Zoning Change Request
The Florence Planning Commission is holding a public hearing tonight at 5:30 PM at City Hall to consider a zoning change for the former Lotus Restaurant property at 1150 Bay Street. The site, vacant for years, is part of a redevelopment effort by A & D Bay Street, LLC, which is seeking to rezone it from “Water Use” to “Old Town.” Community Development Director Wendy Farley-Campbell says the change would open the door for uses aligned with Old Town zoning. The property owners have not made public their specific plans for the site. Additionally, the commission will review a proposal to allow residential-only developments in certain areas of Old Town, where housing is currently limited to mixed-use projects. Farley-Campbell emphasizes that tonight’s focus is on zoning and land-use appropriateness, not specific development plans. The commission’s recommendations will go to the Florence City Council for further review.
MLK Holiday
Next Monday city offices and Siuslaw public schools will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Holiday. The city of Florence will operate normal service related facilities as usual but City Hall will not be opened for regular business and onsite bill pay.
9th Street Development
The City of Florence has received $1.9 million in legislative funding for infrastructure improvements on NW 9th Street to support affordable housing and child care. The project requires Planning Commission review due to natural hazards, including riparian areas and drainage ways. This meeting is a continuance of a December meeting where the issue was first introduced. The application, submitted by the Public Works Department, aims to ensure the project aligns with environmental considerations and supports essential community services.
PERS Investments
A new bill aims to further reduce investments in fossil fuels by Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System. The Pause Act would impose a five-year ban on new investments by the system in private fossil-fuel funds. Supporters believe this move will help lower emissions and keep wealth in Oregon communities. Andrew Bogrand, with Divest Oregon, helped draft the bill. The group found that P-E-R-S fossil fuel investments have under-performed the market by 4 to 10-billion dollars over the past decade.
“Private equity has taken advantage, in our view, of public pensions, and this would allow Treasury staff the time and space they need to kind of course correct.”
Last year, former Treasurer Tobias Read, now Secretary of State, introduced a plan to reduce P-E-R-S investments in fossil fuels by 60-percent by 2035, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. Bogrand says the Pause Act aligns with that plan.