NB planning commission delays review of proposed hotel zoning
August 20, 2009 · Updated 3:04 PM
North Bend's Planning Commission has delayed considering a proposed zoning code change to allow a hotel off Interstate 90's Exit 31 until September.
The commission had been set to consider the change, which has drawn heavy criticism from residents in the adjacent Forster Woods neighborhood, at its Aug. 27th meeting.
The commission wants to give residents on vacation before Labor Day an opportunity to comment on the proposed amendment, according to Gina Estep, the city's Economic Development Coordinator.
The proposal would allow a hotel to be built on a vacant, undeveloped lot located south of I-90.
Overgrown with weeds from years of sitting idle, the lot is zoned as Interchange Mixed Use. Earlier this decade, the city prohibited a hotel on the lot.
Forster Woods residents don’t want their neighborhood bordered by a hotel, which, they say, could increase their crime rates, create traffic and public safety problems, and lower property values.
George Wyrsch, who submitted the amendment and owns the land that would be affected, said he shares residents’ concerns and that his proposed 78-room, four-story hotel would not hurt the neighborhood.
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