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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 7, 2006 Council debates buying railroad land By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Submitted Photo An architect�s drawing shows concepts for mixed-use buildings and a round civic center on undeveloped land north of Ashland�s railroad tracks. Several Ashland City Councilors want to explore buying undeveloped land along the railroad tracks, despite unknown costs for cleaning up the contaminated site. Under city ownership, the community would have more control over how one of the largest remaining blocks of land in Ashland is developed. But that control comes with risks. Union Pacific Railroad owns 20 acres of land that were contaminated by arsenic, lead, petroleum products and other pollutants during a century of railroad use. This summer, the company put the clean-up of the property on hold indefinitely after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found contamination is more extensive than previously known. The land is part of 74 acres north of the tracks covered by a 2001 Ashland Railroad Property Master Plan. The plan, crafted after a series of public meetings, envisions mixed-use development with businesses on ground floors and housing above. It calls for a public plaza, a civic center built in the shape of an historic railroad roundhouse and a park to preserve mature willow trees. Buying just the 20 acres of contaminated railroad land would cost millions. The land is assessed at $2.3 million, according to Jackson County tax records. The actual market value of property usually exceeds the assessed value. Cleaning up the site could cost $3.5 million to $6 million, according to Union Pacific Railroad estimates. "If the city is doing the clean-up, that would probably end up being $10 million," City Councilor Russ Silbiger said during a meeting earlier this week. But Councilor Cate Hartzell said city ownership of the land would help ensure that amenities like parks are included in the development. She said she favored exploring a purchase of the land. Councilors Kate Jackson and David Chapman also said they are interested in buying the land or having the city partner with someone for development. "I'm interested in seeing it get cleaned up sooner rather than later," Jackson said. Chapman said with a plan in hand, the city could save money by coordinating clean-up and construction activities. For example, the city could build underground parking garages in the holes left after contaminated dirt was excavated. He said the 2001 master plan allocates too much room for ground-level parking lots. But Mayor John Morrison cautioned against buying the land. He said the hallmarks of good projects are that buyers get good deals, know what they are going to do with land and know how they are going to sell it. "We're a long ways from looking at a purchase plan," Morrison said. "There are ways to control what's developed without owning it." Interim Planning Director Bill Molnar said the city already has design standards in place that have led to attractive construction on nearby streets. The master plan itself lauds the Furniture Depot on Oak Street for its courtyard and buildings that frame surrounding hills. Ashland Hardware and Gathering Glass Studio, with their block walls and metal accents, fit in with the historic and industrial buildings in the railroad district, the plan notes. The city could strengthen its rules for the undeveloped railroad land in advance of any construction, Molnar said. Requirements could include a central plaza, a park with the willow trees and reserved space for a future commuter rail stop, he said. Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or [email protected]. Current Comments: Stupid idea! The council needs to address and take care of the serious AFN debt problem and other issues such as adeqaute staffing for our police department. Jed - Ashland, OR - October 7th, 6:19 PM Is this property the affordable housing future sight. Haven't they learned anything The city of Ashland is not a buisness and they don't know how to run one. Maybe they should fix what they already broke ann - ashland or - October 8th, 3:54 AM The City has a master plan here folks. Take it easy and just trust them to do the right thing. This RR Land is a perfect site for phase II of the Hobo Center they are now building on Ashland Street. Hobo's will be brought into Ashland since we really don't have any of our own, and once word gets out that this is the hobo mecca of the west, we'll be over-run. Not like it is now in the summer months, but really over-run. This RR land is a great spot to build a 1,000 bed facility. Trust the city... Steve L. Iverson - Ashland,Jefferson - October 8th, 11:12 AM One more thing. I can't think of a more "enlightened" place to ask this question; Is Hobo okay to use?With all the new PC terms out there these days,I want to be sure it's appropriate.Freeloaders,spare-changers,bums, just don't seem PC anymore.What are we calling them today? Let's have a contest and vote on the new PC label for these new immigrants who will come in droves to relocate in our town. Let's see how many of them run for city council once they set camp under the Clay Street bridge... Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, JEfferson - October 8th, 11:21 AM I have no idea what is PC anymore but I was interested to learn a few months back that "Hobo" is a reportedly a contraction of "Hoe Boy." Hoe Boys were young men, both white and black, displaced after the Civil War who could only carry a single yard implement in their search for work. For your amusement and (?) education. George Kramer - ashland, or - October 8th, 2:14 PM Your city's plan is at least a start and sounds like there are some good ideas brewing. Face it, dealing with contaminated railroad land is like pushing the U.S.S. Nimitz through the eye of a needle. You have to do something with it-- but dont criticize the city council without an idea of your own. Find out exactly HOW contaminated the land is and how much junk science is being peddled by the environ crowd; there may be a lot. - John John - San Antonio, TX - October 8th, 6:36 PM The council should not consider buying the land. Not knowing how polluted the site is is inviting trouble, especially if there is a possibility of it becoming a superfund site. Then it will become a bottomless money pit. Rather the council should be working with state and federal authorities to make Southern Pacific remediate the land. They created the problem. Also they could consider helping SP through legislation broker a deal with a private developer where the remediation costs are shared. Doug Forsyth - Ashland - October 9th, 8:48 AM Please, stop the council from thinking like this. I'd suggest their priority should be hiring the best planning director we can find, provide him or her with a direction as to what we want the result to look like, approve the necessary zoning that such a result would need, then get out of the way. Our group simply can't grasp that there are others with more experience, deeper pockets, and better vision than them. Their long established record of micromanaging staff and committees is proof. Pragmatic - Ashland, OR - October 9th, 10:49 AM Mr. Iverson: After reading almost every post of yours on many subjects, the only conclusion I can draw is that, like some of the modern sports stars, you are badly in need of anger management counseling. When I post a note, I imagine what it would be like saying those words face-to-face to someone, to temper my words. When I read the venom and hatred for many segments of our city in your posts, it's clear you just like to vent. I wonder whether anyone could do anything that you would like? Red Dog - Ashland, Oregon - October 9th, 11:10 AM The contamination at this site is more extensive than previously known so Union Pacific has put the clean-up on hold indefinitely?!! How dare they! I agree with Mr. Forsyth. Council should be working with state and federal authorities to force the railroad remediate the land, NOT trying to own this mess. With Amtrak's plans to come through Ashland again in the near future, it's doubtful there will be any lack of investment in this site... and motivation to clean it up! Carole Davis ( [email protected] ) - Ashland, OR - October 9th, 11:29 AM Dog-I don't see a lot of positive news reporting here.Okay;I don't like Navickas,I don't agree with the city wasting money on Ski resorts or RR Land that requires a toxic clean up.People who cut holes in fences are criminals,and the hobo center on Ashland Street is bad for the people who live here.I support Lemhouse and Christensen,Don Law and the DeBoers.I don't like the extremists,in paticular eco-whackos,the liberals and DT-Michael Green.Anger Mngmt.won't change this.What do you belive in? Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 9th, 11:52 PM RedDog,if you had read so many of my postings, why can't you bring a single point to disagree with me on?I get it wrong more often than I get it right most days.But all you have is the stereotypical Lib response.You insult me and refer to me as in need of anger management? Pretty weak.If you want to put me on the couch, how about first looking at your remarks and re-evaluating if they"were tempered as if you were saying your words face to face"?This is an open forum,sorry if I hurt your feelings Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 10th, 7:53 AM Steve, the word du jour seems to be 'transient'. Maybe the RR can sell the land to a developer and he/she can build a golf course with homes around it.... oh, never mind. kathleen - ashland, OR - October 11th, 1:56 PM To Mr. Iverson: 1. You didn't hurt my feelings. People who post on open forums should be ready for anything. 2. It is not an insult to someone to ask them to consider if they have too much anger. 3. As a native, like my first landlord, you both seem to share a resentment toward anyone who moves here -- as if by participating here we're taking your town away from you. Should we just sit silently on the sofa with our hands folded on our laps thinking on God? & let "natives" make all the decisions? Red Dog - Ashland, Oregon - October 11th, 3:18 PM Back on topic, anyone? The City's track record in managing its land, development & quasi-business enterprises (e.g. AFN) is dismal. In the real world, people earn the right to take big responsibilities & answer to customers, stockholders, etc. at every turn. Anyone can draw pretty schemes on paper, & talk is cheap. PJ O"Rourke said it best: "Giving money & power to government is like giving a 16-year-old boy a bottle of whiskey and the car keys." Rich Kline - Ashland, OR - October 12th, 8:05 AM Dog-you haven't read all my postings or you'd know I'm not a native.There aren't many of those left anymore,two-thirds or better are not natives.I describe Ashland as "our town" meaning anyone who lives here, all of who are a part of the family of Ashland. I am protective in my nature of our town; family and neighbors here. Do not ever just sit back on the sofa let others make decisions. Too many do that all ready. Don't mistake my high energy and straight talk as anger, it's just my style... Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 12th, 9:08 AM Mr. Iverson: Sorry to assume you were a native. My bad. We're all protective of our town, but America is in the midst of a values debate, and "our town" means different things to each half of the divide. I accept your response about anger, and will look forward to reading your future, even-handed posts. ;-) We agree on one thing: that the Ski Expansion, after the AFN mess, would be a very bad idea for our City and shouldn't go forward. Clean water for all is more important than sking for a few. Red Dog - Ashland, Oregon - October 12th, 10:30 PM Hugs to Steve & RD. Return to topic now? The City has bought a commercial lot on N. Main for a parking lot, planning to reconfigure the Hersey-Wimer intersection. Sounds good, but ODOT rejected the intersection project, neighbors will fight it, & there would be poor access to the lot if the intersection IS re-done. So, a valuable parcel which should provide jobs & tax revenue is an unsightly revenue drain which attracts transients & vandals. The City should learn to walk before it tries to run. Rich Kline - Ashland, OR - October 13th, 7:42 AM Thanks for the love Rich. Back on track now; isn�t that land adjacent to your business? How about you set up a neighborhood watch and keep the transients under control in that area? How about APD? Aren't they helping you with that problem? Back to the city; that intersection is the worst one in Ashland for auto accidents, and they still can't convince ODOT to allow a redesign? Next injury accident, let's contact the involved motorists and see if they'll file suit. That may do it.Stay after them. Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 13th, 1:45 PM Steve: We do what we can, but few people around at night. APD responds, writes reports. The City could prevent 99% of accidents at Hersey by forbiding ALL left turns (Van Ness, too), forbidding crossing of Main, & cheaply upgrading Laurel & Main to add turn lanes. (Check it out.) ODOT survey team agreed with that view & said that the City's plan was unnecessarily expensive & intrusive. They ignore simple, effective solutions, always want to spend too much, & hunger for private land. Why? Rich Kline - Ashland, OR - October 13th, 6:15 PM Planted trees in sidewalks + cut down soon after because of roots$ planted red leaf maples then neglected to water them cmon it wasn't fungus no water no live$ Bought golf course + ski slope that never did well$ replace Lincoln's head every few years$ tried a Christmas tree twice it died$ advertised our Halloween party out of town + ruined it:( bought swans twice didn't work$ bought couple of big rocks called "art"$ fiber network$ many more bad $ they play while we pay shall we stop and think? C - Ashland - October 13th, 11:09 PM Rich, I didn't know that ODOT recommended those changes. Many of us citizens about town including some old traffic cops have advocated those changes you describe for years. The answer I always got was that ODOT wouldn't approve it. A simple no left turn at those two intersections would have prevented many a serious accident. What's with these guys always looking to make everything so difficult and expensive? It's like they're spending someone else�s money. Wait, they are...ours. Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 14th, 8:01 AM That wasn't an "official" ODOT position, Steve. The survey team visited to evaluate the Hersey intersection & actually listened to a property owner's input! The team leader said "(Laurel St.) makes a lot more sense than this" & opined that the Hersey-Wimer realignment would never be funded: too expensive & disruptive. My question remains: why does the City hold the N. Main St. plot? Shouldn't it be SELLING valuable commercial land (e.g. Water St.) they don't need, at the market's peak (now)? Rich Kline - Ashland, OR - October 16th, 9:09 AM Certainly any cleanup costs should be deducted from the price of this land, meaning the city will become owner at no cost. This parcel would then become property of thepeople of Ashland allowing for an "Economic Development Zone" aiding in the transition of unemployed and displaced workers. Robert Canape - Ashland Oregon - October 21st, 9:59 AM Robert; What Unemployed and displaced workers? You must be talking about importing workers from another area of the state or country. I don't know of any closed businesses that contributed any displaced workers here recently...Unemployment in Ashland...how could anyone unemployed afford to live here? Steve L. Iverson - Ashland, Jefferson - October 23rd, 7:13 AM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.