Oregon City planning panel approves church expansion, adds parking-safety condition after neighborhood objections

The Oregon City Planning Commission voted 4–0 to approve a conditional-use permit (CUP) and site-plan/design-review permit allowing Oregon City Evangelical Church to expand its sanctuary, build an adjacent parking lot and demolish two homes, with an amended condition requiring the applicant to work with the city engineer and AV Davis property owners to address parking and safety and to pay for signage and curb painting; the mitigations will be reviewed within six months.

City staff told the commission the church expansion would create a roughly 94,150-square-foot facility and that the CUP should be valid for 10 years from the city’s final decision; the staff report recommended 19 conditions of approval and concluded the application meets the city’s conditional-use and design-review criteria. "The condition use permit should be valid for 10 years in the final from the final decision of the city," staff said during its presentation.

The commission’s approval followed extended testimony from the applicant, the applicant’s counsel and architect, and neighbors who objected on private-deed-restriction and neighborhood-character grounds. "There have been a number of correspondence that the city has received from Ms. Hammond and Ms. Durham who are opponents to this application," the applicant’s attorney Chip Hudson said in court-style remarks summarizing Miller v. Bridal and related appeals. Hudson told commissioners that CC&Rs (deed restrictions) are private contractual matters enforceable in court and separate from the city’s land-use code review.

Opponents raised stability and quality-of-life concerns tied to two removed homes and a new parking area bordering residences on AV Davis. An attorney representing neighbors argued the change would "fundamentally" alter the neighborhood and pressed that diesel bus activity and late-evening events could harm long-term residents. Neighbors said CC&Rs give homeowners enforceable rights; the commission heard both that litigation over those CC&Rs is pending in the Court of Appeals and staff counsel’s summary that the city has a statutory duty to continue processing land-use applications while appeals run.

During debate commissioners said criteria 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the conditional-use standard were satisfied, and that criterion 4 (whether the proposal would alter the character of the surrounding area) merited scrutiny because of traffic, noise and the scale of the addition. Commissioners and staff discussed traffic sight-distance and where to place no-parking signage. To address those concerns the commission amended staff condition 19 to require the applicant to "work with the city engineer and property owners on AV Davis Road to address parking and safety issues," to fund signs and curb painting on both sides of AV Davis where directed by the city engineer, and to meet again with staff and neighbors for a six-month review of how the mitigation is working.

Staff’s site review listed standard engineering conditions: non-remonstrance agreements for future right-of-way improvements, a public easement for a looped water line, backflow prevention on new connections and a final drainage report. Staff also said the parking analysis used sanctuary seating (680 seats) as the baseline and that the applicant proposed 300 parking spaces (staff noted a range of required parking of 170–340 based on sanctuary seating; accounting for all building uses the required range would be 235–677).

The commission recorded the motion to approve "CU0504 and SB0525" and voted "aye" from Commissioners Lehi, Dunne, Roddy and Chairperson Fauf. The commission’s staff said a notice of decision would be mailed the following Wednesday.

The record includes discussion of comprehensive-plan policies the staff applied, including noise and housing goals and policies (staff cited Goal 5 / Policy 6.4.0.1 on noise abatement and Goal 10.1 on diverse housing opportunities). The transcript shows the applicant and the planning team stressed outreach to the Rivercrest Neighborhood Association and said they would continue to engage with neighbors; the church’s stated uses include a multipurpose/gymnasium space intended for youth programs and family activities. "We have never had a pedestrian or car accident due to people crossing the church," a church representative said when addressing prior complaints about parking and crossing behavior.

Opponents told the commission they would pursue court options and emphasized that some issues — specifically enforcement of CC&Rs — are matters for the courts, not the commission. The commission did not stay processing pending the appeal and proceeded with its land-use review, citing staff advice on jurisdiction and timing.

The decision was approved with the amended condition requiring applicant-city-neighbor coordination on AV Davis; the commission will review the results of that coordination and any implemented signage/striping within six months. The commission’s vote and the written conditions become part of the project record; staff said a notice of decision would be mailed to interested parties the following Wednesday.

Votes at a glance: motion to approve CUP CU0504 and site-plan/design-review SB0525 — outcome: approved (4–0). Commissioners voting yes: Lehi, Dunne, Roddy, Chairperson Fauf.

What’s next: staff will finalize the decision notice and the applicant must satisfy engineering design-review conditions and submit final construction engineering plans before building permits are issued. The amended condition requires the applicant to pay for any signs and curb painting identified by the city engineer and to meet with staff and affected property owners on AV Davis within six months for a review of parking and safety mitigations.