July 13, 2021 4:30 a.m. 

The Roseburg City Council approved a zone change which could eventually clear the way for more downtown housing, at its meeting on Monday night.

Councilors spent around an hour considering the proposal to amend a portion of the City’s zoning map from General Commercial to Central Business District. Community Development Director Stuart Cowie told councilors that staff has been in discussions with NeighborWorks Umpqua for over eighteen months about building a multi-story apartment complex directly south of the Kohlhagen Apartments. The building would be where a parking lot is now, stretching between Southeast Jackson and Southeast Main Street, just north of Mosher Street.

Cowie said the Planning Commission has been studying the idea and recently voted that it meets the criteria for a zone change. NeighborWorks envisions a building that would have commercial businesses on the ground floor, between 26 and 70 apartments, and might include underground parking that would be for those living in the apartments and in the Kohlhagen Apartments, which is also owned by NeighborWorks.

Erica Mills of NeighborWorks told councilors that the project is a long-term idea with much work that will need to be done to see if it is financially feasible. Councilors Sheri Moothart and Patrice Sipos had concerns that a new building could change the character of the historical downtown area. Victoria Hokanson, who operates Hokanson’s Guest House, just west of the proposed building, noted that the project is “in its infancy”. Hokanson said the city should “cautiously proceed” with letting the project move forward, keeping the historical aspect of the area in mind.

Cowie said the zone change must come first, before the proposal can move any further. Council President Bob Cotterell made a motion to accept the Planning Commission’s Finding of Fact, which passed unanimously. First reading of the ordinance took place.

Also Monday night, councilors approved a resolution to create a Special Revenue Fund to accept over $5 million in American Rescue Plan funds over the next two years. Finance Director Richard Harker said half of the money is expected to arrive, passed down from the federal level to the state, in the next couple of weeks. Harker said the money is to be used to address response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but said councilors will have more discretion as to how the money is spent than came with past COVID-19 relief funds.

Mayor Larry Rich proclaimed July as Parks and Recreation Month, near the start of the meeting.