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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels July 9, 2004 Talent rezones main roads By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings TALENT - The Talent City Council hopes to create more appealing entryways into town through zoning changes that bar new wrecking yards, car dealerships and storage units in favor of retail shops and professional offices. The council this week rezoned the area along Highway 99 between Colver Road and Rapp Road, and along West Valley View Road to its intersection with Mountain View Drive near Wal-Mart. The sections of land along Highway 99 and West Valley View Road, which connects Talent to Interstate 5, contain a smattering of existing businesses, homes and large blocks of undeveloped land. The zoning changes were called for under the city's Comprehensive Plan. The Talent Planning Commission also had recommended the city council approve the changes, according to City Planner John Adam. "The development rate of commercial land has been very slow," he said. "What the planning commission was trying to do is, if we see a pick up in development, we want it to be something that is more of a draw for people and activity and is more pedestrian-friendly than mini-storage units or auto wrecking yards. There are not very many retail choices, except for Wal-Mart." The zoning change does not affect Jim's Better Buys Used Cars & Trucks, a business with rows of used vehicles visible along Highway 99 as people travel from Ashland into Talent. The business is located just outside the rezoned area, on the other side of Rapp Road. Owner Jim Walker said the rezoning will contribute to changes to Talent's character that he does not welcome. "They want to become like Ashland. A bunch of Shakespeare-type people are slowly moving this way from Ashland," said Walker, who has been in business since 1961. "I guess they want a bunch of trinket shops." Even if Jim's Better Buys had been inside the rezoned area, the business could have continued its operations, according to Adam. "If the city changes the zoning on somebody, they become a legally non-conforming use. The use may continue, as long as it's maintained," he said. If an existing business that is not allowed under the new zoning ceased operations for more than 90 days, it could not reopen, according to Adam. Inside the rezoned area, Talent already is seeing some development of the type encouraged by the new rules. Fred Cox Construction, Inc. is finishing the Bear Creek Professional Center, a group of Craftsman-style office buildings for sale or lease along Highway 99. "That's the kind of thing we'd like to see closer to town. We would like to see more service and retail uses," Adam said. "We would also welcome larger retailers if they want to move into the area. For businesses like grocers, it would be an attractive use for them." Other uses allowed inside the rezoned areas include restaurants and bars, existing homes, homes built above businesses, churches, hotels, civic buildings and movie theaters, except for drive-ins. Barred uses include new feed and fuel stores, overnight recreational vehicle parks, golf driving ranges, light industry and equipment sales and rental and repair shops, according to Talent planning documents. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams