OHNA President Todd Woodson sent this letter yesterday:

Dear Richmond City Council and Richmond 300 committee members,

In good faith, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association participated in the planning process for the Richmond 300 Master Plan. We are therefore troubled to see that our input in the process has been ignored and that the future land use designation proposed for the Oregon Hill Historic District is the inappropriate “Mixed-Use” designation with an 8 story height limit.

This “Mixed-Use” designation is not acceptable for Oregon Hill. We insist that this inappropriate designation be replaced with the “Medium-Density Residential” future land use designation with a height limit of 35 feet. We note that over 90% of the Oregon Hill Historic District now has the R-7 residential zoning with a 35 foot height limit that corresponds with the “Medium-Density Residential” future land use. We fought hard for this appropriate R-7 residential zoning, and we do not want it to be undercut by an inappropriate “Mixed-Use” future land use designation in the Richmond 300 master plan. Any non compliant development can be judged on its merit with the Medium Density Residential designation.

We note that representatives of the Oregon Hill neighborhood were not allowed to serve on the Richmond 300 committee. As a result, a “Mixed-Used” future land use designation, which conforms neither to current conditions or to the aspirations of the historic neighborhood, was selected.

Please let us know as soon as possible that the future land use designation for the Oregon Hill Historic District will be corrected in the Richmond 300 plan to “Medium density residential” with a 35 foot height limit.

Thank you for your prompt consideration of these important concerns.

Sincerely,

Charles T Woodson, president, Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association.