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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us August 24, 2005 Northlight developers revise plan Tax lots redrawn to avoid setback rules on Lithia By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings The downtown mixed-use development project known as Northlight has been revised and is back on the Ashland Planning Commission agenda, ready to be heard at its monthly meeting Sept. 13. Because the 73,037-square-foot development project, slated for the corner of Lithia Way and First Street, did not comply with city regulations stipulating that all new development on the east side of Lithia Way include a 20-foot setback from the road, the applicants have asked the planning department if they can redefine the lot lines so that the legal front yard will be First Street, rather than Lithia Way. “The lot line adjustment will result in the creation of lots that will have a narrower frontage on First Street,” Bill Molnar, acting director of the Ashland Community Development Department, said. “Therefore the applicants will argue that the front lot line is along First Street and the side is along Lithia Way. Therefore, they will argue that the 20-foot setback does not apply.” An “additional applicant’s response” states that “the applicant has completed a lot line adjustment” that makes the frontage on First Street more narrow than the frontage on Lithia Way. “Therefore, Section 18.68.050, the Special Setback Requirements, no longer applies to the subject property,” according to the response. One of the developers of Northlight, Evan Archerd, said they have “worked with the city to find a perfectly legal solution.” He added, “Any property owner has the right to use the existing planning code to develop property.” Although the lot lines have been altered, little has been changed to the project’s appearance, Molnar said. The two main commercial buildings still “face onto Lithia Way,” according to the response. Archerd said, “We have not changed the exterior whatsoever.” Molnar added that the ordinance cited by the applicant states that the “narrower street frontage shall be the front lot line except when Staff Advisor determines topographical or access problems make such a designation impractical.” He said he would be looking at this provision in consultation with the city legal staff to determine how to proceed. In the staff report concerning the Northlight project, the planning department estimated that the project would result in approximately 766 daily trips from the project. Archerd said the other change to the application is in the parking level. He said they have split the parking garage into two separate structures so as to “eliminate any confusion” that the two main buildings are, in fact, one structure with two separate above ground faces. The three applicants for this proposed project were not eager to comment for this article. Two of them, Russ Dale and Hal Dresner, declined to do so. Archerd would do so cautiously but referred most questions on the specifics of the change to the submitted response. In their response, they claim to have “gone through a longer public process with this application than, perhaps, any other application in the City of Ashland’s history.” Archerd said, “A large redevelopment in downtown Ashland deserves careful consideration. But I think (Northlight) has had this careful consideration.” Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 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 Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams