La Grande sets hearing on Adams Avenue lot split, variance request

A proposed split at 1906 Adams Avenue would have turned one parcel into two and asked La Grande to relax a lot-depth standard in the city’s GC-General Commercial zone, a change that could affect the commercial edge of Adams Avenue and the homes at 1906 and 1906 1/2 Adams Avenue nearby.

La Grande set the matter for a quasi-judicial public hearing on May 19, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1000 Adams Avenue. The application, filed by Raymond Dunlap, was listed under file numbers 489-26-000038 MLP and 489-26-000040 VAR and covered Tax Assessor Map 03S3808AB, Tax Lot 8400.

The proposal asked the Planning Commission to approve a minor land partition and a variance tied to lot depth. In practical terms, that would have allowed the current property to be divided into two parcels even though the existing dimensions did not fully fit the standard being applied to the site. Because the land sits in a commercial zoning district, the decision carried weight for future access, design standards and the way development pressure is handled along one of La Grande’s key corridors.

The hearing packet, dated April 7, said commissioners would first hear a staff report summarizing the criteria and standards, then allow the applicant to speak before public testimony opened. The notice said the chair would take comments from proponents, opponents and neutral speakers, making the proceeding more than a general meeting and closer to a legal review of whether the request met Oregon land-use criteria.

The city also warned that testimony needed to be tied to those criteria, because issues not raised clearly during the hearing can be harder to appeal later. Written public comments had to be received before 4:30 p.m. on the day of the hearing, giving Union County residents a specific deadline if they wanted their concerns or support in the record before commissioners acted.

Questions went to Community Development Director Michael J. Boquist and planning technician Kendra Vancleave. La Grande’s Planning Commission is a five-member body that meets monthly on the second Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. and has final authority on non-administrative land-use applications such as variances unless a decision is appealed.

The Adams Avenue request arrived as La Grande was also weighing housing-related code changes that could move some subdivisions and major land partitions from Planning Commission review to administrative review. That broader discussion made the Dunlap case a small but telling example of how the city balances neighborhood impacts, commercial redevelopment and public oversight in Union County.