By Tom Henderson • Staff Writer • 

A bumpy road to development

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Comments

Coco

Thanks for putting in more housing that many residents can't afford. At this point, I don't even want to own a house. I just want a decent apartment situation that I can afford in McMinnville. $1300 for 1 bed/1 bath, no utilities included is ridiculous. That is in a no-so-great area. I am not a low payed employee in tourist field. I am a professional, paid at what would put me in middle class. At middle class, I still can barely afford an apartment. I will never be able to afford a house. No wonder people have to live on the streets.

Tuvey

$439,900 for 1879 sq ft? Are you kidding me? Is there a pool in the basement? Just what families do you think can afford that kind of house? You're certainly NOT helping people in THIS area. We need houses in the 200,000 - 300,000 and not higher. What is the matter with anyone who approved this? Is it easy making these decisions when you're all comfy in your mansion thinking that of course any joe off the street can just plunk down 439,900, easy peezy. Shame.

Bill B

The average house sale in McMinnville, for homes of all ages and condition is $200 per square foot. $234 for a new house on a fairly large lot doesn't sound unreasonable. People are buying. Just take a ride out west 2nd Street.

gregtompkins

Even a dumpy little place for $2000 a month is a steal! Go to California one bedrooms are around $3500 a month: we’ll get there very quickly with all the taxes they’re ramming through.

BC

>>>The area currently contains many massive piles of uprooted oak trees from the nearby grove. That can be a good thing, said Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District Habitat Conservationist Amie Loop-Frison, assuming “they were just thinning them to be a more open oak woodland.”

BC

>>>The area currently contains many massive piles of uprooted oak trees from the nearby grove. That can be a good thing, said Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District Habitat Conservationist Amie Loop-Frison, assuming “they were just thinning them to be a more open oak woodland.”

BC

For some reason, my full comments did not appear on my first two attempts.

Quote: The area currently contains many massive piles of uprooted oak trees from the nearby grove. That can be a good thing, said Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District Habitat Conservationist Amie Loop-Frison, assuming “they were just thinning them to be a more open oak woodland.”

I think the operative sentence in that quote is: "assuming they were just thinning them to be a more open oak woodland." That a portion of the trees also line the banks of Baker Creek put their removal in an entirely different category.

Has anyone ascertained that the reason all of those trees, many of which were located within the riparian zone directly bordering the creek was in fact simply to thin them out? Were only trees removed along the creek bank? Vegetation, too?

When roots and vegetation are removed from the borders of a water way, it can undermine the banks and possibly change the course of the water way. It's my understanding that riparian zones were designated along waterways to prevent just such damage. Those zones, with healthy vegetation, also act as filters for ground water run-off keeping chemicals and other unwanted debris from reaching the flowing body of water (think yard chemicals which will be applied by all of the future residents).

Removal of trees that naturally shade flowing bodies of water can affect the temperature of the water, thus affecting an entire ecosystem of plant, insect, and animal life related to any given waterway.

Thinning trees is one thing. Removing all signs of vegetation in order to create a park, walkway, or more room for housing isn't healthy at all.

More information on riparian zones can be found here:

http://www.oregonconservationstrategy.org/strategy-habitat/riparian-habitats-and-flowing-water/

Tuvey

gregtompkins this isn't California. You're comparing apples to oranges. We have families living on minimum wage here who need affordable housing and this plan doesn't even come close to helping them. Bill B just because it's the going rate doesn't mean squat to people who are trying to afford a house. Shame. There is nothing you can say that justifies this horrendous lack of consideration. "We are losing a tremendous workforce because they can't afford to live here."

ja74

To everyone complaining about housing cost, voting for every bond that comes across is not helping this. Permit fees, school fees are not going to lower housing cost. And now we have to support the Gypsies ( Marsh Ln.) to top it off.

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