Appeal of TD subdivision continues tonight, Monday, Aug. 31.

Here is the plat of the proposed subdivision that community members are opposing.

By Tom Peterson

The Dalles City Council will continue taking testimony this evening, Aug. 30, 2020, on an 80-unit high density subdivision that is being planned for East The Dalles.

The meeting is slated for 5:30 p.m. and can be attended online via ZOOM.com

Go to: https://zoom.us/j/91317286468?pwd=THBBRXBEdUN5VVU4c0daK29Gc2VWUT09

Meeting ID: 913 1728 6468

Passcode: 408638

To communicate via phone dial (253) -215-8782 or (346) 248- 7799

The hearing is a continuation of an appeal by community members who believe the subdivision will create safety issues because surrounding infrastructure is substandard. They also disagree with high-density housing being placed in the neighborhood, which is mostly single-family houses.

At the same time, the developer, Legacy Development, is proposing the 80-unit development to address a housing shortage in The Dalles. Rents are up to around $1,600 for a two bedroom, one bath home in The Dalles. Realtors and property managers make no bones about the need for additional housing as it is far outpacing the housing stock.

The Dalles City Council took testimony for three hours on Aug. 24, and community members are expected to address council this evening.

Opponents contend that 10th and 12th streets are narrow, steep and lack city sidewalks. And additional development will create safety hazards for pedestrians as well as drivers. They also point to the intersection of Freemont Street and Highway 197, saying additional traffic will result in additional car wrecks.

Here is the site of Legacy Development’s proposed subdivsion.

During the hearing on Aug. 24, Legacy Development President Cameron Curtis said he was unsure what single-family homes would sell for at the present time. “We have the passion and desire to meet the need of our community,” he said. noting the houses were intended for the “workforce and missing middle.” He was also unsure if they would be sold or rented when completed.

Legacy attorney Jamie Howsley pointed out that his clients had doubled the community park within the subdivision to some 8,000 square feet. They made adjustments to interior roads to the subdivision so that drivers entering 10th street had better visibility. And the subdivision had met all planning requirements, he said. And if the City Council were to deny the subdivision it must be on “clear and objective criteria.”

Steve Morasch, attorney for the appeal, held up a map of the general area where the subdivision will go and stated that the 6.92 acres was a very small portion of the overall neighborhood, yet it was producing 23 percent of the vehicle traffic.

He said a young girl recently received a concussion because she fell into a ditch while avoiding traffic because there were no sidewalks between Richmond and Thompson streets.

The Dalles Public Works Department Director David Anderson told council that sidewalks between Richmond and Thompson Streets on 10th and 12th streets would cost around $1 million.

Morasch seized on that comment and said it would go a long way if Legacy was willing to pay for $435,000 just to put the sidewalks in on 12th Street.

In total, 76 participants were online at the zoom meeting by its end on Aug. 24.

Mayor Rich Mays adjourned the meeting at 8:26 p.m. after it was apparent it would take another full meeting to get through all the testimony during the public hearing.