NW Redmond housing plans draw fire from neighbors

New housing projects is nothing new to Central Oregon over the last couple of decades, but when it happens down your street, it takes on a different meaning.

At a Monday night public hearing on a development planned in northwest Redmond, residents packed the room to make their voices heard. Many were from the neighborhood adjacent to the two empty lots on which the development would be built.

According to plans submitted to the city, the Dry Canyon Village proposed by Sahhali Village of Redmond LLC would include 203 single-family lots, 180 multi-family lots, 60 duplexes, 32 townhomes and 30 accessory dwelling units.

Those against the project all brought up the congestion it would cause.

“Already, a lot of traffic actually goes through here right now,” said Kristi Gallacher, who lives next to where the development is planned. “That is going to triple. There are so many kids that ride their bikes around here. I’m worried about them. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Some of those kids told NewsChannel 21 Monday evening they’d miss the open lot.

“I don’t want all these houses getting built here because it’s really old, and we like riding our bikes here very much,” one said.

“It’s kind of quiet,” said another. “I kind of like the quiet, so sometimes I just ride over here with my friends, and I just enjoy the quiet while we ride our bikes over.”

There was talk of adding speed bumps to the neighborhood to slow down the extra traffic, but that apparently would come out of homeowners’ pockets.

Nearby residents also fear the development could reduce their property values.

Another resident, John Landry, told NewsChannel 21 the city’s approval “was totally pre-determined” and that neighbors “are going to look into other legal options to stop this from going forward.”

Find a comprehensive description of the project in the staff report with the planning commission agenda here.