Plans for a new police station are back in the hands of the St. Helens City Council.
That’s the word after the council voted unanimously Thursday, May 9, to essentially drop efforts to pursue the matter with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. With that decision, the city is effectively back to the drawing board when it comes to where a new, larger and more adequate public safety building would be constructed.
The process of building a new police station has been going through twists and turns over the months, including being handed to LUBA after community concern on the selected site.
The city council originally decided a new public safety building should be built at the southeast corner of Old Portland Road and Kaster Road. This decision sparked lively citizen reaction, as the location includes a portion within a mapped floodplain.
The city council overturned the St. Helens Planning Commission’s denial of the application last year, prompting St. Helens resident and attorney Steve Toschi to appeal the city’s decision to LUBA.
Toschi’s attorney has argued that the city granting itself a conditional use permit for a police station in a flood zone is unlawful, and he believed that LUBA was going to reject the plan for that reason.
The St. Helens Police Department has been pushing for a new police station to replace its current woefully small building on South 13th Street. Arguing for a new police station, Chief Brian Greenway said a larger facility would offer more security for officers, victims and evidence storage.
On Dec. 28, 2023, City Planner Jacob Graichen said that the city filed a notice to withdraw to LUBA, which basically suspended the LUBA process for 90 days to March 27, Graichen told the Pamplin Media Group.
Graichen said the two parties, Toschi and the city, eventually were unable to come to terms on the issue.
“Negotiations didn’t work well; they were unsuccessful,” he said. “The council had a couple of choices. They could continue the fight with LUBA … LUBA had it, they accepted it, but we hadn’t really started going down that road.”
Graichen said another choice would be to deny the decision.
“I think early on, we assumed we could withdraw the decision, and that would end it with LUBA,” Graichen said. “But it turns out the law isn’t crystal clear on that.”
Graichen said one frustration the city faced was the time it takes for LUBA to decide.
“With all that uncertainty, and the time that has elapsed already, there is sort of a gamble there,” he added. “Ultimately that’s why the council, given everything that’s happened, decided to deny this application.”
At the May 9 city council session, councilors commented on the Kaster Road location.
“I don’t think there was anything wrong with it,” Councilor Mark Gundersen said. “I think it was well mitigated, but I’m not willing to spend any more money on starting to find something that’s going to make everybody happy, because nothing is going to make everybody happy.”
Councilor Jessica Chilton added, “My comment is also for the record that I believe that the site was mitigated properly. I stand by that site, but I’m not willing to fight and waste money, our taxpayers money, our city’s money, to try to prove that. I feel like the city is being held hostage by a political agenda and I’m not willing to go down that path.”
Councilor Brandon Sundeen said, “I agree that this is our best path moving forward. I think we can get a police station built without fighting and wasting money, so I would like to see us move forward rather than moving backwards.”
A critic of the original location, Councilor Russell Hubbard, told his fellow council members, “It was a critical facility, and it was put in a floodplain. That site wasn’t suitable … we need to move forward. Whatever makes that happen. I don’t want to go back to that site because it’s just more money. Mitigation costs money.”
City Administrator John Walsh told Pamplin Media Group that the city has not updated the cost projection since the police station project was delayed by the LUBA appeal.
“We were previously working with a $12.6 million cost estimate for the Kaster Road site,” Walsh said. “With the council deciding not to pursue the Kaster Road site, the city will need to secure an alternate site and develop plans in alignment with the available project funding.”
What is yet to be decided is what the final cost will be, where a new police station would be located, and if there is a chance the city would go back to its original Kaster Road location.
At press time, it’s not known when the council will take up the matter of the police station, also known as the public safety building.
Graichen was asked if the latest developments could derail chances of building a new police station.
“I think that’s probably more for the city council to answer,” Graichen said. “But I’ve heard the council say they’re committed to it many times, so without reading their minds and not being a political leader, I would assume they would want to continue to charge ahead, but that’s just an assumption.”
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