Subdivision Open House; Mushroom Permits; City Council Meeting; Fatal Mapleton Crash

Subdivision Open House

Florence’s new subdivision with more than 130 home sites is well under way. One of the Developers of the 3 Mile Prairie project, Kyle Hunnicut was on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday and had nothing but praise for the city of Florence and their efforts in making the project a success.

“the city has been great, everybody from planning and the building department up to Mike in the public works department, everybody has been easy to work with and it’s made a difference.”

Hunnicut says the goal was to make a variety of homes available in several different price brackets that would widely serve the community.  The project is just one of many on the drawing board for the city of Florence.  Although officials from the planning department says there are still many more homes needed to meet the growing needs of Florence.  Florence’s growth spurts have overwhelmed the housing market over the past 10 years, but changes to things like density regulations and tax incentives are opening the doors for more development.

Mushroom Permits

If you like to hunt for matsutake mushrooms, you can now submit an application for a permit.  The Central Coast Ranger District has opened permitting for the fall season. There will only be 100 commercial-use permits available and are on a first come first serve basis.  Permits are required for anyone who gathers more than 6 mushrooms per day or for anyone gathering to sell.  Permits are $250 dollars and must be completed and submitted by August 22nd to be considered.  Permits must be postmarked by that date to be valid.

City Council Meeting

The Florence city council will meet this evening with several items on their agenda to consider.  The meeting will begin with a proclamation regarding the extension of Florence’s commitment to the US Coast Guard as the city continues to be recognized as a Coast Guard City.  There will also be a recognition of Farmers Market Week.  There will also be a public hearing on the proposed annexation of 3.5 acres near highway 101 and Heceta Beach Road.  The parcel is located approximately 100 yards Southeast of Heceta Beach road.  The city will also consider the property for a service industrial zoning.  The council will also consider a resolution to establish a payment plan for the Quince street property  related to the proposed hotel development.  The council will also consider entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the state of Oregon for an upgrade to radio repeaters used by law enforcement and emergency response crews.

Fatal Mapleton Crash

A crash in Mapleton on Thursday claimed the life of a Tidewater man.  24 year old timothy Cooper suffered fatal injuries after his Ford Focus rear-ended the Dodge Ram pickup operated by 63 year old Roger Montgomery of Veneta.  Montgomery was making a left turn to get gas when the Ford Focus hit him from behind.  Montgomery was treated at the scene for minor injuries, two other occupants of the Ford Focus also received minor injuries.