Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Development Code topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Albany staff present two development‑code ordinances to align with state law; hearing continued to Aug. 26
Summary
City staff told the Albany City Council that two ordinances packaging multiple state-driven land‑use changes require more review; staff recommended, and council agreed, to continue the legislative public hearing to Aug. 26, 2026, to allow review of missing tracked changes and additional public comment.
Albany City staff told the City Council on July 8 that two bundled ordinances are needed to bring the Albany Development Code into compliance with recent Oregon laws and to clarify several local rules.
Anne Catlin, community development staff, said the package is split because some state changes are already in effect while others take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Ordinance 1 contains changes that are already in force or imminent; Ordinance 2 implements provisions that take effect next year, including multiple items linked to House Bill 2138.
Catlin said the amendments will change notice areas for many residential developments, move a larger set of proposals into staff‑level, clear‑and‑objective review (with appeals limited to applicants), and adjust how certain uses such as residential care‑treatment facilities and licensed crisis stabilization centers are processed. She also described a technical change to how single‑room‑occupancy and bedroom counts apply to density calculations, and a staff‑proposed hybrid for minimum building separation that would keep 10‑foot separation up to 30 feet of building height and 20 feet above that while allowing scaled reductions for projects that include deeper levels of affordability.
The staff presentation noted missing track changes in the packet for the second ordinance; Catlin recommended continuing the hearing so councilors, staff and the public can review the corrected exhibit. Councilors asked for a plain‑language executive summary of the changes and for clearer annotations showing which edits are required by state law and which are local policy choices. Catlin agreed to provide a concise summary for posting and reuse at the next hearing.
Council debate touched on tradeoffs between complying promptly with state law and preserving local discretion. Several councilors expressed frustration that state statutes limit local appeal rights for some staff‑level decisions; others urged aligning the development code with statute to avoid inconsistent guidance to applicants and extra staff workload.
The council voted during the meeting to read the ordinance (AMC 15.06) a second time on title only. A roll‑call vote recorded four in favor and two opposed; the ordinance will return for further consideration at the continued hearing. Separately, staff formally recommended that the legislative hearing on the development‑code package be continued to Aug. 26, 2026, to ensure the public can review corrected materials and submit additional testimony.
Next steps: staff will prepare an executive summary and corrected exhibits, and the council will take up the continued legislative public hearing on Aug. 26, 2026.
