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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 3, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 17, 2005 Landowners cautioned on Measure 37 claims County says in its current state the measure produces more questions than answers By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Casting a shadow over authorization of three more Measure 37 claims Wednesday, Jackson County commissioners cautioned property owners they could be stepping into a legal thicket. "There are a number of unanswered questions with Measure 37," Commissioner C.W. Smith told the landowners. Commissioners cautioned that even though they waived zoning restrictions, landowners’ claims still might require state approval, or the claims could be overturned by the courts, or there could be questions over whether landowners can transfer the claim in a land sale. "They (the claims) were approved in the face of a lot of unknowns," said Steve Rinkle, attorney for Jackson County. The measure gives property owners the right to file a claim that, if approved, would require a government agency to either pay for lost property value or provide a waiver of a zoning regulation. Advertisement On Wednesday, Joyce Estremado received approval to give her daughter 20 acres of a 100-acre parcel near Gold Hill for a home site. Claude and Delores Benson will now be able to subdivide their 26-acre parcel near Talent into five-acre lots. Carl Christy received approval to build a home on a five-acre parcel near Central Point. So far, 32 claims have been filed with the county since the measure took effect Dec. 3. Five have been approved in Jackson County. Estremado has been trying for 20 years to get a separate parcel for her daughter’s home site. "I was real tickled this morning" after commissioners approved her claim, she said. Her daughter, 48-year-old Juanita Wright, said she wants to keep the property zoned as exclusive farm use and doesn’t want to develop it. "I do feel ours was a very simple claim," she said. Even relatively simple claims like Estremado’s have been difficult for the county to process and have averaged almost two full days of staff time. County Administrator Sue Slack estimated the cost to the county at $700 or more on average. The county, which doesn’t require fees for claims unless they are found invalid, had to review the transfers of ownership on the property to make sure Estremado had a legitimate claim. In 1994, Estremado, who still irrigates the fields and hauls firewood on her property, deeded 20 acres to Wright, who already had built a home on the land. The county, however, wouldn’t allow the property to be broken off, said the 72-year-old rancher, and the property was deeded back to her in 1995. "The home is there — it’s been there, but we couldn’t get it separated," said Estremado. "My daughter could never get a mortgage on it." Even though the county approved these claims, commissioners told property owners there remains questions about the ability to transfer the decision in any future land sale. In the document approving the claim, commissioners state, "...subsequent owners of the property assume all risks that the decision in this order is nontransferable." Estremado, who indicated she might file a claim with the state, said she understood the commissioners need to be cautious. "They just don’t want to go overboard," she said. Dan Eisenbeis, staff planner with 1000 Friends of Oregon, criticized the commissioners for failing to alert neighboring property owners or the public. "It’s disappointing that Jackson County hasn’t moved to provide public notice or hearings," said Eisenbeis, whose organization has challenged the constitutionality of Measure 37 because it grants special privileges to a select group of landowners. In Jackson County, a claim approved last week that would allow Fred Corbin to build a home on 1.19 acres near Talent could have an impact on surrounding orchards, he said. Without carefully analyzing what impacts a development would have on agriculture, Eisenbeis said it could ultimately jeopardize the second largest industry in the state. Allowing more developments in agricultural areas will lead to more disputes with neighbors over pesticide spraying, dust and noise, he said. "Eventually the farmers lose out," he said. Slack said she thought the county would work out a more streamlined process for dealing with claims. "This is a work in progress," she said. "We’ve just jumped off the deep end." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s