Oct. 29--When construction began in 1996 on the Bend Parkway, proponents promised an efficient way to speed traffic through the city as well as eye-popping views of the Cascades as the parkway cut past the Old Mill District.
In February of that same year, Hooker Creek Construction filed an application with the city of Bend to build a ready-mix concrete plant in the Old Mill District, on 10 acres adjacent to the western edge of the parkway.
While it sounds innocuous, Hooker Creek's application ran into trouble with the city regarding those views from the parkway, and the matter evolved into an issue that was resolved only last month but lingers as the city debates how much land it will zone for industrial growth.
Back to 1996. In April, the
city's Planning Division approved the submitted site plan but denied Hooker Creek a conditional use permit to build two 65-foot-tall silos needed for the plant because they exceeded the zone's height limits. Hooker Creek appealed the decision to a hearings officer, who sided with the planning division at a July hearing.
Two weeks later, the City Council adopted the hearings officer's decision. But two weeks after that, the council agreed to hear Hooker Creek's request for reconsideration.
Finally, in November 1996, the council agreed to grant Hooker Creek a conditional use permit for the silos.
The agreement came with the caveats that they be aligned on an east-west axis to be screened as much as possible from view from the parkway and that they be dismantled after 15 years.
The silos were built, as was the parkway.
And last month, at Hooker Creek's request, the planning division waived the time provision, meaning the silos can stay.
"The silos were approved before the parkway got built, so people didn't have a good sense of how the silos would affect views," said Aaron Henson, a senior planner with the
city's Planning Division. "There were concerns it would have a real negative impact on views, but we don't think that's been the case."
The official decision says "the views of the Cascades from the Bend Parkway are impaired only slightly by the silos, (which) are in the field of view of drivers only momentarily as they pass the subject property."
The decision also notes other buildings in the area that are as tall or taller, including the recently constructed 73�-foot ODS building adjacent to Hooker Creek's concrete plant, as well as the old KorPine warehouses to the north of the plant.
The
city's planning decision does not mention how tall the KorPine warehouses are, nor did Henson or Scott Carlson, Hooker Creek's chief financial officer.
Carlson said he had heard stories about the plant's permitting troubles but didn't think much more of them until recently.
"Our attorney brought that up and said we should probably get that fixed," Carlson said.
Carlson, who worked for Hooker Creek in 1996 but not in management, said he understood the city's apprehension but agrees it's no longer an issue.
"The parkway wasn't built yet, and (the city was) unsure if we put the silos up what kind of impact they would have on the people driving by, but obviously they have little or no impact to the visual aesthetics," Carlson said. "They sent out notices earlier this summer and no one responded with concerns."
Henson said the planning division fielded a few questions, but no comments were filed.
Bill Smith, the Bend developer who transformed the former mill land into the Old Mill District, said the issue would be laughable it if didn't touch on a more serious matter: the city's lack of land zoned for heavy industrial use.
"The reason the city staff (in 1996) reluctantly agreed to let the ready-mix plant go there is because there was no heavy industry-zoned land elsewhere in Bend to move them to, and surely, the city staff thought, in 15 years we can get more heavy industrial-zoned land," Smith said. "But it turns out 15 years on, we still don't have more heavy-industrial land."
While the city's recent decision to repeal the 15-year deadline doesn't mention zoning issues, the city does have a shortage of heavy-industrial-zoned land, said Eric Strobel, who oversees Bend for Economic Development for Central Oregon.
Strobel said the recession has created some vacancies, but as far as bare land, "if anyone wants over 5 acres, there's really nothing."
According to the 2008 Economic Opportunities Analysis study commissioned by the city to help it develop a new urban growth boundary, there are 210 acres of land in Bend zoned for heavy-industrial use, of which there are eight vacant lots spanning 13 acres.
By comparison, the city has 1,280 acres of light-industrial land, including 78 vacant lots covering 662 acres.
Henson and Strobel said no heavy-industrial land is included in the city's planned Juniper Ridge expansion in north Bend.
But that might not be a bad thing, Strobel said.
"The city of Bend and EDCO are talking about who we want to attract here, and do we want 50 acres for heavy-industrial companies? Maybe not," said Strobel, citing the significant water and power needs that often accompany large industrial operations.
"At this point of time, we're not really set up to handle those, so do we look to smaller companies, with employees of 50 and below, in software, bioscience, technology? All those things we're talking about," Strobel said.
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or
amoore@bendbulletin.com
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