Proposal seeks ban on hillside building.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

COTTAGE GROVE - The City Council will vote Monday night on a proposed moratorium on hillside developments, defined as any slopes greater than 15 percent, to give the city time to develop more stringent standards for steep lots.

"We don't want to prohibit development on slopes, but we want to protect trees and plants and make certain requirements on excavation and filling," City Administrator Richard Meyers said. "We want any run-off from the development to be contained on the property, filtered and kept clean."

The city's staff recommends that the temporary ban take effect immediately. But it would not apply to hillside lots proposed on the slopes of Mount David for the city's largest subdivision, Sunrise Ridge, because that application already was accepted under existing rules, Meyers said.

The fate of that 250-unit proposal, approved by the planning commission with a long list of conditions, could rest with a Lane County Circuit Court judge rather than the City Council, anyway. Developer Todd Alberts in September petitioned the court to declare the project approved without the usual City Council public hearing, saying the council failed to act on his application within a 120-day limit set by Oregon law. Meyers said last week that the city has been negotiating with the developer to try to reach a settlement that would include key conditions set out by the planning commission.

Issues raised in those negotiations partly prompted city staff to push for the moratorium, he said.

Other factors included increased developer interest in steeper sites as flat land becomes more scarce and the city's recent work with federal and state emergency management agencies to identify potential natural hazards. "In our case, they mostly involve slopes," Meyers said.

The temporary ban on hillside projects would allow the city time to develop more stringent standards to prevent slides and erosion of lower-lying areas due to storm water runoff.

City officials hope the moratorium will be brief, he said. Public hearings on related code changes already are scheduled, beginning Jan. 18 before the planning commission. The goal is to adopt new standards within 60 days.

If the moratorium is approved Monday night, it would apply to development applications received starting Tuesday.

In other business Monday night, the council is set to continue its deliberations over proposed expansion of the season and scope of the Cottage Grove Speedway. The proposal was approved by the planning commission subject to 44 conditions - some of which the speedway owners call unworkable.

At its last meeting Dec. 19, the council worked through only two conditions, including one of the proposal's most contentious issues: limits on the number of events allowed, settling on a maximum of 140 days of operation per year.

Meyers said councilors hope to discuss remaining conditions Monday night, so the city staff can draft a list of final conditions for the council to consider in making a final decision, possibly at its Jan. 23 meeting.