Despite some neighborhood opposition, Albany city leaders have adopted a new framework for what the east side of the city could look like in the future.
But that doesn’t mean changes will be happening soon, city staff say.
The East Albany Plan is a long-range planning document that sets a framework for future developments on the 2,800 acres of land east of Interstate 5.
The plan homes in on the city’s established urban growth boundary, a line just outside its boundaries which anticipate where the city expects to grow in about 20 years.
A rendering shows what the East Albany could look like in the future.
Some goals of the plan include more diverse, connected neighborhoods, greenways and centers of business and services where people can work.
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It’s a project that looks decades into the future, perhaps beyond lifetimes, according to city staff.
But news of the plan caused alarm among some residents who live east of I-5.
Concerns were raised over the a lack of communication with residents about the plan and fears of increased traffic, crime and overall loss of the area’s rural nature.
Many of their complaints had to do with a different plan — the one that charts out where future streets and connections may go. One business owner even learned a planned road would cut right through his building.
These connections and roundabouts have been on the books for decades as part of the Transportation Systems Plan, but some people only found out about them through the East Albany Plan.
At an April 12 public hearing, the City Council heard from some 10 people, then decided to put off a decision to keep open the public comment period.
Some suggested the East Albany Plan should be looked at the same time as the Transportation Systems Plan, which is due for an update in 2024.
“Just because it’s showing in the plan doesn’t mean that it will get built or happen,” Anne Catlin, senior city planner, said.
The state has been planning interchange improvements for a long time, Catlin said.
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Many of the potential connections were drawn out when in discussion with the Oregon Department of Transportation, Community Development Director Matthew Ruettgers said. But the billion-dollar state projects don’t have a set timeline, he said. It could be decades.
“I wish we had better answers of when,” Ruettgers said.
With a transportation plan update, Catlin said the hope is that ODOT will provide more details about how the interchanges will impact the local network of streets.
Ruettgers wanted to be clear that the plan wasn’t going to cause any changes overnight.
“Its a future buildout plan, not a development,” he said. “Tomorrow there isn’t going to be a flatbed truck with bulldozers on it.”
Councilor Ray Kopczynski noted that it took 10 years after the South Albany plan was approved before developers started breaking ground.
In the end, the City Council unanimously approved the adoption of the plan.