It was a busy night for the Canby City Council last Wednesday, as they worked through a crowded agenda that included land use, road and sewer system related issues.
They approved a request to annex 9.6 acres of undeveloped land on North Pine Street in the northeast area of the city. The property will now be primed for low-density residential development.
A conceptual plan for the site showed a subdivision of 40 lots with a minimum lot size of 7,000 square feet, along with road extensions on Oak Street and 15th Avenue, as well as new cross streets to serve the neighborhood. The specifics of the development, however, will have to be submitted and approved through a separate process.
The council also voted to trim the city’s street tree fees, from $500 to $250. The city had had just raised the fees for planting and maintenance of new street trees from $200 to $500 in July.
City Administrator Rick Robinson said he now felt like the increase had been a bit of an overreach, and overly burdensome to new developers. Councilor Tracie Heidt asked if there had been push-back from developers about the increased fees.
Councilor Tyler Smith was the only one to vote against the fee reduction. He said he was against the program in general, and had opposed it when he had been on the planning commission when it was first proposed, but added that if the city’s going to have a street tree program, it should be adequately funded.
In approving the reduction, the city also agreed to reimburse the difference to any developers who had paid the higher fees.