The Philomath Planning Commission voted 5-0 Monday night to approve a package of modifications to the Tall Timber RV Park development to clear the way for developer Scott Lepman to add three cabins, a pickleball and basketball court, and other amenities to the 47-acre property off North 19th Street.
The commission considered three consolidated applications — a preliminary partition plat creating a 0.80-acre parcel with the remaining 15.21 acres retained as a second parcel, a major modification altering building sizes and RV park amenities, and a Class B variance allowing gravel surfacing in place of pavement for a temporary vehicle storage and staging area.
Lepman, who also owns the Blue Ox RV park in Albany, told commissioners the changes stem from a decision to make the Philomath property more amenity-heavy than originally planned.
“After we looked at this, what we had planned for the RV park we thought it would be great to add amenities,” Lepman said, noting an indoor pool originally penciled in for the community building has been dropped in favor of the sports court. “In our experience at the RV park that I have in Albany … the pool isn’t really used that much.”
Beyond the sports court, the approved changes relocate the dog park to make room for a community event area in the northeast corner of the site and add a propane fueling station, which under the conditions of approval cannot operate as an independent public retail facility — it’s intended for RV park guests only. The plan also adds a gravel viewing area overlooking Newton Creek, along with new patios, trails and a picnic area.
Each of the three cabins sits atop a ground-floor building with its own function, rather than standing as a stand-alone structure. In the northwest corner, a shop for supplies and landscaping equipment will occupy the first floor, with a cabin above it. In the northeast corner, the first floor will house a game room with a pool table and ping-pong table, also topped by a cabin. Lepman said he wants a fire pit built outside near that building as a separate gathering spot. The third cabin will sit above a workshop near a planned pedestrian bridge to the dog park — space Lepman said could double as laundry facilities if the community building’s laundry proves insufficient.
The three approved cabins will remain accessory to the RV park and cannot be sold, marketed or rented as independent residential or transient-lodging units, per conditions of approval.
In an interview after the meeting, Lepman said the RV park’s infrastructure is complete and that crews are close to finishing the reception building, adding that the recreation building is framed and expected to be roofed within a month.
A handful of RV sites are currently in limited use by caretakers watching the property while construction continues, Lepman said, but most of the park still needs wiring and paving before it can open. Water, storm sewer and storm detention infrastructure are already in place, he said.
Much of the commission’s discussion centered on the project’s proximity to Newton Creek and a 50-foot riparian protection setback that runs through the property. The modifications include a 2,695-square-foot gravel viewing area, an 887-square-foot encroachment from the sports court, and a 99-square-foot patio encroachment, all within the setback.
Commissioner Josiah Jessen raised repeated concerns about the cumulative effect on the creek.
“Newton Creek is a mess, and it’s no fault of the applicant at all — it’s the result of hundreds of years of industrial use and not a lot of oversight,” Jessen said. Turning to the gravel viewing area specifically, he added: “Some of these encroachments, I get the applicant wants to add amenities, and I also hear revenue streams. But this big patch of gravel, I don’t understand that one.”
Commissioner Sarah Coulter-Mitchell pushed back, saying that the gravel viewing area would function as a passive amenity that could benefit both the RV park and the broader community.
“I’d rather see gravel than pavement,” Coulter-Mitchell said, citing accessibility and the growing popularity of activities such as bird-watching. “It’s permeable, it’s a place for people to congregate and hang out and enjoy nature.”
Commissioner Mike Kristosik noted the affected stretch of Newton Creek is a small portion of a much longer waterway and questioned whether it was fair to ask a new developer to fix decades of prior neglect.
Jessen asked whether the applicant would accept a condition requiring restoration in other parts of the riparian zone to offset the new encroachments. Brian Vandetta, the project’s civil engineer, said the landscape plan already anticipated that and the applicant would accept the condition.
Before the final vote, commissioners approved two amendments to the conditions of approval. One spells out requirements for any work within the setback, including submission of final plans identifying disturbance limits, construction methods, erosion control, and restoration and enhancement planting, along with a requirement that the applicant improve proportional areas elsewhere in the riparian zone. The other requires an engineered, compacted aggregate base rock surface — rather than ordinary loose gravel — for the vehicle storage and construction staging areas covered by the variance.
Janet and Terry Osborne, who live on North 20th Place near the property, submitted a letter for the record and also offered neutral testimony during the public hearing raising concerns about oak trees near their home and dust during construction. Janet Osborne told commissioners she worried about which trees might be removed and who would be responsible if one fell on a neighboring house.
City staff and Lepman both noted that the oak grove in question sits on a separate tax lot not included in Monday’s applications, meaning no tree removal was authorized as part of the decision. But Lepman said he would keep communication open with the Osbornes and take responsibility if a tree from his property caused damage. He also described dust-control measures at the site, including a water truck and a roller to compact the crushed rock being used for the project’s driving surfaces.
