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City alters plan over library site JACKSONVILLE -- The City Council was persuaded Tuesday to change its parking plan to accommodate 163 residents concerned about a site for a future library building. The plan calls for creating a parking lot on what is known as the Munson Property, which residents want to save for a new library someday. The property is behind the US West building at the corner of California and Oregon streets. "It was on these historic hillsides that Peter Britt proved that grapevines, pear and apple trees, and yes, even banana trees could flourish," wrote Jacksonville resident Larry Smith, a retired teacher. "Has the City Council of Jacksonville become so enslaved to paving over Jacksonville that you folks would be willing to destroy Jacksonville's earliest heritage?" Smith's name was among 163 on petitions that were presented to the City Council this week. The public hearing for the parking plan had already taken place and the public comment period had closed. The council will still pave the lot, but it changed the plan so that low-grade surfacing material will be used so it could easily be torn out when and if the site is selected for a new library, said Paul Wyntergreen, city administrator. After this and additional changes, the council voted 4-1 to approve the parking plan, which also calls for parking fees for downtown businesses, limited visitor parking in residential areas and a residential permit system. The Munson Property parking lot will be paid for partly by a state grant that the city received to build a crosswalk connecting the city's current lots with the Britt gardens, as well as build an auto bridge to connect the two existing parking lots. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA