Rockaway Beach Fencepost January 18

The plan focused on buildable land inventory (BLI). This, Fregonese explained, represents the total acreage available inside the urban growth boundary, after subtracting existing homes, wetlands, and other areas unsuitable for development. Our last BLI was in 2007, so it’s definitely time to revisit.

The BLI will “consider a number of constraints,” Fregonese explained: “flood plains, wetlands, and steep slopes.” Wetlands, he went on, can be mitigated, explaining to the surprise of some that Nedonna Lake is man-made. “We turned buildable land inventory into wetlands,” Fregonese said. Currently stocked with rainbow trout by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, it’s now a popular recreation site because of easy and safe access, especially for families with children.

3J Consulting has performed many similar housing needs analyses, and Fregonese used maps and diagrams of one from Sweet Home to take us through the process. One key is to consider the zone for available property, not just vacancy. Because our climate can wreak havoc on buildings, as we all know, the needs analysis will consider uninhabitable structures as part of the available land for new construction. As a general rule, Fregonese explained, “If the value of the land is greater than the value of the structure, it’s likely to be redeveloped.”

Time for citizen questions and comments followed. One topic of conversation was the zoning for auxiliary dwelling units (ADUs). A stumbling block in the current code: ADUs require their own water connection and meter, which adds significantly to the cost of permitting and building. The suggestion was raised that modifying the code to let ADUs use existing water and sewer facilities could ease some tightness in available housing.

Council member Kristine Hayes pointed out that these ADUs would likely fit into the traditional look and feel of Rockaway Beach. “We had mother-in-law cabins which added lots of housing,” she commented. “Little cabins have always been part of the look and feel of Rockaway.”

The other unique area of concern for Rockaway Beach is the number of second homes, vacation homes, and beach getaways—over and above short-term rentals. “It’s much harder to find accurate data on second homes,” Fregonese said. He acknowledged the need to take these residents’ needs and experiences into account.

Most importantly, the proposal for the housing needs analysis calls for four meetings with the Planning Committee, which will be open to the public and will have time for public comment.

When asked how to get recommendations to the committee, Mayor McNeilly answered, “Come to the meetings.” I will make a point of publicizing the dates for these meetings. If you have concerns or questions, these meetings are where you can express them.

The remainder of the meeting discussed some of the actions being taken after the December 27 power outage, with Chief Hesse mentioning that the fire department responded to 61 events in December, 31 of which were 911 calls. “It opened my eyes to challenges we face and procedures we need to put in place.”

One frightening statistic: of 26,000 message sent via the Nile emergency system, only 6000 were received. He also mentioned the upcoming Preparedness Fair, to be held at Neakahnie High School in April. And as mentioned in an earlier column, the Emergency Preparedness meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at 6 PM, at City Hall.

There as more, but we’re out of space. I’ll cover some of the important points in a future column.

In other news: I learned recently that the Meals For Seniors roast beef dinner, originally scheduled for January 21, has been rescheduled to Saturday, February 11, from 1 to 4 PM. More details are being firmed up and I’ll post them when I know more.