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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Local events Since You Asked: Weigh station schedule is secret Health Care Coalition gets $3.5 million grant Butte Falls is source for new line of glass-bottled water Emergency Services Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Emergency Services Man arrested for selling fake crystal 'Just another drunk driver that didn't want to go to jail' Emergency Services Politics and Elections Dotterrer-Bates Senate race goes negative? 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Ashland sets forth plan for season Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters Blog: Fall Into a New Season Tenants begin moving into One West Main Real Estate News Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters Tenants begin moving into One West Main Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales People In Business Transportation Agriculture Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Sept. 29 Our View: Winters continues to be invisible Catherine Rampell: The bad rep of for-profit colleges The peacemaker goes to war Letters to the Editor, Sept. 28 Editorials Letters to the Editor, Sept. 29 Our View: Winters continues to be invisible Our View: Holder leaves mixed civil rights legacy Other Views: Carbon tax, the Cover Oregon of tax reform Let judges teach, serve: Yes on Measure 87 Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Sept. 28 Election Letters, Sept. 27 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 26 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 25 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 24 Guest Opinions Is Ashland taking over Jackson County elections? 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Our View: Holder leaves mixed civil rights legacy ... Man arrested for selling fake crystal ... Our View: Winters continues to be invisible ... Our View: Holder leaves mixed civil rights legacy ... Man arrested for selling fake crystal ... OUR VIEW Expand, but don't neglect affordable housing MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 18, 2014 at 7:14 AM Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 18, 2014 at 7:14 AM » Social News Medford officials weighing a possible expansion of the city's urban growth boundary to accommodate a projected population increase need to make sure that not all the new housing is out of the reach of lower and middle-income residents. The city has not expanded its urban growth boundary since 1990. Current projections indicate the city's population will grow from 76,000 now to 115,000 in the next 20 years — more than a 50 percent increase. City officials may ask the state to approve adding 1,000 acres for residential construction and 650 acres for commercial development to the 18,000 acres now inside Medford's urban growth boundary. The city has committed to protecting farmland on the west side of town, so no expansion of the boundary is planned there. Instead, the boundary will be expanded to the southeast and northeast. One potential beneficiary of a southeast expansion would be Pacific Retirement Services, which operates the Rogue Valley Manor and Centennial Golf Course. PRS has plans for an "active adult community" of housing centered around the golf course, but would need to be included in the urban growth boundary to proceed. The development could include 1,000 residential units. It's a fair bet those dwellings wouldn't be considered "affordable housing." There's nothing wrong with building high-end units overlooking a golf course. But a well-planned city also should accommodate the needs of middle-class residents who need housing they can afford to buy. Plans for a massive development to the northeast of town never quite came together in the mid-2000's. That project, which would have required an urban growth boundary expansion, would have featured single-family homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 range — not low-income housing, but well within reach of middle-class working families. Southern Oregon is known for low wages relative to the rest of the state, and during the housing boom, the gap between average income and the price of the average home grew far too wide. Now that home prices are beginning to bounce back from the depths of the housing crash, this community has an opportunity to encourage affordably priced housing rather than a repeat of the overheated market that preceded the recession. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 18, 2014 at 7:14 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » 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 Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs 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 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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