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Developer stockpiles dirt near mailboxes; city staff say excavation permit and SWIP plan are on file
Summary
City staff told the Public Works Committee that developer Larry Myler has an excavation permit and an approved stormwater (SWIP) plan for a temporary dirt stockpile near the mailbox curve, and described high‑level talks over trading the salt‑shed site to a developer in exchange for a new salt shed and other offsite stormwater work.
Woodland Hills Public Works Committee members were briefed Tuesday on a developer’s temporary dirt stockpile near the community mailbox area and on high‑level discussions with a nearby developer about acquiring the city’s salt shed property in exchange for building a replacement.
The committee heard that developer Larry Myler has an excavation permit and an approved SWIP plan that covers the stockpiling, and that the material will be crushed and reused in the larger development rather than hauled off. “There’s both a permit and a SWIP plan,” a staff member said, adding that the town’s SWIP reviewer had approved the submittal as part of the development’s larger plan.
The discussion followed multiple resident inquiries about whether the work is permitted and whether erosion controls are in place. Committee member Nathan Pack asked whether visible controls — fabric barriers or other perimeter measures — had been installed; staff said they would ask the SWIP reviewer, Mitch, to report back with specifics to the council.
The committee also discussed a separate, ongoing developer proposal, previously raised at the city council, to acquire the property now used for the salt shed and to provide an in‑kind replacement. Under the concept described to the committee, the developer would buy land and build a new salt shed with vehicle bays on another parcel; the city would convey the existing salt‑shed property to the developer as part of an exchange. Staff emphasized the talks are at a very preliminary, high level and that no agreements or written commitments exist.
Committee members asked how differences in value would be handled if the developer’s new facility cost more than the land being conveyed; staff replied that conversations so far have assumed an in‑kind value swap and that the city would expect the developer to cover any additional upgrades the city requests. Staff also described other possible benefits the city has sought in negotiations, such as developer construction of stormwater basins to reduce runoff into downstream jurisdictions.
Committee members noted the access and traffic implications: the county owns the roundabout near the mailbox curve, and the developer has discussed a new access road that would require the developer to acquire the city mailbox parcel to reach the roundabout. Staff said the developer would have to buy the city property (the mailbox site) and relocate mailboxes to a new, larger facility because the current mailbox cluster is at capacity.
Why it matters: residents raised questions about erosion controls and visible disturbance near a publicly used mailbox area; separate, larger negotiations over the salt shed could change city property and require coordination with Salem City and the county on stormwater and access.
City staff said they will ask Mitch, the SWIP reviewer, to present documented erosion‑control measures at the next council report. No formal action was taken on the item at this meeting.
In context: the SWIP and excavation permit were described as part of the developer’s larger project submittal; staff repeatedly noted the discussions about trading the salt shed are conceptual and not yet memorialized in writing.
