New developments must leave more open space

Brookings builders take note: New developments will need to leave more open space on residential and commercial properties within Brookings city limits.

While actual building and lot size requirements are unchanged, the Brookings City Council approved a change to city ordinances Monday night that will require new residential properties to have at least 25 percent of each lot dedicated to water permeable surfaces, and 40 percent of landscaping plants to be drought resistant.

That can mean fewer sheds and patios and less paving, unless water permeable surfaces are used.

Under previous ordinances, home- or business- owners could pave the entire lot if they wanted, said Planning Director Dianne Morris.

The new ordinance is designed to reduce stormwater runoff, which has increased in recent years and causes flooding in some neighborhoods, said Morris.

Letting the water drain naturally into the soil instead of into the city’s stormwater drain system will help keep the city’s cost of maintenance and upgrades at a minimum, she said.

The ordinance went through several sets of revisions, including phrasing changes to clarify  or address councilors’ concerns.

Concerns included a clarification that property owners can create their own open-space plan, and include it on their plot plan, rather than create an entirely new document;  and clarification that the list of drought-resistant plants provided by the city is only a suggestion. Other plants can be approved if documentation of their drought resistance is provided.

There are also incentives for the installation of drip irrigation systems, “rain gardens,” additional drought-resistant plants and planting trees. Each incentive is worth a 2-percent discount on the property’s system development fee, up to total of 4 percent off of the fee to hook up to the city’s wastewater system.

The council also approved the final Safe Routes to School grant application.

The city and the Brookings-Harbor School District are working together to secure a $500,000 grant to install sidewalks and bicycle lanes and improve parking on Easy Street between Fern Avenue and Pioneer Road.

Safe Routes is a federal grant administered by Oregon Department of Transportation.

City Manager Gary Milliman was cleared to return to work Monday for a limit of 12 hours per week, following his open-heart surgery. He is expected to return to a full-time schedule in August. Finance Director Janell Howard remains acting city manager in Milliman’s absence.

The council accepted the resignation of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michelle Benoit.

Benoit is moving to Coos Bay with her family. Counselors praised her work with the commission and expressed their regret in losing her future contributions.