Expected adoption of ordinance was postponed due to snow

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

Two weeks after its first February meeting was canceled due to unsafe road conditions due to snow, the Ashland City Council takes up business Tuesday, Feb. 17, it had expected to handle on Feb. 4. Its Feb. 3 study session, however, which was also canceled, is still pending as Monday, Feb. 17, was Presidents Day.

Council will hear a request Tuesday from the applicant of the Grandview Terrace for a waiver of Planning Application fees with the argument the applicant has already paid $26,876 in fees for previous reviews and approvals, according to the staff report. 

“The applicant contends that the current planning application fee of $30,461.75 for resubmission of a substantially similar application is duplicative and unwarranted,” the agenda item said. 

The application for the development at 1511 Highway 99 proposing 210 residential units was reviewed and approved by Ashland City Council in December 2022. The decision was appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals and with modifications requested by LUBA. The applicant ultimately pulled the application during the Oct. 3, 2023, council business meeting, citing legal counsel related to potential further legal challenges and “unresolved ambiguities related to the state’s Goal Post Rule,” according to the agenda item. The applicant will present the revised application Tuesday for a fee waiver request. 

“Staff advises the Council to consider a fee waiver in the amount of $26,876, which corresponds to the full amount previously paid. In recognition of the changes in the application, staff recommends that the fees associated with the new elements, totaling $3,585, not be waived, as these costs reflect additional review requirements not included in the previous submissions,” the agenda item said. 

In other council business Tuesday, council will vote on the second reading of an ordinance to incentivise electric appliances in new construction, the first reading of an ordinance to make the municipal judge responsible for the city’s administrative appeals process, and the second reading of an ordinance to “establish and clarify the structure and governance of the Parks & Recreation Department.” 

The finance department will also present the first quarter financial update, consider the creation of a new ad hoc committee to continue the process of developing the 2200 Ashland St. property, as well as a discussion of the city’s affordable housing trust fund at the request of Mayor Tonya Graham. 

The meeting will be held in the Ashland City Council chamber, 1175 E. Main St. starting at 6 p.m. 

The meeting can be attended in person or watched remotely through Channel 9 or Channels 180 and 181 (Charter Communications) or live streamed via rvtv.sou.edu select RVTV Prime.

Public testimony will be accepted and can be delivered either via Zoom, in person, or as written comment. To sign up for public comment, fill out the public testimony form. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].