Melanie Stanley lost both her home and her livelihood when the Holiday Farm Fire moved through her Blue River neighborhood over Labor Day weekend in 2020.
Since then, her home has been rebuilt, with county officials issuing a certificate of occupancy in 2022. But the building that sat at the front of her property, Meyer’s General Store & Liquor, still isn’t rebuilt.
"I don’t have the thing that I love the most back. I have my house but it’s not my home, which is also hard for people to realize,” said Stanley. “But I don’t have my home home back, which was the store. Because that’s the thing that connected me to everybody."
The general store was built in 1943, and her family bought the business in the early 1990s. She took it over in 2003 when her dad was ready to retire.
But the store hasn’t operated for six years as she fought for insurance money, took out a personal loan for $800,000 and, most recently, entered into a multi-year fight to get the building permitted.
“I’ve had a lot of people look at me, like, you’re exaggerating,” said Stanley. “And I honestly wish I were exaggerating because it would make my life so much easier. But no, not everybody has had the exact same or even close to the issues that I’ve had.”
Her architect submitted plans for the building more than two years ago, and she said he spent a year working with Lane County prior to submitting to ensure the process would go smoothly.
But Meyer’s General Store remains in limbo. Stanley estimates the building is 60% complete. The exterior is built, but no work has been done on the interior. Water lines and sidewalks have yet to be started. She’s been waiting four months for a fire suppression system permit that would allow work to continue.
Stanley said turnover in Lane County’s planning office seems to have been a recent issue. Her application has not had a planner for four weeks after the last planner quit.
The stress of the multi-year fight has caused Stanley health issues, including a notable incident about a week ago. But, she intends to continue to push the project forward until it is done and the store has re-opened.
“I don’t think anybody realizes the amount of begging and borrowing, meetings that I’ve been to, people I’ve asked and all of the stuff that I’ve done above and beyond what most people would have done.” she said. “Most people, I think, would’ve given up by now, but that’s not in my nature.”
A spokesperson for Lane County did not respond before the initial publication of this story. But in an email from Public Information Officer Devon Ashbridge sent to KLCC on Sept. 8, the county claimed the delays are not the fault of the county.
The county stated that fire and life-safety elements were missing from initial submissions and have required “several rounds of correction before the permit could be issued.”
It also stated that a plan review hold was not addressed for roughly one year, that the departure of a county staff member did not affect review timelines, and that recent submissions have not addressed previous issues.
“The remaining issues are minimal and can be resolved promptly once the architect-of-record submits corrected, stamped plans addressing code deficiencies—including fire department connection details and required architectural oversight,” Ashbridge said.
The email concluded by noting that all discretionary permit fees have been waived for this project for five years, as they were for all Holiday Farm Fire survivors. That resulted in a total of $1.8 million in fees waived for those seeking to rebuild. The county also updated its Rural Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances in the area to allow for more compact development.
