CURRENT LAND USE REVIEWS:
Planning Commission: On November 13th the Planning Commission will hold a hearing to discuss the 138 apartment unit complex on Sandy Heights Street. This application was initially a staff review but due to the high volume of public input I decided to elevate the decision to a Planning Commission review.
Subdivisions: The City Townhomes six lot subdivision and the Mairin’s Viewpoint six lot subdivision are both being reviewed by staff. Both subdivisions are Type II reviews which does not require review by the Planning Commission.
Annexation: The land use application that includes the Sobella Nursery, the Schilling land (at the corner of Orient Drive and HWY 26), and abutting right-of-way has been deemed complete. The total amount of land proposed to be included is approximately 45.29 acres. This annexation proposal will be presented to City Council at the January 2, 2018 City Council meeting.
Other land use applications: Staff is also reviewing two tree permits, two small land partitions, two design reviews, one annexation, and one zone change/ordinance repeal. These other land applications are in process.
BUILDING OFFICIAL – QUARTERLY REPORT:
The summer of 2017 rushed by too quickly for the Sandy Building Department. Residential construction has continued to be dominated with townhouses, and commercial projects have been varied and busy.
Currently, the largest commercial project in Sandy is the Oregon Trail School District’s renovation and conversion of the Old Sandy High School (Pioneer Building). OTSD hopes to occupy and open as the new location for Sandy Middle School after the Thanksgiving Holiday. Next on the most notable list is the Sandy Fire Department renovation by Skyward Construction. The project superintendent says they are making good progress and are on track to open the Sandy Fire Department before Christmas. Another notable project is the new Wendy’s Restaurant being built inside the auxiliary PAD building next to Goodwill, and projected to open in early-to-mid December. Equally notable is the complete remodel being done to the ski shop purchased by Next Adventure, and the new food cart changes at Sandlandia Food Court. Ron Hughes’ 9-unit apartment building on Tupper Hill is also progressing steadily. Lastly, we are pleased to report that approval for occupancy and business licenses were given to Simply Sisters (a new craft activities business), the Double Dragon Restaurant’s new owner, and to Jacobsen Pediatric Dentistry, located at 37515 Hwy 26. (Incidentally, Jacobsen Pediatric Dentistry is the 4th facility with medical gas installation in recent years.)
Residential construction remains strong with October’s tally having 66 active residential dwelling permits — of which 36 are Townhomes. Palladian Group leads with 27 single family townhomes being constructed in Champion Village, and National Development is constructing 9 new townhouses near Tickle Creek. Zion Meadows subdivision is quickly filling with single family homes constructed by Raze Custom Homes, D. A. Gray Ltd., Richard Haggerty, and Matt Stott Construction for a combined total of 20 homes currently under construction. Lastly, Colby Custom Construction, Tom Orth Construction, SKS Construction, Ron Haggerty and Vanport Builders are creating the other 10 quality homes in Sandy.