The Hayfields development would add more than 1,300 homes to Hermiston.

The 353-acre site is in the city limits near the intersection of Highway 207 and Feedville Road with Community Park to the east. The Hermiston Urban Renewal Agency — which also is the Hermiston City Council — during its meeting Monday, March 14, approved a resolution directing staff to prepare a plan for a new urban renewal district along Feedville Road.

The move came after a presentation from MonteVista Homes. Luke Pickerill, MonteVista Homes owner, said this is a major step for the city.

“At full buildout, we will have 1,300 housing units, which represents about 15% of the total population in today’s numbers of the city of Hermiston,” he said.

He described The Hayfields as a “master planned community,” which means that it is “designed to offer the very best in home life, from the design of open spaces and the architectural fit within the city to environmentally-friendly technology and sophisticated amenities.”

These are “not like old neighborhoods where houses popped up here and there with less or no regard for the overall community design,” his presentation slide stated. Instead, the MPC provides amenities such as parks and gathering spaces for the enjoyment of the neighborhood and the city.

Pickerill gave the council some history of the area. Around 20 years ago, the land was annexed into Hermiston, he said. Plans at the time were to develop the property into a golf course community. This plan hit a snag during the Great Recession of 2008.

Nearly a decade after the recession, Pickerill said, landowners attempted to start a new housing development, but they lacked the infrastructure and available services.

“They found it wasn’t possible without a public/private partnership,” he said.

Between 2017 and 2021, landowners and the city of Hermiston explored several options to make the best possible use out of the site. They sought to use this land to help address Hermiston’s housing supply problems, Pickerill said.

“In early 2021, I was introduced to the landowners,” he said.

MonteVista and the landowners worked together to create a master plan for the community, which they would call The Hayfields.

Getting into the details of the plan, Pickerill said the housing units would consist of single-family detached housing, single-family workforce housing, apartment sites, a senior manufactured facility and commercial sites, he said. School and fire sites also are part of the plan, as shown on a layout Pickerill presented.

“Our community will unlock the value of this land,” Pickerill said. “It will also elevate Hermiston to a new position in the region.”

After his presentation and discussion, the city council voted unanimously to approve the resolution authorizing staff to begin an urban renewal planning effort and get the ball rolling on The Hayfields.