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July 2, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 24, 2004 Appeal of Bemis is on track By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings After a lengthy delay to make additions to the record, the Bemis project appeal is back on track and scheduled to be heard by the Land Use Board of Appeals in August. The record has been sent to LUBA, and now the Bemises and their attorney, Greg Hathaway, have seven days left in their 21-day time frame to file their opening brief. Once that is done, the city will have 21 days to respond to the opening brief. Then the LUBA appeal date would be set. New city attorney Mike Franell said the delay was caused by a Bemis request. "There were some draft minutes that were not included in the original record," he said. "The Bemises wanted that included and that took some time. The Bemises now have until June 30 to respond to the official record." Hathaway said previously that he felt the issues are pretty cut-and-dried in the case. "The issues are pretty focused in this case," he said, "because if you look at the decision made by the city council, the only basis is their interpretation of that one provision on the limitation on size." Hathaway said the real question in the matter is whether the city had the right to act on the provision. "The question is, did the city council have the authority to reinterpret a provision that they had already interpreted at the time the application was first filed," he said. "We think the city did not have that authority and, as a result, they were required to approve and confirm the planning commission's decision." The city council rejected Ed and Tanya Bemis' plans to construct an 81,000 square-foot condominium and retail building on the site of the current parking lot behind the Ashland Springs Hotel. The vote was 3-2 against the project, with John Morrison, Kate Jackson and Cate Hartzell voting against while Don Laws and Alex Amarotico voted in favor. Chris Hearn, citing a potential conflict of interest, abstained. Hathaway said the Bemises feel they have a strong case. "At the time the Bemises filed their application, they complied with everything," he explained. "And then, after the fact and after this ordinance was adopted, the city council reinterpreted the provision to say, 'I am sorry, you don't comply.'" Once LUBA issues its ruling, and if the city loses its case, then the city could file an appeal to the Court of Appeals within 21 days. 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