The Dalles City Council met last night in a marathon session that lasted nearly four hours. Most of the time was spent on an appeal by Chris Zukin’s Meadow Outdoor Advertising against an earlier decision by the city planning commission. Meadow had applied to replace an 8 x 16 foot billboard at 747 West Second Street billboards with one measuring 8 x 24 feet.
The planning department denied the request, saying that it violated a restriction that would allow only 8 billboards per mile in the city. But in order to deny the permit, the planning department had to invoke a new interpretation of the term 8 per mile. Previously, that had been considered a mile along the street. The new interpretation was to consider it as a mile in all directions and not allow the new sign. That was appealed to the full planning commission, which denied the appeal on a four to two vote.
Meadow then appealed that denial to the city council last night. Previous mayors Robb Van Cleave, Jim Wilcox and Steve Lawrence, and previous planning directors Dan Meader and Dan Durow all testified that the standard had always been eight signs per mile of street, and the council unanimously voted to grant the appeal and allow the larger replacement sign.
The main concern was that the new interpretation was an actual policy change, and such changes should come from the council, after a process in which all stakeholders would be consulted.
Afterwards, Chris Zukin was jubilant in a noisy crowd:
“I’m overwhelmed with the support of the community, and it just makes me super happy and it makes me want to cry. I love The Dalles.”
The council also agreed to purchase a former used car lot on east Third Street just east of Sawyer’s Ace Hardware to convert it into free public parking. The city will partner with the Urban Renewal Agency to purchase and refurbish the lot. Councilors did insist as part of the deal that the historic sign, which once read Sunset Motors, be preserved somehow.
And, in response to a number of neighbor complaints, councilors passed a one-year moratorium on granting short-term rental licenses for any new non owner-occupied units in residential areas.