Public hearing for Green Mountain PRD project reopens

The public comment period on a development that would ultimately bring 1,300 new home sites to Camas has been reopened. A second hearing on the Green Mountain Planned Residential Development will be held Tuesday, June 16, at City Hall, during the 7 p.m. meeting of the Planning Commission. According to Planning Manager Robert Maul, the hearing is being re-opened by the applicant, Green Mountain, LLC, because of an issue with the date on the signs that announced the first meeting. "There was a little bit of a noticing issue with the sign that the applicant had on a site," Maul told the City Council during its June 1 workshop. "The applicant decided on his own to remand it back to the planning commission. Basically what that means is we are going to re-open the public comment period, to allow people to testify -- for those who thought they would have another opportunity to testify and didn't. At that point, the planning commission will close the record again and forward on a recommendation to city council." According to Maul, the City Council will vote on the PRD during a meeting in July. When the first PRD public hearing was held during a special meeting May 12, one person spoke in favor of the application while six people spoke against. The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the PRD, with several conditions including suggestions that the City Council consider expanding the size of the project's park. The Green Mountain PRD proposal is for a 1,300 lot master-planned community, with single and multi-family residential homes on 283 acres and a preliminary subdivision that will include 210 single detached residential lots on 51 acres. The proposed development area is bordered by Northeast Ingle Road and Northeast Goodwin Road. In addition to the residential units, the mixed-use development agreement calls for 8.8 acres of commercial development in the form of an "urban village" with ground floor employment/commercial use. There would also be a 14-acre community park, residents' clubhouse, open space and trail system. In December, the City Council approved a development agreement with Green Mountain LLC. The area was originally annexed into the city in 2007. The Green Mountain development will be served by the Evergreen School District. To view the PRD staff report, visit www.camaspostrecord.com. In other city council news: Roundabout will be built in 2016 City staff reported that the majority of people who showed up at a May 28 open house were in favor of a proposed roundabout. Approximately 30 citizens attended the event that focused on the roundabout that is planned for Northwest Sixth Avenue and Norwood Street. ACcording to city officials, the project will address safety and congestion issues. "We received almost all favorable comments about the roundabout, actually," said Engineering Manager Jim Carothers, adding that 12 of 13 submitted comments about the roundabout were positive. At least two of the city council members who initially weren't 100 percent sold on the project reported that they now support it. "The reservations that were presented to me by others, were answered," said Greg Anderson. "So they are no longer persuading me." "I had mixed feelings about it, but I'm more for it than I was," added Melissa Smith. Explaining the time line for the project, Camas Mayor Scott Higgins said a rebuild of Sixth Avenue will take place this summer. This element of the project includes water and storm main improvements, paving from Adams to Norwood streets, and signal upgrades at Ivy Street and Fargo Street. Design of the roundabout will be completed this year, with construction taking place in early 2016. The cost to build a one-lane roundabout with a center median and landscaping is $1.5 million. Some parking changes in downtown Camas Following the convening of the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission, several parking time limit changes are likely to be implemented later this month. The committee, which met for the first time May 12, is recommending changing 26 spaces, located on Cedar Street between Northeast Fourth and Fifth avenues, from the current two-hour limit to a three-hour limit. According to Carothers, the adjustment of this block of parking spaces was requested by Liberty Theatre owner Rand Thornsley, in an effort to accommodate his customers. City Councilman Don Chaney wondered whether downtown business employees would actually be the ones to use those spots. "We know that employees of downtown businesses park. There is a potential that they will plug up that three hour area during the day," he said. "The reason they may plug it up, potentially, is that they (currently) go out every two hours to move their cars. Now they'll only have to go out every three." Higgins said Downtown Camas Association leaders are working on ideas to address the issue, such as providing incentives for employees who park in areas other than those in the immediate downtown core that have time limits. "They are aware that some of their folks are the worst offenders, in terms of playing the game," Higgins said. Proposed changes also include a 10-minute space on the west side of Birch Street, north of Northeast Third Avenue, becoming a two-hour space, and a two-hour space on the east side of Cedar Street, south of Northeast Fourth Avenue, becoming a 10 minute parking zone. This request was made due to the relocation of Caffe Piccolo from 309 N.E. Birch St. to 400 N.E. Fourth Ave. Parking time limits are currently enforced Monday through Friday, by a code officer. Members of the Parking Advisory Commission, created in 2014 to help address some of the parking issues facing the city, specifically in the downtown business district, are Al Steinmann, Debi Johnson, Geoerl Niles, Gene Dietzen, Ami Bennett, Jodi Vaughan and Jennifer Senescu. The city council will have the opportunity to vote on a resolution addressing the changes during its regular meeting June 15.

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