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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Hitting the books — and bikes ... Ashland Kiwanis honors AHS student ... Ashland seeks community input on next superintendent ... Hitting the books — and bikes ... Ashland Kiwanis honors AHS student ... Ashland seeks community input on next superintendent ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: City missed its chance on Winburn Way Comment By George Kramer DailyTidings.com By George Kramer Posted Mar. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM By George Kramer Posted Mar. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Last week the Ashland Planning Commission approved the plans for a new residential project on Winburn Way. Designed by Carlos Delgado, this beautiful structure (to be built by Stephanie and Bryan Deboer) is almost certainly a better residential design than anyone else would have brought forward. Given that the property was zoned residential, Mr. Deboer is to be congratulated and thanked for his willingness to give Ashland a beautiful project that fully complies with the zoning code. But the problem is that the property should never have been zoned residential in the first place. It was out of the convenience and laziness of 50 years ago when the first zoning ordinance was adopted and Ashland just labeled the entire block residential, despite the presences of the Hillah Temple, the Winburn Way Community Center, the Log Cabin and the little Dairy Dan’s Ice Cream parlor on the subject site. The city knew this error first-hand, having itself gone through a cumbersome re-zoning process when it purchased the Hillah Temple and converted it into the Com Dev building. The issue of this mis-zoning again came up in the Storybook Coffee project, five years ago. The zoning proved so problematic that project died. The city should have acted proactively and fixed the zoning then. It didn’t. Even better, five years ago, the city should have purchased this property and used it to support the other public uses on Winburn Way. Imagine a small seasonal café, leased by the Ashland Parks Foundation and supporting the skating rink in winter and the park patrons in summer, all while providing a little income for park projects. Imagine more public restrooms, or Zamboni storage. Or even more parking. Imagine a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce for an interpretative site, or maybe even a little display on Ashland history. Imagine a classroom or meeting space for school groups visiting the park. Because of the zoning questions, this lot sold to Deboer for a reported $410,000, an amount the city of Ashland could have easily afforded if it had the vision to act. At minimum the city should have rezoned this property to reflect its best use, which I cannot believe many think is really appropriate for residential. Maybe it’s not too late for the city to contact the DeBoers and still try to make that happen. I, for one, would be happy to see them shift the $178,000 currently budgeted for “public” art toward this far more beneficial expenditure. If not, I wish the Deboers well and congratulate them and their design team for giving Ashland the best residence it might reasonably expect on this mis-zoned parcel. George Kramer lives in Ashland. By George Kramer DailyTidings.com By George Kramer Posted Mar. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501