March 19, 2008
By SUE RYAN
News staff writer

The city of Hood River’s planning commission decided Monday night to continue the public hearing to April 7 on a proposal to build 42 condominiums on the waterfront.

Only one citizen attended the hearing and she asked the commission continue it because she believed many more people would have attended if there had not been a conflicting draw.

Hood River resident Susan Froehlich said she felt many people went instead to the hearing on the proposed Bridge of the Gods casino and resort also held Monday night in town. She spoke in opposition of the condominium project, citing it as being too dense for Hood River.

The hearing concerned the application by Portland businessman Bob Naito for a 42-condominium complex on the former Nichols Boatworks property, which is 5.29 acres in size. Part of that property is submerged and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has flowage rights in the basin.

Naito and the project’s designers from Surround Architecture of Hood River gave a presentation to the commission on the details of their project.

“I think it sets the bar high for waterfront development,” said Mark Anderson.

He referred to the project as the first step for highly developed mixed use at the waterfront.

The commission has had a report on the project since Feb. 5 but Anderson went through several conceptual drawings and answered questions from the commissioners.

“What are the approximate heights?” asked Scott Kaden.

Anderson replied that the condos will be tiered but the tallest will be 30 feet and 34 feet in height. The current warehouse at the site is an estimated 60 feet in height.

Port, state and private property border the parcel’s western edge with Frontage Road to its southern edge and the Spit access road on its eastern boundary.

The proposal drew two letters at the meeting, both read into the record by Planning Director Cindy Walbridge.

Neither party could attend the hearing. The first, from Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee, was in support of the proposal.

He wrote that the Naito development would represent a positive development at a highly visible location.

The second letter, from Hood River County Economic Development Director Bill Fashing, stated that the project would be detrimental to surrounding industrial lands and would not contribute to affordable housing needs in the community.

Planning director Walbridge said in her staff report that she retained some concerns over traffic and saw the need for the applicant, the city and a third party traffic engineer to sit down and work out some issues.