Baker County Hosts Town Hall on Future of Hughes Lane Property

What to do with 62.5 acres of county-owned land in north Baker City has no clear answer yet, and Commission Chair Shane Alderson wants residents to weigh in before one is chosen. The Baker County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public town hall for Wednesday, March 25, at 6:00 p.m. at the Baker County Fairgrounds Event Center, where Alderson, Commissioner Christina Witham, and Commissioner Michelle Kaseberg will hear directly from the public about the property's future.

The parcel sits just south of Hughes Lane, wedged between the Powder River and the Baker Sports Complex. The county purchased it in December 2022, using a portion of the $6.5 million in federal pandemic aid Baker County received, buying the land outright rather than financing it over multiple years. That decision, made in October 2022, gave the county full ownership but left the question of what to build, if anything, unresolved.

Two broad visions have emerged in the years since. A February 2023 report from PARC Resources, a Bend consulting firm hired to assess the property, pointed toward a multipurpose sports facility that could also serve conventions, conferences, and other large events. County officials had initially backed an event center along similar lines. Alderson has since broken with that direction, stating publicly that workforce housing is a better use for the parcel. Concepts currently under consideration, according to the commissioners, include a community sports complex or working-class housing, though no decision has been made.

The March 25 town hall follows a work session held Feb. 25 at the courthouse, where commissioners agreed that gathering public opinion was a necessary step before moving forward. On March 4, commissioners heard a presentation from R3, a regional, state-funded consortium focused on boosting housing, about a potential residential development on the site. That presentation took place during a 1 p.m. work session following the board's regular morning meeting.

"We want to hear directly from the community about what they believe would be the best long-term use of the Hughes Lane property," Alderson said. "This meeting is an opportunity for residents to share their perspectives and help guide the conversation moving forward."

The March 25 meeting represents the first formal opportunity for public comment on a property the county has owned for more than three years without a defined purpose. No decisions will be made at the town hall; commissioners have been explicit that the session is designed to collect input, not announce outcomes.