PENDLETON — The city of Pendleton is finalizing a deal with several property owners that could lead to a new road between Highway 11 and Highway 30, potentially opening hundreds of space for thousands of new houses on the east side of South Hill.

At a Tuesday, Oct. 5, meeting, the council unanimously agreed to start the process of acquiring easements and a property that will allow the city to build a road and utilities at the site. In the city’s plans, the road would extend Southeast Kirk Road eastward, eventually connecting it with Goad Road and Highway 30. The plans also call for a new road entrance off of Highway 11 between Kirk and Southeast Isaac Avenue, and extending Southeast 11th Street and Franklin Grade to meet the new road. In an interview after the meeting, Public Works Director Bob Patterson said the roads could be built in phases based on demand.

Going into the meeting, the council only was scheduled to approve the previous meeting’s minutes and review some staff reports. But after quickly running through the agenda, the council recessed to meet privately in executive session. After 15 minutes, the council resumed the public session and unanimously voted to sign agreements with the Rees family, Goad Family LC and the Indian Hills Investment Co.

The three groups have all agreed to provide easements to the city to build the road, while Goad Family LC also is selling up to an acre east of Goad Road to the city for $720 so the city can build a water booster station on the land. While the road can be built in phases, Patterson said the booster station and water lines need to be built for the project to work.

“Water is the primary issue,” he said.

With buildable, bare land hard to come by in Pendleton, the city has long targeted the area for housing. In February, the council agreed to donate land for the South Hill Commons, a 70-unit affordable apartment project also located east of Highway 11. But building the new road has the potential to bring an even larger development. Patterson said the road and utilities opens up 250 acres for development, estimating developers could fit 1,500 to as many as 2,100 single family homes. In comparison, the city of Pendleton serves 4,800 residential units currently.

But there’s still hoops to jump through and questions that need to be answered before developers can break ground on new homes.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Patterson said.

The city won’t pay any money for the easements, but the deal between the city and the land owners is contingent on the city surveying the land and documenting exactly what easements it needs. Patterson said the land is a mix of residential, commercial and light industrial land, and the owners would need to rezone some of it before proceeding.

But the city also will need to determine how to pay for the road. While the city is planning to pay for the booster station with a Business Oregon grant, the city is considering several options on paying for the road, including securing an appropriation from one of the infrastructure bills being debated in Congress or having a future developer reimburse the city for the costs.

Unlike previous major developments, the city isn’t leveraging one of its own properties for housing. Patterson said the land owners are in negotiations with developers on acquiring their properties, but when and how the land will be developed is at their discretion.