This summer, a development partnership between an entrepreneurial landowner and county government along Reservoir Road in west Corvallis was being lauded as a rare collaboration.

But after anonymous complaints triggered a closer look by the city, its development department ordered the Bald Hill Farm retail store and ProBark landscape material operations to close because they are not allowed under the property's zoning.

"It's just turned into a nightmare," said Andrew Martin, who owns the 82-acre property in question and is one of the partners in Bald Hill Farm. "The code's not set up for farmers even though they're supposed to be all about sustainability."

At issue are different readings of the Corvallis Land Development Code, the rules that govern what is and is not allowed on similarly zoned properties in the city, and a planned development overlay, which details what is allowed on a specific parcel of land.

Bald Hill Farm is located in an industrial zone, which, Martin argues, allows limited sales outlets and offices that sell goods produced on the property. But the city points to a more restrictive development overlay that's in place on the land in question, and that, officials say, prohibits those businesses on the property. The city has ordered Martin to shut them down.

Martin appealed the citations to the city's Land Development Hearings Board, which agreed with city staff. Martin is appealing that decision to the City Council, which will take up the matter at a Dec. 7 public hearing.

Overlay adds complexity

The development overlay was put in place when the property was annexed in 1998 and requires that any activity or development be approved by the Corvallis Planning Commission. Martin bought the property in 2003 and soon after started farming goats, chickens and cattle and selling meat from a store on Reservoir Avenue.

"When the code was put together, there was a discussion of what we thought should be allowed in an industrial zone," said Kevin Young, a senior planner for the city. "What we're finding is that our industrial zones don't say a lot about farming, and that's a question we're taking to the City Council."

Martin is working to change part of his farm, an abandoned mill site, back into fields and grazing land for animals. To do so, he's been digging out up to 14 feet of bark from abandoned mill ponds. He purchased equipment to do the work and founded ProBark to sell the material and offset costs.

The city argues, however, that the development overlay allows Martin to remove the bark and fill the wetland but not open a storefront to the public. Some question also remains over whether city approval for the excavation extends beyond the road boundaries at all.

"What they're doing is making my costs so high that it's just not a good deal," Martin said.

Reservoir Avenue partnership

Corvallis, Benton County and Martin began the Reservoir Avenue project as a partnership because everyone's interests were intertwined.

The new route for Reservoir Avenue will start about a half-mile west of its current intersection with 53rd Street and curve a fifth of a mile north to a junction with 53rd just south of the fairgrounds. Martin donated the new road's right of way and will pay about $1 million of the project cost.

The Reservoir Avenue project makes business sense for Martin, who hopes to open a local cannery, meat processing plants and other operations that would gain access from the new stretch of road. Nobody is threatening to kill the project, but according to the city's recent reading of property restrictions, Martin's plans for his land may meet with difficulty.

Benton County Public Works Director Roger Irvin said the county has considered rerouting the road for about two decades. Reservoir Avenue ends at the east near a section of 53rd Street that dips underneath a railroad trestle. It's a difficult place to see cross-traffic and a low spot that regularly floods and freezes in the winter.

"We would hate to see this fall apart over this. We've invested a lot of public money in the alignment of the road and in wetland permits," Irvin said. "We're prepared to build the road."

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.

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