A barn on property in the Woodland Bottoms.
The Woodland Planning Commission considered its second round of updates to the city’s urban growth area, though the biggest request — adding more than 600 acres to the area in the Woodland Bottoms — was postponed to this week.
The planning commission approved two requests for addition into the growth area, which facilitates potential annexation and development on those properties. In both cases, the land recommended to be in the boundary involved a residential designation allowing for that type of development.
The commission also recommended the change of more than 21 acres within city limits from mostly commercial and some industrial to residential.
Woodland Bottoms decision set for this week
Though initially on the agenda, the request to expand the city’s urban growth area to include more than 600 acres south of the city between the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe railroad and the Lewis River was postponed to a March 28 meeting. That land would also be designated residential.
The planning commission decided to recommend to the Woodland City Council bringing in property that totaled close to 76 acres, 49.5 of which was land designated residential.
Franklin loop change
Prior to those recommendations, the commission revisited a change in land use designation discussed somewhat at their Feb. 21 meeting where they looked at changes to property within city limits. They recommended a change of about 21.5 acres at the end of Franklin Loop from mostly commercial and some industrial to residential.
Shayne Olsen of Saxony Pacific LLC, the applicant, said the developer felt the best use of the property, pending a wetland review to determine how much land could be developed, would be residential. As to what that development would look like, “we don’t know yet,” said Olsen, due to the need to complete studies on wetlands.
Olsen added that the access to the property wasn’t conducive to commercial development, later adding that there is still developable property on the nearby Belmont Loop better suited for it.
Olsen noted the property, as mostly commercial, had been on the market for about 12 years with no takers. He stressed that the market in the area was tending toward more residential development.
“You’re 40 minutes from downtown Portland. This will be a commuter community. You will get folks coming out here,” Olsen asserted.
Commissioner Connie Taylor asked whether or not the property fit better as high-density or low-density development, though Olsen noted it was still something the wetland study would determine. He did say that based on its location close to the interstate, higher density seemed to make more sense.
Though initially Saxony Pacific was looking to make the property into a mixed-use development, Olsen said there wasn’t currently enough demand to warrant such a shift, assuring the commissioners that the request was the right choice.
“You will fill the residential, I promise you, but the commercial side, it’s pretty tough,” Olsen remarked.
Ultimately, the commission approved the recommendation for the shift to residential.
Dike Access Road addition
Saxony Pacific was back for the second comprehensive plan change item, this time for about 16.2 acres located on Dike Access Road south of Woodland High School. The property in question would be added to Woodland’s urban growth area with a designation as residential.
Woodland Community Development Director Travis Goddard explained that the north side of Dike Access Road was already built to city standards, adding that there was a water main and gravity sewer along the road, offering ready access to serve the property in question should annexation occur.
Goddard added that the location near Exit 22 was important given the congestion at Exit 21 to the south.
Goddard said some residents around the property have been receptive to having their own properties included in the urban growth area, while others were not. He added there is a considerable amount of opposition to including land in the Woodland Bottoms in the area, of which the Dike Access Road property technically belonged.
Goddard brought up a possible issue in that currently the property is designated as agricultural economic resource land by Cowlitz County. He anticipated the city may have to ask the county to change the designation, and as to whether or not the county would change the designation was brought into question.
“This might seem like it is the most logical expansion of the growth area because it already has services right in front of it, but it’s agricultural land so we may not be able to take it in, even if it’s the only (property) that makes sense,” Goddard said.
Olsen said that the property hadn’t been in agricultural use since the early 1980s. He added that the property was ideally suited for a low-density development.
“It is an absolute perfect spot for a planned community,” Olsen remarked.
The commission approved adding the property to the urban growth area, though potential annexation into the city would be contingent on adopting a planned unit residential development process.
Green Mountain Road addition
The third property considered was about 57 acres located to the north of the city between Green Mountain Road and Interstate 5. More than 26 of those acres would be designated commercial while the remaining roughly 30 acres would be residential.
Goddard mentioned that there is an issue with water supply on the properties — he said the applicant, Gary Loomis, had told him wells drilled on the lands have come up dry or don’t produce enough water for residential use.
“Water’s really the problem,” Loomis said during comment on the decision. That issue led to conversations with staff to use city water utilities, though the properties would have to be in city limits for that to happen.
Goddard added that the elevation on the property could prove a challenge as city requirements might call for a water line big enough to need more infrastructure than a smaller line.
The property’s proposed commercial component would be adjacent to the end of Old Pacific Highway; Goddard said the applicant planned on making improvements to that road for access. The northern parcels would be accessed through county roads.
Goddard noted there had been significant opposition to expanding the growth area on the site, fearing an encroachment into the “small suburban lifestyle” on the mountain the properties are a part of. He referenced similar opposition to Bottoms expansion, explaining that the city would have to decide given the pushback.
“At some point the city is going to have to recognize … we’re going to have to make some kind of decision and decide where the growth is going to occur if we’re going to expand,” Goddard said. “If we’re not expanding to the south or west, the north is really the only viable option.”
Steve Madsen, an attorney initially there to represent the applicant for the Woodland Bottoms expansion that was postponed, brought up a provision in state law that would allow for water service expansion outside of the growth boundary in certain circumstances where it would protect public health or the environment.
“If you wanted to provide water to dry lots, you could,” Madsen said.
Goddard acknowledged the provision, though due to city policy that wasn’t possible.
Commissioner Bryan Mattson said that it seemed unlikely that the expansion would lead to a planned unit residential development, especially given the rising terrain.
“I think expanding to the south and west is better than going up the hill from a topography standpoint,” Mattson said.
Ultimately he relented and went along with the other commissioners, with staff’s recommendation to add the properties to the growth area with their respective commercial and residential designations.
Withdrawn request and next steps
The applicant for the addition of 43.6 acres of land located on South Pekin Road to be designated industrial withdrew their request at the meeting. Allen Engstrom, an attorney representing the property owner, explained that issues over funding for road improvements that would benefit the business on the property, Walt’s Wholesale Meats, led to their decision to withdraw.
For the recommendations that were approved, it will be up to Woodland City Council to make the final say. City staff plans to include all the recommendations from their meetings in one item for the council.
The Woodland Planning Commission has scheduled a meeting at 7 p.m. March 28 in order to discuss the addition of the Woodland Bottoms in their recommendations to council on inclusion in the growth area.
