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Coos County has a new deputy in town

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Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2023 | theworldlink.com |

North Bend school superintendent Housing Production announces departure Strategy By BREE LAUGHLIN

Gets Approval

The World

North Bend School District Superintendent Kevin Bogatin will be leaving his position in June to pursue a superintendent job in Washington. “It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I have accepted a new position as Superintendent of the Tumwater School District in Tumwater, Washington,” Superintendent Bogatin said. Bogatin has been with the North Bend School District since Spring of 2019, when he signed a three-year contract with the district. Bogatin said he won’t be leaving the North Bend School District until the end of the school year, but he wanted to thank everyone for the support and encouragement he has received over the few past years. “We have made a lot of progress together and I know the district is headed in the right direction in

By RYAN HOOVER Country Media, Inc.

The City of Coos Bay Planning Commission has approved the 2023 Draft Housing Production Strategy, allowing the draft to be reviewed by City Council for adoption. The unanimous decision came on Tuesday, March 14, with the Planning Commission making one modification to the initial draft. The draft was presented by both Carolyn Johnson – the Coos Bay Community Development Administrator – and Tim Wood – a Project Manager with the public-sector consultant FCS Group – at the Tuesday night meeting. Wood and FCS Group were brought in to consult on the Housing Production Strategy, which are required by the state for cities of over 10,000 people. The Housing Production Strategy is meant to address the city’s housing needs identified by the Housing Needs Analysis, a study conducted by the city in 2020 and finalized in July of last year. Key findings from the Housing Needs Analysis included that Coos Bay is projected to add 1,244 people by 2040, 26.5% of renters are severely rent burdened and spending over 50% of their income on rent, and 369 manufactured housing units are needed over the next 20 years for Coos Bay.

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Val Hoyle visits Coos Bay

The Housing Production Strategy’s eight policies The 2023 Draft Housing Production Strategy included eight recommended policies meant to address the findings from the Housing Needs Analysis. The first two policies addressed continuing partnerships with nonprofits like NeighborWorks Umpqua – which helps with foreclosure intervention and issues grants assisting homeowners with home repairs – and encouraging medium- and high-density development in medium- and high-density zones. Providing pre-approved middle housing designs and developing criteria to identify land that can be up zoned were two other policies in the draft. Pre-approved middle housing designs could help speed up the construction of these housing typologies, as design approvals are often viewed as an onerous step in the process. The 2023 Draft Housing Production Strategy also recommended that zoning is clear and objective, encouraging the removal of discretionary or subjective criteria that could be used to deny housing projects. Another policy recommended the development of criteria allowing single units and duplexes on small commercial lots. The final two policies involved amending the city’s minimum lot line requirements and providing a limited property tax abatement for middle housing and affordable housing. The draft stressed that property tax exemptions can incentivize new development.

Photos by David Rupkalvis/For The World

U.S. Representative Val Hoyle made her first visit to Coos Bay since being seated as the Fourth Congressional District representative last week. Hoyle visited the Port of Coos Bay and spent time talking to students at Marshfield High School during her stop in the area. At Marshfield High School, Hoyle emphasized her support for a deepwater shipping facility at the port along with her long-time support of internships and apprenticeships. For more on Hoyle’s visit and her first few months in office, see the Friday edition of The World.

ODOT still working to repair damage from January landslide By WILL LOHRE Country Media Inc

Construction work from the January landslide in the “Arizona” slide area near Humbug Mountain. Credit ODOT.

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Oregon’s Department of Transportation (ODOT) is still using a temporary lane made from rock and gravel at the stretch of Highway 101 affected by a January landslide 12 miles south of Port Orford. The landslide took place on January 9, causing a closure of the highway after a 200-foot section of the road dropped as much as 12 feet in some spots. According to ODOT spokesperson Matt Noble, they are still flagging traffic through one temporary lane as they wait to make more comprehensive repairs. “We’re still flagging traffic through the area for safety reasons. The gravel surface is actually wide enough to accommodate two travel lanes, but we’re keeping it to one lane for now,” Noble said. “We’re waiting for a break in the rain so we can pave the gravel surface and install guardrails on the ocean side. When that’s done, we’ll finally be able to open two temporary lanes to

north/south traffic. We’re hoping to complete that work before the end of March (weather depending).” Finding solutions According to Noble, ODOT is monitoring landslide activity in a number of areas along Highway 101, and they completed a study of south coast landslides earlier this summer. The purpose of the study was to “identify sustainable, practical, and cost-effective solutions and strategies to reduce the impacts of high priority landslides while improving how quickly the transportation system can recover after landslides occur.” The study covered areas where ODOT monitors active landslides from Port Orford to Brookings. One of the zones with the most slides is near Humbug Mountain, where there have been ten landslides. The January slide occurred in this area. According to Noble, ODOT is continually taking inventory of unstable slopes. We currently have Please see LANDSLIDE Page A2

Please see HOUSING Page A12

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