Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us Readers responses below April 12, 2006 Planners OK new Brammo site proposal Carmaker’s hope for annexation of 8.43 acres heads to council By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Brammo Motorsports’ plan to relocate its sports-car manufacturing business from ScienceWorks, on East Main Street, to a proposed new building on Jefferson Avenue was approved by the Ashland Planning Commission at its Tuesday night meeting. Now, the local car company needs only to receive city council approval for an annexation into the city limits for the 8.43 acres of land it plans to build their facility on. Interim Community Development Director Bill Molnar said the council will likely hear the matter in “May or early June.” Brammo makes race-car looking, high-performance sports cars and feels its business is expanding to the point where the company needs a larger facility than ScienceWorks offers. Craig Bramscher, the company’s CEO, said it is his intention to keep his business in Ashland. “We’re trying very hard to keep the business in Ashland proper,” he told the planning commission. “We wanted to occupy [a new site] as early as September. If we can’t make it in by the end of the year, we have some hard decisions to make.” Brammo plans to build a 41,000-square-foot building on Jefferson Avenue to house its operations. Jefferson Avenue, which dead-ends prior to Brammo’s property, will need to be extended and cross a seasonal creek in order to reach the proposed building. Brammo will pay for the road extension. Richard Eatherly, who owns and operates a business on Jefferson Avenue, told the commission he was worried what the project would do to traffic on his road and on the intersection of Washington and Ashland streets. Jefferson Avenue is connected to Ashland Street by Washington Street. “I’m a little concerned what the impact would be for transportation,” he said. “Transportation in the area needs to be reviewed.” Molnar said Jefferson and Washington can handle the increased traffic but, he added, traffic coming off of Ashland Street would “continue to be a problem as the Washington-Jefferson area continues to build up.” City Councilor Kate Jackson, the liaison to the planning commission, said traffic issues in this area are “one of the biggest concerns for the city. The whole area is getting to be a concern.” She said the Oregon Department of Transportation has contacted the city about re-aligning the Interstate 5 interchange on Ashland Street, which would also have an effect on traffic in this area. The commission was satisfied that the creek will be crossed by Jefferson Street in manner that will protect the riparian area. Molnar told the commission that either a bridge or a box culvert, that has no bottom, will by built over the creek. Both would be designed to withstand the water from flooding levels expected every 100 years. The commission voted not to recommend the annexation to the city council, as has been the standard practice, but rather to approve the findings for annexation to the council. Commissioner John Stromberg said on past annexations, applicants have used the planning commissions approval for annexation to lobby the council into doing likewise. A majority of the commission agreed that because they do not delve into the rationale for the annexation, what the commission does is to approve the findings, rather than to recommend it. Commission Chair John Fields voted against approving the annexation in this manner. Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 226 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams