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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 16, 2005 Developers are seeking to build an 18-hole golf course, housing and an equestrian center in the foothills near the Ashland airport. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven A golf course on Ashland’s east hills? Medford couple considers building a 437-acre resort-style development near Ashland’s airport By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Ashland’s picturesque eastern foothills could become the setting for a resort-style development if ancestors of a local pioneer family get approval of their recently filed Measure 37 claim. Medford residents Mark and Joan Boyden own 437 acres above the Ashland airport where they want to build an 18-hole golf course as well as 95 houses and 10 townhouses clustered around a common area, a pro shop and an equestrian center. "We figure it is an opportunity of a lifetime," said 80-year-old Mark Boyden, whose family first settled here in the 1850s. His wife’s family also traveled over the Oregon Trail to Jackson County in the 1850s. Advertisement The Boydens currently use the rolling acreage east of Dead Indian Memorial Road and west of Pompadour Drive to run cattle, but there are no homes on the land, he said. Because the four separate parcels of land border the airport, Boyden hopes the city annexes the property, something it’s been reluctant to do with other parcels outside its borders. "We’re hoping for a change of mind from the city," he said. If the city doesn’t want to annex the property, the Boydens propose cutting the land up into roughly five acres each, which would require wells for water. "It would be a cookie-cutter, 88-lot deal," he said. In addition, the Boydens have asked for $4,192,327 compensation if the county doesn’t want them to develop the land, which was rezoned to exclusive farm use in 1982. Overwhelmingly approved by voters in November, Measure 37 gives property owners the right to ask a government agency to either pay for lost property value because of zoning changes or provide a waiver of the offending land-use regulation. In reality, most government agencies don’t have the money to pay property owners. The Boydens are being represented by Ashland attorney Chris Hearn, who resigned as city councilman in May. City Council member David Chapman said it’s too bad the state hadn’t figured out a way to help property owners years ago, rather than forcing the issue through Measure 37. He said he couldn’t comment on the proposal fully until he’d seen the plans, but "a golf course is going to be better than a bunch of ranchettes." "(But) maybe it’ll look out of place being green," he added. With this development and others in the works in Ashland’s viewshed, Chapman said, "It would be nice to protect it somehow." City Attorney Mike Franell said he couldn’t comment on the project because this was the first he’d heard of it. But he did say, "In the past the city has been fairly reluctant to expand our urban growth boundaries." With the potential for claims like the Boydens’ just outside the city limits, he added, "Measure 37 may cause us to change the way we look at things." City councilwoman Kate Jackson also said she hasn’t heard about the proposed development. As to whether it could be annexed into the city, she said, "That’s an unlikely location." The Boydens’ son, Dan Boyden, a developer from Hood River, said the family would prefer to build the golf course development because "it would be a lot nicer for the community." Since the property has rights to the irrigation canal, Dan Boyden said the golf course and common area wouldn’t have to rely on Ashland water. But without the annexation, he said, "it is real questionable whether it can be done without city services." To help make the project more attractive to the city, Boyden said he would consider opening up equestrian and walking trails to the public. Access to the property would be along a 60-foot easement off Dead Indian. Boyden said his great-great-grandfather, Clairborne Neil, came to Jackson County in the 1850s. Neil Creek is named after him, he said. "He got on a wagon in Tennessee with seven kids under the age of 10 and his wife pregnant," he said. "They went on to Independence, Missouri, and she had the baby there." The family came by covered wagon over the Oregon Trail, settling in Jackson County. The Neil family once owned the property under Howard Prairie Lake, Boyden said. His mother has been trying to develop the property, but couldn’t because of zoning restrictions. Boyden said other surrounding properties have smaller parcel sizes. "I see my mom as a poster child for Measure 37," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail A golf course on Ashland�s east hills? 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