Planning commission backs 24.5‑acre rezone on Fort McKay Road to allow commercial and multifamily housing

The Sutherlin Planning Commission voted May 20, 2025, to recommend the Sutherlin City Council approve a comprehensive plan map amendment and concurrent zone change for a 24.5‑acre property on Fort McKay Road that would reclassify about 3.04 acres for community commercial use and about 21.46 acres for high‑density (R‑3) multifamily housing.

City staff recommended the commission forward the application from Clark Property Management LLC with conditions requiring developer‑prepared phasing information, a traffic impact analysis (TIA) before development and before each phase, and intergovernmental agreements with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) should a temporary traffic signal be warranted.

The staff report, entered into the record, says the application was filed Sept. 19, 2024, deemed complete Oct. 2, 2024, and that notice was submitted to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development on Oct. 8, 2024. Public notices were mailed to owners within 100 feet of the subject property and to service providers on Oct. 25, 2024. The hearing was postponed several times, most recently Feb. 25, 2025, to allow completion of a traffic impact analysis.

Mark Garrett, who identified himself as the applicant’s representative for Clark Property Management LLC, told the commission he and the applicant “concur with all of the conclusions” in the staff report and asked the commission to follow staff’s recommendation and forward a recommendation of approval to council.

Staff and the applicant described the conditions the planning commission would impose if the council approves the plan and zone changes. Those conditions include a requirement that property owners or developers submit a written outline of proposed development and phases; that a TIA be submitted and approved before development and again before each phase; and that if a TIA shows signal warrants and ODOT deems installation appropriate, ODOT will seek state traffic‑engineer approval and the property owner/developer must enter an agreement with ODOT for design, funding and construction of a temporary signal before building permits are issued for the phase that triggers the signal.

Commissioners asked several questions about phasing, timing and the number of housing units; staff and the applicant said a specific unit count and final phasing plan were not part of this comprehensive plan and zone‑change application and would be provided in a later development application. Staff noted that phasing deadlines for planned unit developments typically allow two years per phase without extensions and that required engineering and additional permitting would follow any approval.

Commissioners also discussed concerns raised in the record and by ODOT about potential traffic‑mitigation costs and the age of the city’s buildable‑lands inventory; staff said the city is working toward an inventory update and that mitigation costs would be addressed in intergovernmental agreements and system‑development charge or reimbursement‑district arrangements as appropriate.

The planning commission approved a motion recommending option 1 from the staff report (forward for approval with conditions). The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Commissioner Brock, Commissioner Williams, Mister Muck, Mister Wilder, Commissioner Shaw and Chair Van Dujit; no opposing votes were recorded.

The commission’s recommendation now goes to the Sutherlin City Council for final action. The commission and applicant said timing for construction will depend on subsequent engineering, phase‑specific TIAs and any required intergovernmental agreements with ODOT.