LA GRANDE — Proposed land development code changes dominated discussion during the La Grande City Council’s July meeting. The council held a public hearing to allow residents an opportunity to voice their opinions on the proposed changes and voted in favor of extending the moratorium on short-term rentals for another six months. “We are pretty much at the 11th hour of the code amendment process,” Community Development Director Mike Boquist said during the Wednesday, July 12, meeting. The Planning Commission started working on the draft of the proposed code amendments in October 2021. During the drafting process the Planning Commission held a total of 20 work sessions — 18 work sessions with members of the commission and two joint work sessions with the council. The proposed changes to the land development code cover a wide range of areas, among them housing production strategy, urban forestry amendments, bed-and-breakfast inns, the business and technology park, small-scale manufacturing, mobile food vendors, parking at Eastern Oregon University, public street standards, conditional use permit review and housekeeping. During the July regular session, Boquist walked the council through a high-level overview of the changes and any issues that were brought up by residents during the public hearing before the Planning Commission in June.

Cottage home developments and minimum lot size

The Planning Commission recommended removing cottage home developments from the R1 zone. Boquist explained that a large number of property owners in that zone felt that cottage home developments would not be consistent with the housing already located within the area. Minimum lot size created a lot of debate — both for residents and for the council. The consultant who completed the Housing Production Strategy recommended reducing the minimum lot size from 5,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Boquist said that this size is fairly consistent with the existing lots throughout the city. He also stressed that it will only be the minimum size requirement, so developers could still decide to parcel out larger lots. “It’s an opportunity for somebody who cannot afford to build a house themselves or get into ownership to be able to come in and buy a $250,000 house as opposed to what used to be a $250,000 (house) is now a $400,000 and some thousand,” Boquist said. “All we’re doing is creating the opportunity.” Councilor David Glabe wanted to push back on the assumption that reducing the minimum lot size would reduce the cost of housing. He pointed to development on the ridge where lots were carved out at a fraction of the size of those in the surrounding area, which were typically half an acre or larger. However, the people moving in did not want that small of a lot and ended up buying more than one. The cost of purchasing two lots was greater than it would have been to purchase a larger sized lot. Boquist explained that the ridge subdivision is within the R2 zone with a 5,000 square foot minimum lot size. The developer who worked on the area Glabe referenced carved out lots that were 20,000 or 15,000 square feet. “The fact that the developer created lots that his customers did not want is not the city’s responsibility and (not) the city’s fault,” Boquist said. “We’re creating the opportunity and it’s up to the developer to choose where they’re purchasing a lot, what they are going to subdivide it into and what are they going to market to the people that they want to market to.” Glabe also pointed out that he was unable to find many municipalities with minimum lot sizes under 5,000 square feet. Boquist said that La Grande is at the forefront of looking at housing producing strategy because of the grant the city received. The rest of Oregon is now going through this process, he said, and will be looking at the exact same things within the next few years. Councilor Nicole Howard said that putting more housing into a space is exactly what La Grande needs to address the housing issues. Councilor Corrine Dutto agreed — pointing to the housing crisis within the city, especially when it comes to lower income, college students and workforce housing. The proposed minimum lot size stayed at 3,000 square feet after councilor discussion.Short-term rentals and extending the moratorium The current land development code does not include guidance on short-term rentals. The council wanted to address this due to the amount of housing stock the city was losing to short-term rentals. The goal was also to simplify the process for property owners. Previously, property owners who wanted to establish short-term rentals in residential areas needed to obtain a conditional use permit, which was a discretionary allowance that required going through the Planning Commission. In October 2022 the council passed a 120-day moratorium on short-term rentals and tasked the Planning Commission with outlining requirements for owners of short-term rentals. Councilors approved a six-month extension in February of this year, which was set to expire in August. However, the earliest that the new land development code will be in place is September. As such, Boquist requested a second six-month extension on the moratorium, which the council ultimately approved. The extension does come with the provision that it will immediately be terminated once the new code amendments are in place. Glabe asked why not make it a two-month extension if the new code is supposed to be in place by September. Boquist explained that from here on out the council is driving the timeline. The plan is for the council to hold the next public hearing and vote on the code amendment in August and it will go into effect in September. However, Boquist said that the council could also decide to make changes, which would change the projected timeline. He does not want the city to be in a situation where the moratorium expires prior to the new land development code being in place. Councilor Denise Wheeler did not want to extend the moratorium and voted against the extension. She said that she felt like it had been in place for enough time and was limiting. City Manager Robert Strope explained that if the moratorium expires before the land code amendment is finished then someone could walk in the day after the expiration and submit an application under the current standard. They would not be subjected to the governances included within the new land development code. “To be in a position where (the moratorium) expires and the code amendments are not adopted would be deeply irresponsible I think,” Howard said. Under the newly proposed code, the city considers a short-term rental to be a rental of 30 consecutive days or less. Two types of short-term rentals will be defined by the proposed code — bed-and-breakfast inns and host home shares are one category, and vacation rentals are the second. Councilors decided to make a few changes to the proposed code for short-term rentals. Originally under the proposed code, property owners would be limited to one short-term rental permit and one short-term rental within the city. The council decided to increase this to two. The permit is not transferable and is exclusively assigned to the property owner. The council also decided to increase the mileage that an emergency contact needs to be from the rental. At least one emergency contact is required to reside within 15 miles of the short-term rental and be available within two hours in case of emergency. Councilors increased the milage up from the originally proposed 10 miles, to include Elgin and Union as possible locations for emergency contacts. The remainder of the proposed codes around short-term rentals were not changed.

LA GRANDE — Proposed land development code changes dominated discussion during the La Grande City Council’s July meeting.

