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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 12, 2006 Tom Dimitre multitasks by checking his e-mail and comforting his two-month-old girl Amelie in his home office on May 19. Orville Hector | Daily Tidings Dimitre says ‘smart growth’ is best for Ashland New planning commissioner has environmental track record By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings In his first hearing as an Ashland Planning Commissioner, Tom Dimitre was the lone dissenting vote against locating a private school in a residential development. Though the rest of the commission thought the increased traffic a school would create on Clay Street would be mitigated by the various times — weekends and summers — when schools are less active, Dimitre thought otherwise. But he said just because he voted against the first project he deliberated on doesn’t mean he’ll vote against every one. “I don’t have a preconceived agenda,” he said. “I’m going to vote on each of the projects based on their merits.” He added, “Growth happens, especially in a place like Ashland. It’s just has to be smart growth and planned growth. I moved here so I’m sure some others would like to as well.” However, Dimitre did raise the suspicions of the mayor, who appointed him to the commission, when he told him that he didn’t think big buildings were appropriate in the downtown area. “I asked him about that,” Mayor John Morrison said recently. “I said I’m not looking for someone with an ax to grind. He convinced me he would certainly play by the rules. Tom convinced me that he is a team player.” Morrison added, “Nearly everyone on the planning commission can be characterized by one side or another.” But, he said, “It’s not about making political appointments. It’s about [a commissioner’s] ability to work well with others and work within the framework of the legal process and structural process by which we make land use decisions for the city.” Dimitre said his feelings about big buildings in the downtown stem from the projects he has seen proposed from the sidelines as of late, as well as what he has seen happen in other nearby cities. “Bemis and Northlight [two recent controversial proposed downtown developments - both would have become the second biggest buildings downtown next to the Ashland Springs Hotel] were out of scale with the downtown. We want to preserve the unique, small-town character of our town while accommodating for planned growth.” He said if he has an agenda as a planning commissioner it is to “verify that projects are meeting the conditions for approval” as well as “listening to the public about what impacts a project will have on their neighborhoods. These people write letters for months [before the commission deliberates on a project for one or two meetings] I want to make sure I hear those people.” Dimitre was born and raised in the Bay Area and moved to Ashland 11 years ago from the Scott Valley area of Northern California. He currently works in Yreka as a union negotiator for the Siskiyou County Employees Association. Previously he has worked in Ashland for both Headwaters and KS Wild, two local environmental organizations. He is also the chairperson of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, which is currently involved in a lawsuit opposing the Mt. Ashland Ski Area expansion project. He and his wife Sarah have three children: Robin, who graduated from Ashland High School on Friday night, Jeffrey, who will be a senior there next year, and Amelie, who is only two months old. Though this is Dimitre first appointed position in Ashland, he is not a political newcomer. He volunteered on City Councilor Cate Hartzell’s re-election campaign in 2004. Additionally, he has not only applied for a position on the planning commission previously, he also once tried to win an appointment to the city council last year when Chris Hearn resigned. “Instead of just criticizing from the sidelines,” he said, “I wanted to actually do something about it.” 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