The Corvallis City Council will be meeting this coming Tuesday evening, September 6, in person at the Downtown Fire Station located at 400 NW Harrison and virtually at GoToWebinar beginning at 6:00 p.m. Things you might want to be there for include:
Home Energy Score Discussion: Perhaps one of the more impactful discussions will be about Home Energy Scores and whether or not to make them mandatory for all home sales.
In early July, the Economic Development Office proposed a new regulation which would require Home Energy Scores for all houses being sold as a means of encouraging energy-efficient upgrades to homes. At the time, Councilor Hyatt Lytle compared it to the mileage stickers on cars. Things hit a bump when the question of whether or not to “require” them was asked.
Economic Development Specialist Kathryn Duvall and Economic Development Supervisor Jerry Sorte prepared some answers to address that issue. The Council will hear these responses at Tuesday evening’s meeting. The Economic Development office stands by their original reports and still recommends mandatory scoring in adherence to the city’s climate action agendas and plans.
Land Development Code Amendments: Community Development for Corvallis is looking to move into Phase 2 of their Mixed Use Zones Project.
Community Development Director Paul Bilotta has submitted materials concerning proposed amendments to the Land Development Code and Official Zoning Maps so they can continue the forward progress that would bring more residential space into the Downtown corridor through Commercial Mixed Use (CMU) developments.
The amendments would also reclassify properties with a designation of Minor Neighborhood Center (NC-Minor) or a designation of NC-Minor with Planned Development Overlay ((PD)NC-Minor) to CMU-1 and (PD) CMU-1 respectively. Additional zone changes will also be determined.
Urban Renewal Agency Budget: The South Corvallis Urban Renewal Agency’s adopted budget for 2022-2023 has been released.
In 2019, voters approved an urban renewal district in South Corvallis as a means of spurring on economic growth and enhancing public assets in the area. The goal of improving South Corvallis has been a focused effort since 1997 beginning with the South Corvallis Area Refinement Plan, which never really took off. This renewal plan is a new effort to finally come back to those goals.
The current budget sits at $479,300, which will go toward continued engagement of consultants to determine the feasibility of proposed projects and to look into creating more affordable housing. See the full report here.
By Advocate Staff
