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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 25, 2004 Panel still hopes to change SDC policy A Medford advisory committee wants to alter the way system development charges are disbursed to future park development By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A local citizens advisory committee says their recently rejected solution to change a Medford parks funding system has been misunderstood. "We’re working on fixing (the) process," said Randy Jones of Mahar Homes, one of the developers of the southeast plan and a member of the Southeast Plan Implementation Advisory Committee. He said the parks funding system puts projects on a waiting list that’s up to 10 years out, and that’s too long. "If they do business as usual, they’ll never catch up," he said. The Medford Parks and Recreation Commission voted Feb. 18 to oppose a request from the southeast committee to earmark some of the parks’ system development charges (SDCs) for the southeast plan area. If approved, the request could be adopted city-wide, so new developments would have immediate access to some of their parks funding. Current city policy states that parks SDCs go into one fund for the entire city, and all the parks projects are prioritized. Advertisement The Southeast Plan Implementation Advisory Committee, made up of developers, planners, a real estate broker, planning commissioners and City Council members, proposed to the commission that 50 percent of the southeast plan’s parks SDCs would pay for parks and greenways within that area. The city’s current parks SDC rate is $1,086 per single family dwelling, and the fee is paid when the builder applies for a building permit, said Scott Archer, parks director. The fees offset the costs that new developments add to city services. The southeast plan is a 1,000-acre planned community east of North Phoenix Road near Barnett Road. The plan calls for between 20 and 35 acres of park land and between 15,000 and 20,000 linear feet of bike paths and greenways, according to Pete Young, project coordinator with the parks department. Medford Parks Commission members viewed the special request as setting a bad precedent, which would result in other parks projects in the city getting pushed even further down a long list. But Jones said the city would still benefit from the 50 percent that goes into the city fund. "The current system with the parks SDCs is well-intended but the way it has to be administered, it will never catch up," he said. "It looks like it’s eight to 10 years to cycle back to an area, and that’s our problem," Jones said, adding that the current process asks property owners in the southeast plan to set aside land hoping the city will build a park several years down the road. Jones said the advisory committee also is proposing that developers build the parks and sell them back to the city, because it’s a faster and less expensive way to put parks in. "Any time the private sector can build something, it just costs a lot less money," he said. Jef Faw, finance director and deputy city manager, said there are at least 20 items on the Parks and Recreation Department’s master plan, and it can take years before a parks project is funded. "Anything new comes at the end of the list," he said, adding that Medford’s funding system and time frame is typical of other cities. He said the city has $5.4 million in the 2003-05 budget — from parks SDCs — to spend on acquisition and improvement of parks. He’s familiar with the southeast plan proposal, which he said would basically jump-start parks in an area. "I understand exactly where Randy (Jones) is coming from," he said, adding that if he was buying a house he wouldn’t want to wait eight years for a neighborhood park. But there’s a lot for the council to consider, he said. "Any change is going to be to the detriment of (parks) projects in the pipeline," said Faw. Carl Bartlett, chairman of the southeast plan committee, said the idea did not come from the committee but from City Council goals. "Basically we were just following their goals and implementation measures that they defined," he said. He’d like to see the proposal pass for the whole city. All policy changes must be approved by the Medford City Council. The parks commission is an advisory committee to the council, and their recommendation on the SDC fees will be considered at a future council meeting. The next Southeast Plan Implementation Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesdayin room 151, Lausmann Annex, 200 S. Ivy St., Medford. The meetings are open to the public. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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