Archive
Subscribe
Weather
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Planning commission OKs Springbrook Village |
By David Sale,
Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail David at
dsale@eaglenewspapers.com
|
The Newberg Planning
Commission met before a packed house Thursday to hear public
testimony on the proposed Springbrook Village development.
The planning commission voted unanimously to endorse the plan and
forward it to the Newberg City Council for final approval. The
council is scheduled to hear the plan Sept. 4.
Springbrook Properties is owned by the Austin family and was formed
to oversee the development of 450 acres of family-owned property to
the north and east of the A-dec Inc. campus. The development has
been under consideration since 1988.
“All this property is within the city limits and slated for urban
development — so the question is simply whether to develop it as
proposed,” City Planner Barton Brierley said in introducing the
master plan.
At the planning department’s recommendation, the Springbrook
Village plan will be slightly modified to include 284 acres of
residential development; 63 acres of parks, including preservation
of Hess Creek canyon and Springbrook Creek; 48 acres of commercial,
mixed-use and office space; along with an 85-room luxury hotel, spa
and restaurant on 32 acres near Zimri Drive.
The commission heard testimony from several citizens concerned
about the amount of traffic the project will add to Newberg streets
and its impact on surrounding neighborhoods.
Both citizens and commissioners were concerned about the proposed
Crestview extension, necessary for traffic to access the village but
unfunded following recent voter disapproval of the NewB Properties
annexation.
“That would be the responsibility of this developer,” said Mimi
Doukas, a Springbrook Properties representative. “Just as we’re
liable for other regional improvements such as utilities to serve
the project, we’re prepared to use a similar process here and
collect system development charges (to fund the Crestview
extension). The details still need to be discussed with the city,
but it’s our responsibility to get that road in.”
Few were opposed to the development in total, but Lorraine Sarnaki,
a resident of the Oak Knoll neighborhood, was particularly strenuous
in her objections.
“I feel this proposal is way too big in scope — it would transform
Newberg into a small city with all its problems, including crime,
drugs and gangs. It would destroy the rural feel of our town
forever. It wouldn’t be a legacy, but a travesty,” she said to
scattered applause.
“I understand what you’re saying and I’ve been there myself, but
this decision was made a long time ago,” said commissioner Lon Wall.
“If the land had been parceled off and sold, we’d probably have at
least as many people there now as forecast in this proposal.”
“This development will grow at the right pace for Newberg,” Doukas
said. “We’re not going to file building permits on all 450 acres at
once — we expect at least a seven-year timeline, and up to 15 years,
before build-out is complete.”
“I think this is a great project, but affordability is my area of
concern,” said Rick Rogers of Newberg Habitat For Humanity. “It’s a
problem in Newberg and the city has recognized that — we’re not
meeting our affordability guidelines and density recommendations.
I’d just like to see the village envisioned have room for
median-income families.”
“Scarcity hurts affordability and I think we’ve seen that in
Newberg,” Doukas responded. “We have a range of sizes for our
single-family detached lots, as well as mid-rise residential, so
there will be a range of housing at different price points. The
Austins are not oblivious to these issues and we’ll address them as
the project moves forward.”
Brierley added that the planning department had recommended, and
the Austins agreed, to increase density and the amount of mid-rise
residential property from the original proposal to promote
affordable housing in the village.
The issue of parks and green spaces was problematic one for the
commission. Rather than turn over portions of the development to the
Chehalem Park and Recreation District, the Springbrook Village parks
would remain under private ownership, administered by future
homeowner’s associations, but with full public access.
“This would be a similar arrangement as the canyon on the George
Fox campus,” Doukas said. “This puts less burden on the community’s
tax dollars and allows greater flexibility (for repairs and upgrades
to park equipment).”
City Attorney Terry Mahr advised that the city could request public
access in perpetuity, “but then it becomes a public easement and the
city would bear a share of the cost.”
“My concern is that this not become an exclusive or separate
community,” Wall said. “The planning commission should be a body of
skeptics — we’ve been stung before, but the Austins have a
reputation in this town and I believe they’ll live up to it.”
“The worst that’s likely to happen here is they enact dawn-to-dusk
hours,” added commissioner Matson Haug. “I think we’ll see a
common-sense approach.” |
|
From
July 14, 2007, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
|
 |
|
