A 236-unit apartment proposal in West Haven-Sylvan heads to a Washington County hearing Thursday, Oct. 15. Residents who want to testify or submit comments must pre-register by 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14.
The hearing before a county hearings officer begins at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Developer Tandem Property wants to build the apartments on a 3.33-acre site north of the existing Sylvan Highlands complex near the Multnomah-Washington County border, according to Cedar Mill News.
The site is zoned R-25, which allows about 25 units per acre, or roughly 83 apartments. Tandem Property is seeking a Transit Density Bonus that would push the project to about 71 units per acre.
Washington County Land Use and Transportation (LUT) planners denied the application on Aug. 25, finding the site did not meet transit access and commercial proximity requirements for the bonus.
Tandem Property appealed two days later.
Before a Sept. 17 hearing on that appeal, county planners reversed course and recommended approval. The Sylvan Highlands Neighborhood Association (SHNA) said in a Sept. 15 post that the reversal came on short notice, leaving the neighborhood scrambling to organize testimony.
The outcome of the Sept. 17 hearing has not been made public. According to SHNA, the Oct. 15 hearing is a new phase of the review process, and previous comments do not carry forward. Residents who testified in September must submit new comments to be heard.
SHNA, led by President Sally Kneuven, opposes the project on several grounds: a projected 1,080 additional daily vehicle trips through the neighborhood, safety concerns near Odyssey School on SW 58th Drive, environmental impacts to the headwaters of Fanno Creek, fire safety risks from limited road access, and the placement of five-story buildings on the Oatfield fault line. The association also cites car dependency, noting there is no public transit or commercial use within a quarter mile of the site.
The neighborhood association said on its website Oct. 9 that it continues to incur legal expenses fighting the project. The Sunlight Cohousing Community on SW Barnes Road and Raeburn Estates have joined the opposition and contributed toward SHNA's legal costs.
All access to the proposed buildings would run through the existing Sylvan Highlands apartment complex. Barnes Road is nearby but has no feasible access because of terrain.
No public statement from Tandem Property or Washington County on the Oct. 15 hearing appears in available records as of Oct. 10.
The Zoom hearing can be joined by phone at 1-669-900-6833, Webinar ID 844 8983 3930.
