 60 percent windows in the front of large retail buildings. Walls broken up with other architectural elements so they're not a flat plane. Facades that face public streets with arches, awnings, entry areas or other elements. Roof treatments that include cornices or some other architectural element beyond stripes or bands.

Once the developer submits more information, the city planning department will complete its review and make a recommendation.

The planning commission is scheduled to have its first public hearing in late February.

The city has received fewer than a dozen letters opposing the project. Most of those who oppose the project live near the store site and are concerned about traffic congestion, visual appeal of the building, and economic affects on small businesses.

The planning commission will make a recommendation to the city commission, which will make the final decision. Sarah Hunsberger: 503-294-5922; shunsberger@news.oregonian.com

Keith Brown building supply closes quickly, quietly

01/15/03
JEREMY LANG
OREGON CITY -- Keith Brown Building Materials closed its Oregon City store Tuesday, citing lost revenue from summer construction on Molalla Avenue and the recent opening of a Home Depot store. Ken Brock, the company's operations manager, said the Salem-based company will try to keep contractors, more than half its business, coming to the Parkrose and Molalla stores.
The lumber and hardware supply store closed suddenly and with little fanfare. Although many shelves were bare, there were no advertised close-out sales or a sign announcing the decision, which was made Friday. Store manager Patrick Doody said he did not find out until Monday.
The merchandise will be transferred to the other 10 Keith Brown stores in Oregon, and the company is looking for jobs for the six employees. "As of right now, we haven't found homes for everybody," Doody said.
Traffic snarls on Molalla Avenue during summer water pipe replacement and road construction had a serious effect on business during peak building time, Brock said. Competition from a Home Depot that opened in May at Washington Street and Oregon 213 and a tepid economy hurt business more.
City Manager Brian Nakamura said he expected businesses along Molalla Avenue to face financial setbacks during construction. He said he is disappointed to see a local business fold, especially one with a long history in Oregon City.
Keith Brown acquired the store in 1999 from Copeland Lumber Yards, one of 15 lumberyards the privately owned company bought when Copeland's owners decided to sell the business and retire. Copeland still owns the property. Doody said the store will be empty by the end of the month.
"It will be a big shock in the coming weeks when customers find a locked door," he said
Those who happened to stop at the store Tuesday were surprised by the news. Contractors said the closure will inconvenience their businesses.
Oregon City contractor Jim Roethlin has shopped at the store since Copeland owned it, and he said he would miss its location.
"Time is money, especially when you have four guys waiting for one two-by-four," Roethlin said.
Paul Rawson, who worked for Copeland in the 1970s, said that when he needs only a couple of items for a contracting job, he would rather pay more at Keith Brown than wait twice as long at Home Depot.
Phil Cox, Keith Brown's vice president of operations, said the company's strongest stores are in smaller communities without big-box competition.
The decision to close the Oregon City store also surprised Doody, but he said employees were aware the store was facing tough times.
"We knew we had to do something," he said. "This turned out to be the best option for the company."
Besides the 10 Oregon stores, Keith Brown owns nine stores in California and one in Washington. A store in Portland's Hollywood district closed in October 2001.
Cox said company sales have been consistent in the past two years, and there are no immediate plans to close any other stores. Jeremy Lang: 503-294-5920; jeremylang@news.oregonian.com

Outgoing mayor tries to change city commission

01/03/03

SARAH HUNSBERGER

OREGON CITY -- In his final show of political power on his way out the door, former Mayor John Williams dismissed two members of the planning commission, then tried to appoint three new members -- including one of the new mayor's biggest political opponents.


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But it appears his last-minute appointments Thursday won't stand because Williams' term technically expired the day before, according to the city charter.

Although Mayor Alice Norris did not take her oath of office until Thursday night, the charter says that mayoral terms begin Jan. 2.

Assistant City Attorney Bill Kabeiseman said in a memo to city officials Thursday that Williams' term expired at 11:59 p.m. Jan. 1.

Williams attempted to make the appointments just hours before Norris' swearing-in ceremony Jan. 2.

Among the people Williams tried to appoint was Dan Holladay, the former city commissioner who is one of Norris' strongest political foes. Norris beat Holladay in the November mayoral race by 111 votes. Holladay's four-year term as a city commissioner expired Jan. 1.

Williams supported Norris in the mayoral race, but he said he wanted to tap Holladay's experience with city issues. He also said he wanted to acknowledge Holladay's strong support in the city.

Holladay said Thursday that he interprets the charter differently and doesn't think Williams left office until Norris was sworn in Thursday night. He said he plans to challenge the interpretation of the charter, and "if we have to, we'll go to court."

However that may turn out, Williams' dismissal of planning commission Chairwoman Linda Carter and member Lynda Orzen came a few days before his term ended.

"It's a political move, I think, rather than one that's necessarily good for the city," Norris said.

Dismissals amid big issues The dismissals leave the city's planning commission up in the air -- without a chairman or even a quorum -- as the group is on the verge of considering two of the biggest planning issues in years. One is a proposal to build a Wal-Mart store in the Hilltop area. The other is an extensive update of the city's comprehensive plan, the detailed policy that lays out how the city will grow for the next five to 10 years.

"If you have the best interest of the city at heart, you're not going to yank the chair of the planning commission off with no notice, because it affects all of the entire planning commission and all of the work that we are doing with the comprehensive plan review and setting our program for next year," Carter said Thursday.

Williams said he removed Orzen and Carter because he was unhappy with their performance. He originally appointed both of them.

He said Carter's removal was partly a reaction to a letter that she wrote to The Oregonian, published Dec. 5, that praised the change in leadership on the City Commission -- especially the switch to Norris as mayor.

"She slammed the commission that appointed her," Williams said Thursday.

Carter wrote in her letter that Norris' attitude "allows all residents into the process, instead of coffee shop and bar stool deals made before the public can participate."

Williams gave no specifics about why he did not allow Orzen to stay on the planning commission. He appointed Orzen to the Oregon City Arts Commission instead.

Confusion about terms The changes could take the city some time to sort out, Kabeiseman said, because there is confusion over when Orzen's and Carter's terms expired.

Williams said both of their terms expired in 2002, but both said they were not notified that they needed to apply for reappointment.

Orzen, who was appointed in 2000, said she was told in writing that her term was four years.

Williams admitted losing track of the appointments earlier in the year.

"That's just my laziness," Williams said. "This is kind of a late cleanup for me."

Williams said he let Carter and Orzen stay on the planning commission after he said their terms expired, "because they were working deeply into the comprehensive plan and some other issues."

There have been two other vacancies on the seven-member commission for about a year.

Norris said Thursday that when she learned that Williams planned to remake the planning commission during his last days in office, she persuaded him to allow her to fill three of the vacancies and for him to fill two.

However, Williams tried to fill three of the vacancies Thursday, not realizing that his term had expired.

Orzen and Carter said they both plan to reapply. Sarah Hunsberger: 503-294-5922; shunsberger@news.oregonian.com

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