Planning Commission recommends rezoning 7.88-acre Sutherlin site for multifamily housing

The Sutherlin Planning Commission voted 4-2 on Aug. 19 to recommend that the City Council approve a comprehensive plan map amendment and a zoning map change to convert a 7.88-acre city-owned parcel off Oak Street from light industrial to high-density residential (R-3 multifamily). The proposal is file number 25s0008; the applicant is Mark Garrett, representing the City of Sutherlin.

City staff recommended approval after concluding the application met statewide planning goals and Sutherlin’s land-use criteria, and noted that the Oregon Department of Transportation concurred with the applicant’s traffic analysis. Staff told the commission the application and notices were filed in accordance with applicable procedures: the application was filed June 25, 2025, deemed complete July 10, 2025, the notice was submitted to the Department of Land Conservation and Development on July 10, and public-notice publications and mailings occurred in late July and early August.

Mark Garrett, the applicant’s representative, said…