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Judge junks disputed RV park Neighbors had protested plans By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ Opponents of a proposed 117-unit RV campground off Blackwell Road scored a reversal Thursday when Jackson County Judge Ross Davis tossed out a writ of mandamus requiring the county to approve the application. Davis found that the campground was incompatible with the area's exclusive farm use zoning. He also found that the development violated an agreement between Central Point and Jackson County to defer development of the rural area. "That's the exact argument we made," Central Point City Manager Jim Bennett said Thursday. "These were large KOA-type RV spaces. The city opposed it from the beginning. It's in an area of mutual concern with the county, which we had agreed to protect from premature development until such time as it was right. That time is certainly not now." Approval of an RV campground would accelerate development of the area, which despite two long-standing industrial uses nearby, remains largely rural, Bennett said. Donna Palmer, a neighbor in the area who raises purebred Nubian dairy goats, was pleased with Davis's decision but not with the process. "I felt it was a fair decision," Palmer said. "There are 117 spaces jammed in there like a sardine can -- is not a rural use." Getting to that decision after the county failed to schedule a timely public hearing has cost neighbors of the proposed development plenty in legal costs, Palmer said. Once the county had missed its own 150-day deadline to consider the application, it opted not to defend a writ of mandamus filed by the developer. The writ demanded that the county approve the application or show cause why it shouldn't be. Commissioner Sue Kupillas then argued that the neighbors deserved a hearing, but Commissioners Ric Holt and Jack Walker argued then and since that the county was bound to play by the same rules and deadlines it imposes on others. If an applicant didn't get a timely hearing, his or her application should be approved, they said. "I guess that's the judge's decision," Walker said Thursday. "My feeling was all based on that we have a responsibility to the applicant." Walker said his hope was to see the planning department revamped so that applications could be decided within 30 days. Applicants should be made aware of major issues at the time of the application, he said. In the case of the RV campground, Gold Hill developer Joe Rutigliano should have been told of the city-county agreement when he applied, Walker said. Neither Rutigliano nor his attorney could be reached for comment Thursday. Eric Stark, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he could not comment on the case. Like Walker, Holt remained unpersuaded. "I haven't changed my opinion, but he's the judge," Holt said. "If the judge says we violated the agreement, we'll just have to consult with our legal counsel and find out what our next step is." Palmer said she disagreed with the way the entire matter was handled and intended to do something about it Tuesday: "I'm going to vote for Deason and Wright." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA