EDITOR’S NOTE: More HOUSING! Yeah! But wait, it’s right in your backyard, literally. And the developers have an 80 acre site to work with – why are they placing it in the southern most corner, the farthest distance from Manzanita? Why weren’t neighbors notified? Why is there a discrepancy in which “tax lot” is actually being developed – is it 1401 or 1403? The developers claim there isn’t any other area that’s “flat” enough for the development. I recall a standing-room-only housing task force (prior to the current Tillamook County Housing Commission) listening session, and there were several comments that resonated with me – one was from a local hospitality worker who said, “What if we don’t want apartments and small houses?” And then there were some Manzanita residents who said, “Build that housing in Nehalem or Wheeler. We don’t want that type of housing here.” This isn’t “not in my backyard” situation, but a question of is this the best location for this type of development? Some consideration should be given to the pre-existing community, the impacts on their property values and quality of life and really is this the best location on this large piece of property for this development? It seems that this new development, placed on the southern most edge of the available property is already not being a “good neighbor.” Why would you put the development so far away from the city services, with longer connections to utilities? The perfect location for affordable housing would be at the corner of Classic and Necarney City Road – the old driving range, as the developers claim that this is the only “flat” location. Oh, but there’s the Highlands and this would be in their “view.” And there is no plan to leave any “buffer zone” of trees or forest between the Clipper Court community and the new development. Let’s hear from someone in the Clipper Court development that will now have this “view.”
This would be the view from the Albrechtsen’s backyard.
By Stephen Albrechtsen
On April 14, the Manzanita City Council will be holding an appeal hearing of the Planning Commission decision regarding the Manzanita Pines affordable housing project. A new hearing before the Council is being conducted because the City ignored the request to keep the public record open for new testimony during the Planning Commission hearing before granting approval of the developer’s request. We welcome this opportunity to again present our testimony and concerns as neighboring homeowners owners to the project and longtime community members.
Here’s the Albrechtsen family on the North Side of proposed Manzanita Pines Building site that is level and flat but doesn’t impact the Clipper Court community like the proposed development.
I want to be clear that I and my neighbors in our Clipper Court community understand and support the need for affordable housing represented by this project. We intend to be good neighbors to those residents who will be living at Manzanita Pines. We are simply asking for the developer to design, and the City Council to approve, a sensible project that demonstrates Manzanita Pines can also be a good neighbor.
For decades, Oregon cities have had zoning standards regulating building heights, yard setbacks, parking requirements etc. that balance the design requests of developers with the needs and interests of established neighboring property owners. The City and developer of Manzanita Pines have relied on a new State law that essentially throws those basic protections out the window because this is an affordable housing project. We find it inconceivable that our State Legislature intended to elevate the interests of one class of citizen/residents over the property interests of residents of long-established neighborhoods. The negative public relations for the developer, Manzanita and Oregon Housing and Community Services, which is the agency funding this project, is considerable and detracts from all of the otherwise good intent of this project.
For 25 years, the City ignored the effects of short-term rental growth that substantially eliminated long-term rentals in Manzanita and ownership possibilities for those in our community of more modest financial means, many of whom do our important service work. The misguided solution appears to be setting three-story apartments in an obscure corner of the City that is isolated from needed services and public transit. We note that the Comprehensive Plan states that a project like this should protect the character and quality of existing residential areas and neighborhoods from
incompatible new development. The Clipper Court community where I and my neighbors live would be a stark contrast to the current project as designed. As yet another unintended consequence of how short-term rentals have impacted community livability, this City oversight has now brought this large project into our quiet and wooded neighborhood.
I invite the Mayor and Councilors to visualize how having this project appear next to your home would impact your life. As you listen to our concerns, you can claim that you have no choice but to follow the recommendations of the attorneys, approve this project as presented, and return to your home at the conclusion of the hearing feeling satisfied that you have done all that you could do to insure an outcome that was fair to all parties. No one is naive enough to believe that prior to the appeal hearing, City officials and the developer could not come up with some design compromises that could be presented to remove the Council from this public relations quandary.
The current plans place the building concentrated in the Southern end of the property, most impacting the community of Clipper Court. However the North end offers equally flat terrain, yet boosts the idyllic views of the surrounding mountain ranges, while at the same time gives residents of the future development more privacy and space. Is it the expense of running utilities to the Northern section, would the views of the elite in the Highlands community be tainted, or is the added construction cost of extending Loop Road? This could be a win/win scenario, but developers are quick to push a false narrative of too steep terrain. The photo above is on the Northern edge of the proposed property, facing North.
Good governance requires balancing competing interests. Compromise in this instance most likely means that neither side gets everything that they are asking for but does allow citizens to observe a Council that solves a problem. Whether Manzanita Pines is a controversial, disliked project or a successful community asset may well depend on what the community hears from our City Council on April 14.