TD Council continues hearing on 80-unit subdivision to Aug. 31

The Dalles City Council took testimony for three hours tonight, Aug. 24, on an appeal of an 80-unit subdivision in east The Dalles.

Attorneys for Legacy Development and the neighbors appealing the subdivision both made arguments and answered questions as councilors are being asked to balance the safety of The Dalles citizens and the need for housing.

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.

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.

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.

The hearing is slated for 5:30 p.m., Aug 31.