Planning Department items: 

• Shelters at Sandy Bluff Park:  The City of Sandy Parks and Recreation Department received land use approval to construct two open wood shelters with metal roofs in Sandy Bluff Park. The shelters are 144 square feet and 448 square feet in size, are open with no walls, and are just under twelve (12) feet in height. Both shelters are near the existing walking/running path in the park (Exhibit B).
  
  Both structures are comprised of laminated treated wood posts, black metal brackets with a metal roof. The shelter’s engineering specifications display that the proposed roofs are metal with downspouts into the existing storm system.
  
  
• Mt. Hood Athletic Club water reclamation system:  Mt. Hood Athletic Club received approval to construct a 108 square foot (12’ x 9’) shed with a metal roof in the northeast corner of their site. The shed is for housing equipment for a rainwater recovery and reclamation system. The recovered rainwater is collected from the roof of the building, stored, sent back into the building, and used to flush toilets in the restrooms. Most of the system was installed at the time of initial building construction more than a decade ago with the intention of someday being activated.
  
  The proposed covered shelter uses approved Sandy Style materials, wood and metal, thus providing the visual interest. The proposed shed will be comprised of board and batten siding with colors matching the Athletic Club building and a pinecone trim. The shed is roughly eight (8) feet in height but will not be visible from a public right-of-way.
  
  
• Mass Timber code modernization and update:  Through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition (OMTC) $41.4 million to develop and expand Oregon’s emerging Mass Timber industry, with an emphasis on utilizing mass timber products in prefabricated/modular home construction. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is utilizing funding through this grant to help cities update and modernize local development codes to encourage the use of mass timber modular housing.

Consistent with the federal grant award, DLCD staff prioritized assistance to wildfire affected and rural communities and chose the City of Sandy. The DLCD and project consultants will assist in identifying local regulatory barriers to developing mass timber and modular housing. The next steps for project team will be to complete the following tasks for each selected community.

1. Provide Adoption-Ready Code Amendments

2. Engage Community Members Equitably

3. Provide Additional Capacity to assist in local planning commission and city council work sessions and adoption hearings.

Hoodview Heights subdivision:  The builders in the Hood View Heights Subdivision applied for variances to two of their homes to be built with their front façade facing the interior street Metolius Avenue rather than to a transit street, which in their case is Hwy 26. The Sandy Municipal Code (SMC) requires homes to face a transit street rather than a local street when applicable. Because of the speed of Hwy 26, the slope of road right of way and the lack of access, the City granted the variances with conditions of approval.

Due to the ambient noise generated by average daily traffic along Hwy 26 reaching approximately 20,000 vehicles a day, the Planning Division is requiring concrete sound abatement fencing or wall structures six feet high along all property lines abutting Hwy 26. For all future variance requests of a similar nature in this subdivision, the applicant shall maintain a uniform appearance using the same fencing material and the same style of material as used to fulfill this condition. The style of concrete panel fencing agreed upon is from Verti-Crete, which is shown in the picture below:

Development Services Code enforcement items: 

A-Frame Signs: As part of a weekly sign audit, the code enforcement specialist initiated an audit of A-frame signs including those left up outside of operating hours, those placed without permission of property owners, and businesses with multiple unpermitted signs.

Business Licenses: In an effort to enforce the requirement for businesses to operate with a valid business license, an audit was performed to identify and notify those businesses who operate within Sandy which have never had a business license. 55 Businesses were identified in the first phase of this audit with 12 new licenses obtained to date. A second phase begins December 1st to ensure renewals for 2024.