Apartment Complex Under Consideration In Umatilla

    The largest apartment complex proposed in Umatilla in over a decade is slated to come before the Umatilla City Council on January 17, the first in what could be several hearings that if approved would lead to the largest multi-family construction in the town in a generation. The proposal, for a site located at the northwest corner of CR 450NE (Collins Street) and Fletcher Road, near the Umatilla Health Department, looks to develop just under 10 acres of land for the purpose of building an apartment complex.
   If approved, the site would be the first apartment-style new development on the books in Umatilla since a similar project was proposed for a site along Lake Street at the Maxwell Road intersection, just behind the Save-A-Lot plaza. That development was eventually reconfigured into a single-family home development before construction began.
   Now, the city will consider a request by Fletcher Grove Development, LLC, to designate the land for use as multi-family, high density, from its current single-family medium-density designation.
   The request will come before the city council on Tuesday, January 17, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in the council chambers at city hall, located at 1 South Central Avenue. Only approval of the land use request will allow for further consideration of the project.
   "Initially, they wanted everything to come through at the same time," said city manager Scott Blankenship this week. However, since the land is already in the city and already has an approved land use calling for medium-density single-family home, Blankenship said there is no need to consider the apartments if the council wants to keep the current land use.
   “It already has a land use. It already has a zoning. If the council doesn’t approve the change, then it just goes away.”
   Proper development density has been a topic in the city in recent months, led by Mayor Kent Adcock. Adcock has urged careful consideration of future housing requests, after recent approvals were of higher densities. Adcock has voiced his desire that future development be of a lower density, fearing Umatilla could become overrun with 'workforce' housing. The city's desire to see reduced density helped lead to a sub-three units per-acre development being considered on Maxwell Road after residents in the area urged for lower densities.