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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us February 3, 2005 Downtown Bemis project seesaw far from settled By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings The Bemis project, a proposed 81,212-square-foot mixed-use downtown parking, condo and commercial space development, is back in court. Greg Hathaway, legal counsel for the developers, confirmed that his clients have asked the Oregon Court of Appeals to "reconsider" its previous decision in which the court refused to overturn the will of the city council and the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. Twelve months ago the Ashland City Council rejected the recommendation of the planning commission and denied Ed and Tanya Bemis, the developers of the proposed project, the ability to go forward with plans to build a five-level building behind the Ashland Springs Hotel. The project, council determined, violated what city attorney Mike Franell called the "old Big Box Ordinance." "Part of the council's findings indicated that the old Big Box Ordinance applied not just to the footprint but also to the overall square footage of the project," said Franell. Hathaway claims the city was actually trying to retroactively apply a new Big Box Ordinance that was passed just days after the Bemis decision. "It appears from the transcript that the city council wanted to apply the new standard," said Hathaway. "The only way they could do this was to reinterpret the old law." However, when Hathaway and the Bemis' appealed the city's decision to LUBA, the state oversight board instead agreed with the city's point of view. "LUBA found that the council's interpretation was a reasonable interpretation based on the language of the old Big Box Ordinance," said Franell. If the Court of Appeals does not reconsider its previous opinion, the Bemises have until Feb. 16 to file an appeal with the State Supreme Court if they still want to pursue building the five-story structure. "The Bemises feel very strongly about their argument," said Hathaway. "This is a significant case concerning Oregon land use." Ed and Tanya Bemis operate a local development outfit in the Ashland area. Hathaway described them as having spent "a considerable portion of their lives in this community," he said. 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 Slippers Women's Slippers men's slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Memory Foam Mattress college loans alternative student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation trillion cut diamonds Currancy Exchange Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams