A portion of Southeast First Avenue and South Walnut Street near Columbia Distributing will be closed Saturday for a controlled burn of a former residential property that is part of a new outlet road planned for the Canby industrial park.
Formerly owned by Patty Green, a vocal opponent of the Columbia Distributing project, the property was purchased by the city in June 2019 for $595,000 in urban renewal funds.
The controlled burn of the house by the Canby Fire District will provide valuable training opportunities for firefighters.
The two streets will be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, according to Canby Public Works.
The new north outlet road would extend South Walnut through several private properties to ultimately connect with Highway 99E near the Route 99 Roadhouse, providing ever-increasing industrial traffic an alternative to the existing roadways that primarily serve residential areas and rural farms.
While the timeline for the project is dependent on a number of factors — including, crucially, the approval of the Oregon Department of Transportation, which maintains 99E — it has the support of all of the impacted property owners.
It also took an important step forward earlier this year, as the City Council approved an amendment to include the project in Canby’s Transportation System Plan, making it possible to use system development charge (SDC) fees to help pay for it.
