Troutdale planning commission approves Reynolds High School cosmetology program with bus drop-off condition

The Troutdale Planning Commission on July 23 voted to approve a conditional use permit for a career-technology cosmetology program operated by Reynolds High School in a roughly 1,200-square-foot tenant space at Cherry Park Shopping Center. The commission attached a condition that, if the Reynolds School District transports students to the site, school buses must unload on the north side of the shopping-center parking lot to avoid the busy frontage near the bank and restaurant. Staff said the program will have about 23 students per period with three periods per day. The permit (case file LU00102025) allows the district to use the former hair-salon suite as a community-service use, which the staff report said is conditionally permitted in the General Commercial (GC) zone. City staff told the commission that public-works and Multnomah County Transportation Department reviews produced no additional conditions or objections. Staff recommended approval and provided draft findings and standard conditions of approval, including a two-year expiration if the permit is not enacted. Commissioners discussed safety and business impacts during deliberations. Commissioner comments focused on where buses or group drop-offs could occur and whether TriMet stops or walking would be the primary means students use to reach the site. One applicant representative said the program will be “mostly focused on hair,” and staff read the applicant’s estimate of student counts. Commissioners who raised safety concerns pressed for a specific unloading area that would reduce pedestrian crossings in the busiest part of the lot. After a roll-call vote on adding the north-side drop-off condition and later a separate roll-call approving the conditions and the findings and final order, the commission adopted staff’s recommendation with the added condition restricting school district unloading to the north side of the lot when district transportation is used. The commission also approved the findings of fact and final order adopting staff’s analysis that the proposal meets the applicable criteria in the Troutdale development code. Staff and the applicant said no exterior modifications are proposed and that existing parking and transportation infrastructure are adequate for the projected use. The record shows two agency responses: public works (no additional conditions) and Multnomah County Transportation (no comment).