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Planning Issues

The 1999 Great Neighborhoods community conversation grew into the Albany Balanced Development Patterns discussion about the layout of land uses and of the transportation system. Balanced Development Patterns gave the City the opportunity to talk with citizens about growth management in the next twenty years. City staff asked questions such as:

• Where is development most likely to occur in the next five, ten, and twenty years?
• How do different development patterns affect streets and other utilities?
• Do we have enough land zoned for future uses?
• How should we zone vacant land?

The Balanced Development Patterns collaboration resulted in a proposed land use pattern that could change the pattern of development. In this pattern a neighborhood surrounds a village center, with higher-density housing closer to the center and lower-density housing farther out. This pattern puts services and employment opportunities closer to neighborhoods, resulting in more housing choices and less travel time.

The North Albany Refinement Plan is similar to work completed last year in the East I-5 area. The East I-5 Refinement Plan includes a street plan, a neighborhood center, and increased employment opportunities to reduce congestion at the I-5 interchanges.
North Albany zoning was last studied in 1992, following the 1991 decision by North Albany voters to voluntarily annex to the City of Albany. Since then, the population has grown from 3,890 to 5,240, a 35% jump.

Here are some of the planning issues to be addressed in this study:

• Highway Capacity. Highway 20 through North Albany will reach capacity before 2020. How will this affect North Albany’s ability to grow?
• Annexation. North Albany residents voluntarily annexed to the City in 1991. The City made a commitment then to preserve the area’s livability. Can the North Albany Refinement Plan balance residents’ expectations with citywide long-term land use goals?
• Rural Atmosphere. Through thirty years of planning, residents have consistently preferred to keep North Albany’s rural atmosphere. How can this area urbanize without losing its rural atmosphere?
• Aesthetics. Scenic vistas and open spaces are essential to North Albany’s livability. One proposed solution is "rural by design" or "rural cluster" techniques. How would these work on the scale of North Albany? Should we modify development standards, such as street design and home orientation?
• Housing Needs. North Albany has always been a desirable location for middle- to upper-income families. Most housing is detached single-family homes on large lots. No rental housing has been built in recent years, and North Albany’s limited amount of medium-density residential land has not been developed. The market for that housing has chosen locations closer to jobs, goods and services in other parts of Albany. To what extent should housing types in North Albany be varied?
• Employment and Access to Goods and Services. North Albany’s limited amount of commercial-zoned land has developed as mini-storage, an athletic club, a dentist’s office, and small business offices, instead of businesses that provide daily goods and services. The gap has recently attracted attention from developers. A local fuel distributor has completed a gas station/fast-food restaurant/mini-market on the southeast corner of Hickory Street and North Albany Road, and there are competing interests in rezoning nearby land for commercial use (maybe a grocery store?). What should North Albany’s jobs/housing balance be?
• Floodplain Management. More than 400 homes and property worth more than $100 million are located in the Willamette River floodplain in North Albany. In the commercial area along Hickory Street, the fill needed to make a site buildable increases development costs and makes it harder to design pedestrian-friendly, human-scale projects. Should we continue to allow development in the floodplain? Should we modify floodplain development standards?
• Other Environmental Issues. In addition to Thornton Lake and Horseshoe Lakes, many small drainageways flow through North Albany. Some wetlands have been altered, but some of the native riparian vegetation is still intact. To what extent should we preserve these features in their natural state?
• Infrastructure Capacity and Extension. The sanitary sewers installed in 1992 were sized for low-density residential growth. How does the size of its water, sewer, and storm drainage systems affect North Albany’s capacity for growth? Outside the North Albany Road corridor, North Albany has no sanitary sewers. When will these be built, and how will they be paid for?