Departments, Planning & Building

PLANNING & BUILDING SERVICES HIGHLIGHTS FOR DECEMBER, 2019

CITY COUNCIL (CC) ACTIONS ON PLANNING ITEMS

On December 3, 2019, the CC:

  • Enacted Ordinance 2831, establishing a Tax on the Demolition of Certain Residential Structures.
  • Adopted Resolution 19-59, Amending the Policies Discouraging Destruction of Natural Resources and Significant Trees Prior to Annexation.
  • Conducted a public hearing on an appeal of a DRC decision on tree removal by Renaissance Homes at 1507 Cedar St. The City Council upheld the DRC’s decision to approve the tree removal. (TR 499-19-03965 / AP 19-07)

On December 17, 2019, the CC:

  • Conducted a public hearing on Ordinance 2832, amendments to LOC Chapter 50 (Community Development Code) for the Purpose of Clarifying and Updating Various Provisions (2019) (LU 19-0033).
  • Held a joint meeting with the Planning Commission to discuss two Planning Commission work program items: House Bill 2001 (PP 19-0008), and potential amendments to the Community Development Code addressing traffic management in the Kruse Way Corridor (LU 19-0038).
  • Commissioner Bill Ward received a Distinguished Service Award.
  • Joseph Semler, Philip Stewart, and Kim Whitman were appointed to the Planning Commission.

PLANNING COMMISSION (PC) ACTIONS

On December 5, 2019, the PC attended the Boards and Commissions Summit.

On December 9, 2019, the PC conducted a work session on Community Development Code Amendments related to R-6 structure design standards (LU 19-0038).

Please refer to the following web page for the current PC meeting forecast: http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/boc_pc/schedule-and-information

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMISSION (DRC) ACTIONS

During December there were no agenda items scheduled for the Development Review Commission.

HISTORIC RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD (HRAB):

On December 5, 2019, HRAB attended the Boards and Commissions Summit.

At their meeting on December 11, HRAB discussed:

  • The meeting with City Council regarding HRAB goals for 2020.
  • Revisions to the Preservation Code (50.06.009 Historic Preservation)
  • 4101 South Shore Road and Demolition by Neglect
  • Development of a Historic Preservation Handbook

PRE-APPLICATION CONFERENCES

In December, staff held four pre-application conferences as follows:

  1. A request for Conditional Use and Development Review Permits to increase enrollment at an existing preschool and construct parking on the site on Upper Drive.
  2. A request for Design Review for a condo development in the Downtown Redevelopment Design District on 4th Street.
  3. A request for Resource Delineation on Wembley Park.
  4. A request for RID Variances to construct additions to an existing single-family dwelling on Lakeview Blvd.

PLANNING REVIEW OF BUILDING PERMITS, SIGN PERMITS AND BUSINESS LICENSES

In the month of December, Planning staff reviewed 11 building permits, 4 sign permit and 10 business licenses.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

In December, one case was resolved by Municipal Court action and six other cases were resolved without Municipal Court action.

PERMIT CENTER ACTIVITY

Customer Contacts: During December, staff served 599 walk-in customers and responded to 1,263 phone calls, or approximately 89 customer contacts per day. Of the walk-in customers, 47% were for Planning, 23% for Building, 23% for Engineering and 7% for other services. Of the phone-in customers 16% were for Planning, 34% for Building, 13% for Engineering and 38% for other services.

Building Permit Activity: During December, Building staff issued five demolition permits. Seven new Single Family Residential (NSFR) applications were received. Two Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and 12 NSFR permits were issued, as follows:

  1. Quarry Rd.
  2. Upper Dr.
  3. Upper Dr.
  4. Waluga Dr.
  5. C Ave.
  6. Quarry Rd.
  7. Mission Ct.
  8. Pilkington Rd.
  9. Mission Ct.
  10. Cedar St.
  11. Fielding Rd.
  12. Fielding Rd.
  13. Crest Dr.
  14. Goodall Ct.

The above median timeline for review is from application completeness to “ready to issue”. As of November 2018, the Planning Department has provided NSFR plan review services for both Planning and Engineering reviews. Ready to issue includes time that applicants need to address corrections required for code compliance or factors beyond the City’s control.

In addition to NSFR permits, Residential Structural Permits include remodels, additions, decks, etc., of which there were 10 issued in December by Building staff, with the median days being 21. Commercial Structural Permits include Commercial, Industrial, Multi-Family and Institutional, of which there were 10, with the median days being 9.