City Reviews Code Changes
In what could be considered a marathon meeting yesterday the City Council and Planning Commission together reviewed the possible code changes that will affect how the city will move forward with providing new rules for contractors and individuals desiring to build new homes. The city’s code is nearly 4 decades old and much of the feedback from builders wanting to construct homes has been that it is difficult to work within the current codes. City Manager Erin Reynolds.
“It’s not that just it’s old and needs to be changed, but it is something that we have heard time and time again from our community members from builders and outside developers that have come in and said ‘ahhh, this is really difficult to work with’”
The meeting began at 10:30 and by noon they had not quite gone through 2 of the 6 pages of recommendations by city staff. According to Reynolds the process to completion, with a new set of city codes, will hopefully be done by the end of the year.
Lane County in Top 10
According to a new study based on census data, Lane County is in the top 10 counties in Oregon for gains in pay. The study by SmartAsset, a financial technology company analyzed data for a five-year period to determine places with the greatest income growth. Grant was at the top of the list with a 5.5 percent income growth and Lane, at tenth, showed a 2.3 percent growth. The company also analyzed purchasing power and unemployment. Lane County is currently at 4.5 percent unemployment which is sixteenth in the state.
Dog Park Closes For Repairs
The Singing Pines Dog Park on Kingwood will be closed beginning tomorrow to prepare for improvements that will take place during the Power of Florence. The park was originally created in 2012 by the City and volunteers. The park will receive new playground quality chips, new watering stations with stainless steel bowls, trees and irrigation in the small dog area and a gravel walking path from the entry to the watering stations. The park will reopen on Saturday at 4pm.
Port Puts Finishing Touches on Campsites
The port of Siuslaw is finishing up the construction on their c-row camping spaces adding 3 more sites and going from dry camping to full services. They are in the process of completing installation of wi-fi and cable hookups.
