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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 12, 2005 Mixed-use building gets nod By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings So complex have the city’s land use laws become that a proposed redesign for the building at 11 First St. almost did not pass the scrutiny of the Ashland Planning Commission on Tuesday. Although staff initially recommended a postponement, the commission eventually voted 6 to 1 to approve the 4,500-square-foot, mixed-use building between East Main Street and Lithia Way in spite of the fact that it did not adhere to the letter of the land-use law. Late Tuesday afternoon, Commissioner John Stromberg — the lone dissenter — sent an e-mail to staff indicating he noticed an additional provision that had been overlooked. Stromberg also found an eleventh-hour, overlooked provision at a hearing in September concerning the controversial downtown development project known as Northlight. This time Stromberg said the building did not adhere to the vision clearance provision of Ashland’s land-use code. This provision states that new buildings must be built a sufficient distance from a street corner so that drivers’ and pedestrians’ line of sight is not impeded. The property is on the corner of First and Will Dodge Way. Bill Emerson, the project’s designer, said the proposed building would have to be moved back four additional feet to meet with the letter of the law. “It’s another one of these situations in which an older transportation standard is not congruent with the newer site design standards,” Senior Planner Maria Harris told the commission. Assistant City Attorney Mike Reeder said the commission would be within its legal authority to interpret that this provision has been met. There was confusion as to whether the setback applied to the street corner or to the lot line. Because a sidewalk separates the street corner and the lot line by six feet, this interpretation gave the commission the latitude to approve the project. Commissioner Dave Dotterrer argued that the spirit of the provision was met because the sidewalk created the proper space for a driver to see around the corner. “What we are really talking about here is the vision along the street,” he said. Stromberg, however, felt the commission would be going down a slippery slope by interjecting opinions and interpretations into the quasi-judicial process. “My understanding of trying to read this in an unbiased way is it is to the property line,” he said. “If we start to do these custom interpretations, the losing side is going to think our reasoning is arbitrary.” However, the rest of the commission agreed with Dotterrer’s position. “I have to agree with Dave on this one,” Commissioner Michael Dawkins said, which elicited a surprised response from some of the other commissioners. “Hey, it happens,” he said with a smile. Allen Douma said he was comfortable approving the project because the city had interpreted this provision in this same manner in the past. Colin Swales, an advocate for slow, measured growth in Ashland, spoke against the project. He said he thought the designers had done a good job and that he realized it fit with the relevant design standards but that it was still too big for this location. “It’s basically out of scale with everything surrounding it,” he said, noting that historic preservation consultant George Kramer has said that new buildings in the historic district should be smaller than the traditional ones to highlight the historic architecture. Commissioner Russ Chapman took Swales to task for this comment. “You don’t listen George Kramer on Northlight but you listen to him here,” he said. “Where could we build a 40 footer?” 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 Free Music Downloads Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks Online Casinos FREE Entertainment Guide Calenders 2006 Calendar Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products best online casino tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing cortisol; weight loss Diamonds Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Southern Oregon Loans Sportsbook Ztech Media Hosting Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Myspace Layouts Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Student Loans Bonus Casino ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Canadian Pharmacy Casino Gambling Sites Backpacks Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams