Philomath residents will start hearing more in the new year about proposed changes to the city’s zoning map and development code. The Planning Commission is preparing an outreach campaign ahead of formal public hearings planned for this spring.
City Manager Chris Workman presented the outreach plan to the Philomath City Council on Monday. No action was needed, but he invited councilors to take part, starting with an open house on Dec. 7.
Workman said he has warned commissioners that no matter how much outreach they do, some residents will still say they never heard about the changes.
“But we still need to engage, right?” he said. “We need to show what we’re doing. We need to be pretty transparent about how we’re reaching out to people.”
The Planning Commission and city staff have spent the past three years working on updates to the zoning map, the allowed uses tables and the development code for residential, commercial and industrial development.
Workman said the commission plans to step up its outreach in January and February. The goal is to set official public hearing dates in March or April. After the Planning Commission holds its hearings, its recommendations on the development code and rezoning will go to the City Council for approval.
The city has partnered with two University of Oregon classes on the effort. The students are helping with outreach and putting together diagrams of buildings and site layouts.
Workman pointed to the neighborhoods along College and 12th streets as areas of particular concern.
“There’s a lot of households in there that are going to be directly impacted by this, and some of the larger property owners are going to be impacted by this as well,” he said.
Two open houses are scheduled, both in the evening — Monday, Dec. 7, and Tuesday, Feb. 16. Workman said they will most likely be held at City Hall.
The plan describes each open house as a drop-in event with tables set up by topic — the zoning map, the code changes and what the changes mean for individual properties. Residents can come and go over a few hours and talk one-on-one with commissioners, city councilors and staff.
The commission also wants to join the council’s Coffee with a Councilor events, turning them into coffee with a councilor and commissioner. Councilor Rick Saalsaa asked whether that would start with the Nov. 21 coffee. Workman said a date hasn’t been set but that the commission probably won’t be ready until the January or February gatherings.
The written plan lists other outreach ideas as well:
- Door-to-door canvassing by pairs of commissioners in the most affected neighborhoods
- Presentations to groups such as Rotary, the chamber of commerce, road districts, faith congregations and service clubs
- Personal calls or visits to large landowners, businesses and landlords whose parcels are directly affected
- An information booth at a Philomath High School basketball game
- An interactive “What would you change?” map display at the library
- Short explainer videos for the city’s Facebook page
- Email and text updates
- Guest columns by commissioners in local news outlets, or appearances on local radio to explain the process
- Mailers, utility bill inserts and door hangers in the College and 12th Street neighborhoods, in English and Spanish
- Yard signs with QR codes linking to a project web page
The plan also calls for translated materials and interpreters for Spanish-speaking residents through a partnership with Casa Latinos Unidos, plus a virtual or call-in option for people who can’t attend in person.
Workman said the city will build a dedicated website where draft language will be posted as it becomes available. Staff will spend the holiday season preparing brochures and the web page and training commissioners.
“So that when we do turn the corner at the first of the year, they’ll be trained up and educated and equipped with the information that they need and be ready to go out and engage with folks,” he said.
Workman said one reason for bringing the plan to the council now is so councilors aren’t caught off guard when the proposals reach them.
“We also don’t want the first time that you hear about zone changes and development code changes to be in March or April, right?” he said. “You’ll be a little behind the curve.”
Workman said the open houses are meant partly as a chance for councilors to get up to speed alongside the public. Commissioners will be trained to answer questions, and they will send property owners with site-specific questions to Workman or contract planner Laura LaRoque. Councilors can help by starting conversations and encouraging neighbors to attend, he said.
Because the code and zoning updates are legislative matters that broadly affect the whole community, Workman said councilors have less reason to worry about bias or ex parte contacts. Those concerns apply more to land-use applications that come before the Planning Commission.
Mayor Christopher McMorran, who attended the meeting by Zoom, praised the plan.
“I love this. It’s amazing outreach,” McMorran said. “My gratitude to the Planning Commission and staff.”
Councilor Jessica Andrade and Council President Teresa Nielson both had similar reactions.
Workman said the Planning Commission is eager to get started after a quiet few months, and it could add a couple of new members in January.
