Amity land use action remanded

Yamhill County commissioners last week remanded a land use hearing to the Planning Commission, after hearing that the deal had fallen through.

The commissioners had been scheduled to hear a request for a comprehensive plan amendment for an 11-acre parcel at 16700 Highway 99W north of Amity, to change it from Public to Industrial use, and a zone change from Public Assembly Institution to Light Industrial.

That was predicated on the sale of the former Mid-Valley Workshop and Rehabilitation Center to Orchard and Vineyard Supply, which was seeking to open a store on the site.

But on Thursday, Planning Director Ken Friday told the board that the sale had fallen through.

Dave Haugeberg, president of MV Advancements, told the board that, while his organization appreciates the Planning Department’s work on the land use provisions, all of the changes were intended to accommodate the specific use by Orchard and Vineyard Supply, so the organization no longer wants the same limits on the potential uses for the site.

In other business, commissioners:

- Reappointed Jim Culbert and Neyssa Hays to the Parks Advisory Board for new four-year terms.

- Held a first reading of Ordinance 932, adopting a new Construction Erosion and Sediment Control code for the county. A second reading and vote will be held on March 14.

The code sets inspection fees for erosion control on various sizes of property, from a quarter of an acre to an acre, although Friday told commissioners that he doubts the county will see very many applications for the largest permits, as most construction involves less than a quarter of an acre.

- Approved a notice of intent to award a construction contract to Haworth Inc., for replacing the super structure of the Pike Road Bridge.

- Authorized acceptance of a $107,228 grant for emergency planning for disabled clients of Health and Human Services.

- Authorized acceptance of a grant for mental health services, for $311,525.

- Authorized acceptance of a grant for community mental health, addiction treatment, recovery and prevention and problem gambling services, for $7 million.

- Held a work session on the county’s good governance policies.