The council held a public hearing to allow residents an opportunity to voice their opinions on the proposed changes and voted in favor of extending the moratorium on short-term rentals for another six months.

“We are pretty much at the 11th hour of the code amendment process,” Community Development Director Mike Boquist said during the Wednesday, July 12, meeting.

The Planning Commission started working on the draft of the proposed code amendments in October 2021. During the drafting process the Planning Commission held a total of 20 work sessions — 18 work sessions with members of the commission and two joint work sessions with the council.

The proposed changes to the land development code cover a wide range of areas, among them housing production strategy, urban forestry amendments, bed-and-breakfast inns, the business and technology park, small-scale manufacturing, mobile food vendors, parking at Eastern Oregon University, public street standards, conditional use permit review and housekeeping.

During the July regular session, Boquist walked the council through a high-level overview of the changes and any issues that were brought up by residents during the public hearing before the Planning Commission in June.

Cottage home developments and minimum lot size

The Planning Commission recommended removing cottage home developments from the R1 zone.

Boquist explained that a large number of property owners in that zone felt that cottage home developments would not be consistent with the housing already located within the area.

Minimum lot size created a lot of debate — both for residents and for the council.

The consultant who completed the Housing Production Strategy recommended reducing the minimum lot size from 5,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet.

Boquist said that this size is fairly consistent with the existing lots throughout the city.

He also stressed that it will only be the minimum size requirement, so developers could still decide to parcel out larger lots.

“It’s an opportunity for somebody who cannot afford to build a house themselves or get into ownership to be able to come in and buy a $250,000 house as opposed to what used to be a $250,000 (house) is now a $400,000 and some thousand,” Boquist said. “All we’re doing is creating the opportunity.”

Councilor David Glabe wanted to push back on the assumption that reducing the minimum lot size would reduce the cost of housing. He pointed to development on the ridge where lots were carved out at a fraction of the size of those in the surrounding area, which were typically half an acre or larger.

However, the people moving in did not want that small of a lot and ended up buying more than one.

The cost of purchasing two lots was greater than it would have been to purchase a larger sized lot.

Boquist explained that the ridge subdivision is within the R2 zone with a 5,000 square foot minimum lot size. The developer who worked on the area Glabe referenced carved out lots that were 20,000 or 15,000 square feet.

“The fact that the developer created lots that his customers did not want is not the city’s responsibility and (not) the city’s fault,” Boquist said. “We’re creating the opportunity and it’s up to the developer to choose where they’re purchasing a lot, what they are going to subdivide it into and what are they going to market to the people that they want to market to.”

Glabe also pointed out that he was unable to find many municipalities with minimum lot sizes under 5,000 square feet.

Boquist said that La Grande is at the forefront of looking at housing producing strategy because of the grant the city received. The rest of Oregon is now going through this process, he said, and will be looking at the exact same things within the next few years.

Councilor Nicole Howard said that putting more housing into a space is exactly what La Grande needs to address the housing issues. Councilor Corrine Dutto agreed — pointing to the housing crisis within the city, especially when it comes to lower income, college students and workforce housing.

The proposed minimum lot size stayed at 3,000 square feet after councilor discussion.Short-term rentals and extending the moratoriumThe current land development code does not include guidance on short-term rentals. The council wanted to address this due to the amount of housing stock the city was losing to short-term rentals.

The goal was also to simplify the process for property owners. Previously, property owners who wanted to establish short-term rentals in residential areas needed to obtain a conditional use permit, which was a discretionary allowance that required going through the Planning Commission.

In October 2022 the council passed a 120-day moratorium on short-term rentals and tasked the Planning Commission with outlining requirements for owners of short-term rentals. Councilors approved a six-month extension in February of this year, which was set to expire in August.

However, the earliest that the new land development code will be in place is September.

As such, Boquist requested a second six-month extension on the moratorium, which the council ultimately approved. The extension does come with the provision that it will immediately be terminated once the new code amendments are in place.

Glabe asked why not make it a two-month extension if the new code is supposed to be in place by September. Boquist explained that from here on out the council is driving the timeline. The plan is for the council to hold the next public hearing and vote on the code amendment in August and it will go into effect in September. However, Boquist said that the council could also decide to make changes, which would change the projected timeline. He does not want the city to be in a situation where the moratorium expires prior to the new land development code being in place.

Councilor Denise Wheeler did not want to extend the moratorium and voted against the extension. She said that she felt like it had been in place for enough time and was limiting.

City Manager Robert Strope explained that if the moratorium expires before the land code amendment is finished then someone could walk in the day after the expiration and submit an application under the current standard. They would not be subjected to the governances included within the new land development code.

“To be in a position where (the moratorium) expires and the code amendments are not adopted would be deeply irresponsible I think,” Howard said.

Under the newly proposed code, the city considers a short-term rental to be a rental of 30 consecutive days or less. Two types of short-term rentals will be defined by the proposed code — bed-and-breakfast inns and host home shares are one category, and vacation rentals are the second.

Councilors decided to make a few changes to the proposed code for short-term rentals.

Originally under the proposed code, property owners would be limited to one short-term rental permit and one short-term rental within the city. The council decided to increase this to two.

The permit is not transferable and is exclusively assigned to the property owner.

The council also decided to increase the mileage that an emergency contact needs to be from the rental. At least one emergency contact is required to reside within 15 miles of the short-term rental and be available within two hours in case of emergency. Councilors increased the milage up from the originally proposed 10 miles, to include Elgin and Union as possible locations for emergency contacts.

The remainder of the proposed codes around short-term rentals were not changed.

A copy of the proposed land development code amendments can be accessed at the city’s website, www.cityoflagrande.org, on the 2023 Proposed Code Amendments page under Planning Commission.

To read more of this story, log on to www.lagrandeobserver.com.