Corvallis Zoning: The City of Corvallis is moving into its final phase of its mixed use zoning development project. The Corvallis City Council got an update from Community Development Department Director Paul Bilotta at their Jan. 17 meeting.
“Beyond the Imagine Corvallis 2040 vision statement, this project has its roots in other, more specific policy documents that City Council has adopted identifying mixed use development as a strategy to advance various city policy objectives. These include the Housing Development Task Force Recommendations, the Corvallis Climate Action Plan adopted in 2016, and the Transportation Systems Plan which was adopted in 2018,” said Bilotta.
Phase 1 which was completed in March 2022, included both residential and commercial use areas and phase 2 converted both major and minor neighborhood center areas and was completed in September 2022.
Phase 3, is the final phase, known as the ‘clean up’ phase. This will repeal both neighborhood center zones, the riverfront zone, central business zone and others. A big topic for these changes includes sidewalk cafes and food trucks.
“While a larger policy question may be warranted as to the acceptable locations of sidewalk cafes and mobile food units, and whether they are suitable in other zones beyond their current geographic limitations, staff would like to keep these amendments limited and defer that broader policy conversation to a later date if desired by the council,” said Bilotta. “The intent of these changes is just housekeeping and not substantive. If policy changes were to occur in these areas, staff would need to create appropriate outreach efforts and possibly a stakeholder workgroup, which would really be a new project, not a continuation of the mixed use project.”
The council will continue discussions on the topic as phase 3 gets underway. For more information visit https://archives.corvallisoregon.gov/public/ElectronicFile.aspx?dbid=0&docid=3290096
Justice Levy Shortfall: The Benton Country Board of Commissioners may have decided on a final bond amount for the Justice System Improvement Project, but it’s not enough to cover the total project amount.
The anticipated cost of facilities for the project is $114 million, however the board unanimously voted to set the bond amount that will go before voters at $110 million – the matter will hit ballots in May 2023.
Possible Budget Cuts: Commissioners have asked county staff to look for additional funding strategies to cover the $4 million shortfall, including requesting funding from the Oregon State Legislature for the Emergency Operations Center. In a statement from the county, if those options are not successful in securing the additional support, the County may need to consider reprioritization of other planned budget programs or services.
The board is scheduled to continue its reprioritization conversations at its next meeting on Feb. 7.
Questions for the Mayor: Corvallis Mayor Charles Maughan will host the first Government Comment Corner in the lobby of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, on Sat., Jan. 21.
This is open to the public, and anyone can stop by and ask the mayor questions about local government and his goals for his first term in office.
By: Jennifer Williams
