Estacada planning commission approves two-lot partition in Lock Martin subdivision with conditions

The Estacada Planning Commission voted to approve a two-lot partition at 2318 Northwest Martin Street in the Lock Martin subdivision on Oct. 16, 2024, allowing a 1-acre light-industrial parcel to be divided into two roughly half-acre lots for future industrial development.

Planning staff presented the application, identified in the record as case numbers referenced in the transcript variously as “2024-03-LP” and “2024-04-LP,” and told commissioners the proposal met the partition approval criteria with conditions. "This is case number 2024DashO3DashLP, the Lock Martin partition," planning staff said during the presentation.

The commission’s conditions require that the two new lots be substantially similar to the submitted plan and that all public services be made available to each lot and installed underground before final plat approval. Planning staff and the city engineer also recommended that sidewalk and vehicle-access improvements be completed prior to issuance of any building permit, consistent with the subdivision’s previously approved plans. The commission also kept the standard restriction that the parcels cannot be sold and no building permits will be issued until the final plat is recorded; final plat approval must be obtained within two years.

Applicant contact Michael McElroy described the partition as a way to "give a lower point of entry for smaller buildings so that a a business can come in and, just get in at a more affordable price point." McElroy also said the developer had oversized water laterals to each lot and had a plan to provide sewer and storm services to both lots.

Commissioners asked staff about applicable code standards and about a $15,000 building-code threshold that triggers curb and sidewalk installation for building projects. Planning staff said that threshold is part of the building-code chapter and that sidewalks were required at time of building permit for projects over that threshold; staff recommended the condition to avoid requiring applicants to build sidewalks before building layouts were finalized for industrial uses.

After questions and no public testimony for or against the application, a commissioner moved to approve the partition with the conditions recommended by staff; the motion carried. The transcript records the outcome as "motion carries," but does not record a roll-call vote tally in the public record excerpt.

The partition site is within the city’s light-industrial zone near the northwest edge of the urban growth boundary and is part of the Lock Martin subdivision previously approved by the city council in 2023. Planning staff noted a performance bond is already in place for Lock Martin for paving, striping and signage; that bond does not include sidewalks, which is why the commission required sidewalk installation at the building-permit stage.

Following the vote, commissioners discussed whether simple partitions could be handled administratively in the future rather than requiring a planning-commission hearing; staff replied that partitions currently require planning-commission review under the city’s land-use procedures, and any change would go to the city council for consideration.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the Lock Martin two-lot partition (case referenced in the record as 2024-03-LP / 2024-04-LP) with the conditions presented by staff; the transcript records the motion and that the motion carried but does not provide a named mover/second or a numeric roll-call tally.