A municipal hearings officer ruled this month that a homebuilder may construct 263 standalone and attached homes on the picturesque former Alpenrose dairy site in a wooded area of Southwest Portland.
Following a hearing in September, during which neighbors voiced strong objection to the proposed home construction, citing worries about potential future traffic and the potential impact on local animals, the decision was made. David Doughman, the hearings officer, was asked by the opponents to reject the project proposal.
In his decision dated November 8, Doughman stated that he had no reason to question the sincerity of such worries. Concerns are understandable given that hundreds of additional homes would be built on 51 acres of comparatively picturesque land. However, the land is zoned for these kinds of uses, and the applicant’s suggested lot density doesn’t go over what the Code expressly allows.
Developer Raleigh Crest LLC’s attorney, Steven Hultberg, would not comment on the hearing officer’s decision or the future of his client’s development at 6149 S.W. Shattuck Road.
Land-use reviewers in the city September suggested rejecting the planned development because it did not conform with city infrastructure requirements and did not address the magnitude of its environmental impact.
According to written testimony, neighbors backed that advice, claiming that the development as planned would have transportation effects, specifically by establishing a sizable subdivision that relied heavily on cars, which went against the city’s objectives to put pedestrian safety first. Additionally, the Hayhurst Neighborhood Association cited a proposed retaining wall that it claimed would reduce the area’s livability for beavers and other wildlife.
But in October, city authorities changed their minds and decided that the hearings officer should approve instead.
“We recommended its approval, with conditions to address our concerns,” said city spokesperson Ken Ray on Thursday, after the applicant made revisions to the project that addressed the majority of the City’s concerns.
AKS Engineering & Forestry wrote on October 9 that in response to concerns that a retaining wall would prevent beavers from entering a wetland, for instance, a wetland scientist employed by the developer suggested placing game cameras at a culvert to determine whether the animals were actually crossing Southwest Shattuck Road. This would allow the City to implement suitable wildlife mitigation measures.
The neighbors intend to keep fighting. According to Ray, the city had not yet received the appeal as of Thursday, but the Hayhurst Neighborhood Association had decided to challenge the Nov. 8 ruling. The filing deadline is this Friday.
Since 2021, when Florida developer Lennar Corp. attempted to construct 193 single-family houses on the Alpenrose site, redevelopment ideas have been floated in one form or another. According to the Portland Business Journal, Raleigh Crest LLC’s current developer, West Hills Land Development, presented its bid the following year.
Established in 1916, Alpenrose, which offered more than just its famous dairy, was a well-known property in Southwest Portland for over a century. Little League games were held on its three baseball diamonds. Every year, it held Easter egg hunts. A 600-seat opera house at its Dairyville, a model of a western frontier hamlet, attracted community theatrical plays and other events. Olympic-style velodrome cycle racing was one of its distinguishing characteristics.
After purchasing Larsen’s Creamery and its nine-acre facility last year, Alpenrose announced plans to relocate to Clackamas.
Although the neighbors agree that more housing is needed, they claim that the redevelopment proposals do not adequately address the requirements of the neighborhood.
“Although the loss of Alpenrose Dairy and its recreational, cultural, and historic legacy is significant to our community, we recognize the need for new housing in Portland and would like Raleigh Crest and the surrounding area to be a great place to live,” the Hayhurst Association wrote in their September testimony.
In general, Portland and Oregon are experiencing a housing scarcity. According to the State of the State’s Housing Report, which was released Thursday by state housing finance officials, the state’s housing shortage has gotten considerably worse as a result of population growth from 2015 to 2019 that greatly outpaced new housing construction, with three new residents for every new housing unit.
According to the most recent projections, Portland would need about 120,000 new homes by 2045.
–Jonathan Bach covers real estate and housing. You can contact him by phone at 503-221-4303 or by email at [email protected].
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