The Daily Barometer OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY • CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 • VOLUME CXVI, NUMBER 36
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Council denies zone appeal Tuesday is last day to vote n
Public hearing discussion of 9th Street, Maxine Avenue plan amendment, zone change dominates council meeting By Emma-Kate Schaake THE DAILY BAROMETER
Following the standard business of the Corvallis City Council meeting on Monday, the council hosted a public hearing addressing the planning commission’s denial of the comprehensive plan amendment and zone change at Ninth Street and Maxine Avenue. The comprehensive plan amendment would change approximately 1.46 acres of land from low- to medium-density residential and in turn increase the zone from RS-3.5 to RS-9. The appealing applicant for this amendment and zone change, Portland-based Plannext, represented by Eric Adams, cited the need for improved housing availability in Corvallis. One concern, voiced at previous hearings, was that the RS-9 zone was not compatible with the current housing, and the new developments would affect aesthetics and sightlines.
“The topography of the site in relationship to the land to the west should mitigate those issues,” Adams said. According to traffic and utility studies, conducted by the applicant in response to questions regarding the current system’s capacity, the impacts of the change were unsubstantiated. No community voices spoke out in favor of the application for amendment, but several had comments against. Community member Louise Markering acknowledged the potential need for a change to the zoning plan, “but doing it bit by bit is not good for the integrity of the plan,” Markering said. Tom Savage, another community member, voiced concerns that a specific development plan was not defined amid the conducted studies. The applicant is not required to submit such a plan at this time, but the lack of specificity has caused unrest with residents like Savage. “That’s a heck of a lot of engineering when you don’t know what’s going to go there,” Savage said. Traffic concerns were also voiced, which Eric Adams addressed in the rebuttal portion.
The last day to vote in the Benton County special election is Election Day on Tuesday. It is now too late to mail ballots, but they can be dropped off before 8 p.m.
See COUNCIL | page 4
Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Cilmate change, largely due to human activity, is affecting and will continue to affect the Northwest. For example, the Deschutes National Forest (above) has sustained devastating fires.
Climate change affects Northwest OSU researchers publish new report on Northwest climate change risks
prehensive report on what climate change means for Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In a news release by the University of Washington, Mote said that the report updates the science By Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova and addresses some new dimensions – including THE DAILY BAROMETER how climate change will affect human health and Snowmelt occurs earlier in the year, and, as a Northwest tribes that rely on natural resources. result, summer stream flows are decreasing. The report, coordinated by OSU’s Oregon Climate Forests face more wildfires and disease. Change Research Institute, is the first regional cliAnd along the coastline, sea levels rise and the mate assessment in more than a decade. This doculand floods. Wave heights threaten coastal residents ment and the 1999 report were created as part of and various infrastructures. the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Washington This is the result of climate change in the and Oregon produced state-level reports in 2009 Northwest, according to a 2013 assessment report. and 2010. Editors Phillip Mote and Meghan Dalton of the “Studies are showing that snowmelt is occurring College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences See CLIMATE | page 4 at Oregon State University published the 2013 comn
GRAPHIC BY ALYSSA JOHNSON
| THE DAILY BAROMETER