Clark County isn’t expecting a white Christmas, but what are the chances of a wet Christmas? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
Every big project has crane issues. But there’s one unique hurdle the current crop of Vancouver cranes have to contend with: Pearson Field. The proximity of the airfield creates project-altering building heights over downtown, forcing builders to plan ahead, adapt and sometimes arrive at expensive compromises to get the job done.
The single-runway municipal airfield is located on the east side of Interstate 5, next to downtown Vancouver. The city has owned the airport since 1947, while the airport has been in continuous operation since 1905. The National Park Service manages the Fort Vancouver National Site, which includes the western section of the runway. The park service has a 40-year lease with the city, which operates the airfield. The lease was signed in 2011.
The airport enjoys historical significance and contemporary popularity, but its urban location — and proximity to the much larger Portland International Airport — means that planes taking off and landing at Pearson are limited to one flight path on the airport’s west side: straight over downtown Vancouver.
Read the full story: Vancouver development: Planes, cranes and a growing city
A hearings examiner is expected to issue a decision next month about the future of a huge housing development in Washougal — “Northside” — that has run into some opposition.
Foes of the project packed the Washougal City Hall for a public hearing Thursday as opponents expressed concern about a project many said will erode the community’s small town, rural feel. City officials have given the go-ahead to the project after having examined and tweaked the project over the past two years.
Hearings examiner Joe Turner heard nearly three hours of testimony at the hearing, said Jessica Herceg, Washougal city planner.
If approved, the project calls for 281 houses, with prices ranging from at least $300,000 to more than $1 million, on a 100-acre lot on Washougal’s north side. The finished value of the project is expected to exceed $150 million and, if the plan is approved, construction could begin next summer. It is expected to be built in six phases.
Comments submitted to the city before the hearing showed concerns over growth in the community, the project’s impact on traffic and the size of lots for some of the houses.
Read the full story: Washougal housing project draws protest
Ten years ago, I commuted by bicycle from my St. Johns neighborhood home in Portland to downtown Vancouver. The highlight, if you want to call it that, was crossing the Interstate 5 Bridge.
Three months ago, I returned to work in downtown Vancouver. And I’m still a bike commuter. Since resuming the Portland-Vancouver roundtrip, I’ve made two important, nonscientific observations about bicycle commuting now compared with then:
• The number of bike commuters seen during my one-way, 35-minute commute is up, from low single digits to not-as-low single digits.
• Half of the bikes I’ve observed, especially before winter’s rain began, have been e-bikes.
