Proposed Housing on Corner of Pine and Front Looks Tricky

The City's posted a Hearing Notice for

An application for a condition use, greenway development permit, and zoning adjustment to allow single-family or duplex dwellings on 8 lots in the Industrial Commercial zone.

But it's a little bit interesting!

The lot in question is at 102 Pine Street NE.

Quickly you see the reason.

It's even listed in Appendix D, Potentially Impacted Tax Lots, of the Salem River Crossing Project Right-of-Way Technical Report Addendum

Right-of-Way Technical Report Addendum

So it will be very interesting to learn how this all works out.

The site had been a strip club, which burned down, and it is reasonable to want to build something new there.

Burned out strip club at Front and Pine (2012)

But with the uncertainty - still something of a "cloud" even - of the Salem River Crossing, what is fair to the owner and fair to potential residents of the housing as purchasers or as renters? How is the City going to handle all this?

This will be something to observe.

It will go before the Hearings Officer on April 12th.

Update, Tuesday the 11th

The Staff Report is out for tomorrow's Hearing, and it recommends approval.

On the SRC:

While the subject property is within the footprint of the preferred alternative alignment...the City has not yet purchased the applicant's property. If the preferred alternative bridge alignment receives all necessary environmental planning approvals and is funded, additional right-of-way will likely need to be acquired from the subject property, which will conflict with this housing development proposal. Staff cannot predict when the bridge will be constructed, however, and the applicant has the right to develop the property at this time.

Staff recommendation includes provision for an easement as Condition 6:

The applicant shall provide a 30-foot-wide scenic easement to the city for future development of walkways, bicycle paths, or landscaped areas within the right-of-way of Water Street indicated on the plat of Riverview Park Addition as 130 feet west of the alley.

The requirement that the easement be within the Water Street right-of-way looks a little ambiguous, however. In yellow is what appears to be the bank line. Water Street is entirely on the west side of that - so is there in fact any actual land within the Water Street right-of-way? Or does it actually extend into the river and water? Also Pine Street itself is not part of the River View Park Addition. It seems like this description of things might be ripe for legal quibbles if in a decade or two, a path actually becomes possible here.

Marion County Assessor

The Assessor's map, however, does show a clear section of right-of-way, possibly vacated, on the bank.

Finally, the discussion of "livability" is rather ironic and nonsensical given the admission that "the subject property is within the footprint of the preferred alternative alignment."