Planning commission recommends rezoning 177 Columbia Boulevard to Holton Business District

The St. Helens Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the City Council change the zoning of 177 Columbia Boulevard from General Commercial to Holton Business District, a staff-led amendment the commission said would both remove a small “island” of discrepant zoning and make a police station an explicitly allowed use.

Planning staff told the commission this was a legislative land-use hearing and that the city itself is the applicant. "We're not approving any development tonight. We're simply talking about changing the color of the zoning map," a planning staff member said. The planning commission returned a recommendation in favor of the map amendment and forwarded the record to the City Council for final action.

City planning staff presented three reasons for the change: to clean up an anomalous pocket of General Commercial zoning surrounded by Holton Business District, to ensure the chosen site can accommodate a public safety facility, and to provide educational clarity about how the code and statewide planning goals apply. Staff said the comprehensive plan designation will remain General Commercial and does not need to change to permit the zoning amendment.

Staff recounted the property's zoning history during the staff presentation. The site at 177 Columbia Boulevard occupies the former PGE building and was part of a broader zoning effort in the late 2000s to create the Holton Business District. Planning staff said that rules adopted around 2009 limited first-floor residential uses in parts of downtown, a restriction that the city revised in 2015 to allow more residential types, including multi-dwelling units. Because of that 2015 change, staff said apartments are already allowed and the primary practical effect of the proposed rezoning is to make a police station an explicit permitted use in the district and to remove a small mismatched commercial island.

Staff told the commission the owner, Wayne Weigand, was contacted and had been told about the proposal; staff said Weigand indicated he probably would not attend the hearing and that he had concerns about the effect of rezoning on RV parking on the site. Staff also noted one use that would no longer be allowed under the Holton Business District designation: RV parks. Staff characterized that loss as unlikely to be practically significant for this site.

During deliberations commissioners framed the amendment as a technical "clean up" of a small spot zone and noted consistency in setbacks along Columbia Boulevard that supported the change. The public record was closed after no members of the public appeared to testify. A motion to recommend the zoning amendment carried unanimously: Commissioners Kingsbury, Herrmann, Sisco and Kastner voted aye. The action is a recommendation to City Council; the commission did not approve or deny any development permits or construction plans.

Next steps: the commission's recommendation and the hearing record will be sent to the St. Helens City Council for its legislative review and final decision. The record contains staff findings tied to St. Helens Municipal Code 17.20.12 and to Statewide Planning Goal 10 (Housing), both cited during the presentation.