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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Debris found from missing plane carrying Grants Pass man and two teens ... Motorcyclist injured in crash with semi on I-5 ... Flooding closes Medford YMCA pool until Labor Day ... Debris found from missing plane carrying Grants Pass man and two teens ... Motorcyclist injured in crash with semi on I-5 ... Flooding closes Medford YMCA pool until Labor Day ... OUR VIEW Our View: Regulation run amok at KOGAP mill site MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jun. 28, 2016 @ 12:01 am Posted Jun. 28, 2016 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Nine years. If anyone asks you for an example of environmental regulations run amok, point them to Stewart Meadows Village, the new development soon to take shape on the old Kogap mill site between Garfield Street and Stewart Avenue off South Pacific Highway. When completed, the development will combine retail, commercial and residential properties overlooking a restored creek that once was diverted underneath the Hays Oil property on the highway. It was that creek restoration that took nine years. Actually, it was the permitting and the resulting paperwork that took that long. Landscape architect Kerry KenCairn say she has a stack of binders three feet tall holding all the relevant documents. And this was for a project to improve the environment — to return the creek to its historic condition. Four agencies — the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service — had to sign off on various stages of the restoration work. The process was further complicated when it appeared someone, at some point, had listed Hansen Creek as a salmon-bearing stream. Although everyone involved knew that wasn't true, the erroneous listing triggered even more paperwork and added seven years to what could have been a two-year process. During that ordeal, personnel at the agencies changed, with responsibility handed off from one to person to the next, adding further delays. A less committed developer might have walked away, or sold the property to someone who wasn't interested in restoring a creek complete with a native-plant riparian zone back to its condition a century ago. Fortunately, despite the headaches, Ed Istel, KOGAP Enterprises' vice president and director of corporate development, says it's all been worth it. It's important to protect the environment from damage at the hands of human development as much as possible. That's far preferable to letting anyone build anything anywhere they please, as once happened across the country. But it shouldn't take nine years, 15 permits and four separate agencies at the state and federal level to make it happen. It's this kind of bureaucratic nightmare that gives government regulation a bad name. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jun. 28, 2016 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » 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. calendar Connect with MailTribune.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 Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked 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. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501