• Gas station next to a wetland? County hearing continued
• Development gets new name, model home under construction
• No news from commercial developments

Gas station next to a wetland? County hearing continued

August 20, 3 pm, via zoom

The county hearings officer has continued the hearing on the proposal to build a gas station and convenience market at the southeast corner of 185th and West Union. Anyone interested may attend the meeting via zoom. You can provide oral testimony during the hearing, and written testimony may be submitted prior to the hearing but not after the conclusion of the hearing. Electronic comments may be submitted prior to the scheduled hearing date by visiting co.washington.or.us/devnotice and selecting Casefile L200057.

While many acknowledge that a gas station is needed to serve the growing North Bethany community, neighbors and CPO 7 members say that the current zoning of the site, “Neighborhood Commercial” (NC) doesn’t permit either such a large gas station (12 pumps) or such a large market (6278 sf).

Mary Manseau, past Chair of CPO 7, wrote in her comments on the project that “The intent of NC zoning is to accommodate small- to medium-sized shopping and service facilities to serve the immediate urban neighborhood. This gas station is designed to serve more than the immediate area. From page 36 of the staff report, ‘the nearest service station is more than a mile away. So it is anticipated that the proposed use in this location will be highly frequented. One reason being that the quickly developing North Bethany area is located northeast of this site.’ North Bethany is not part of the immediate area. It is located more than a mile away and was planned with adequate areas for gas stations to serve the North Bethany population.”

Neighbors also contend that the staff report is wrong to say that the adjacent natural area provides the necessary “screening and buffering” for the operation. Manseau says, “The purpose of screening and buffering is to minimize the impacts of differing uses. A busy gas station and market with around-the-clock noise and lights will have impacts on the adjacent open space. Headlights from autos both entering the station and parked at pumps will directly shine into the Significant Natural Resource (SNR) area. The adjacent heavy vegetation is not a buffer—it provides homes, breeding grounds and feeding areas for area wildlife. This project is already proposing impacts to the vegetated corridor. The impacts of this project on the remaining SNR must be recognized and mitigated.”

The hearing was originally scheduled in May, and then postponed to July. The continuances have been requested by the applicant to allow additional time to negotiate with county to allow agreement on developer-requested reduction in setbacks and reduction in required frontage improvements.

Development gets new name, model home under construction

Formerly called Cypress Ridge, Toll Brothers is building the homes in Cedar Mill Landing between Reeves and Lovejoy east of 119th. Visit their website for information on the project.

No news from commercial developments

We haven’t heard any updates on tenants for the Milltowner Center at Saltzman & Cornell, or the Kirkland development in Timberland.

Beaverton recently approved a change to the Station Community: Multiple Use section of their Development Code that was requested by the developers of the Cedar Hills mixed-use replacement for the old Cedar Hills center near the intersection of Highway 26 and 217. However, we have no update on the progress in planning the development, or where the existing businesses will relocate.