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3 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 Emergency services, Feb. 18 'We knew we were going to die' Josephine County to approve Southern Oregon business recruiting contract Today is exclusion day for kids who don't have required vaccines Ashland City Council moves forward on I-5 welcome center Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, Feb. 18 Emergency Services, Feb. 17 Emergency services, Feb. 16 Medford porch fire appears intentional, investigators say Emergency services, Feb. 15 Politics and Elections Gov. Kitzhaber steps down, federal investigation begins Gov. Kitzhaber announces resignation Successor Kate Brown must run for election in 2016 Community leaders saddened by governor's departure Read Gov. 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Get Up & Go: Wednesday, Feb. 18 ... City may aid homeless program ... 'We knew we were going to die' ... Get Up & Go: Wednesday, Feb. 18 ... City may aid homeless program ... Big plans on the Butte Proposed Coker Butte development totals 210 acres By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 4, 2015 @ 5:21 pm By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 4, 2015 @ 5:21 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Proponents of a proposed 210-acre development that calls for 60 acres of commercial and more than 100 acres of housing along Highway 62 north of Coker Butte want to bring their project into Medford's urban growth boundary. Coker Butte Development has filed an application with the city seeking to bring the property into the UGB, and the limited liability corporation, with 10 members, has also submitted a master plan for the Coker Butte Community Project. The plan calls for high- and low-density residential elements along land set aside for the Medford School District and property donated to the Medford Parks & Recreation Foundation for trails. "The city of  Medford has done a lot of work in the Urban Growth Boundary process, and this is a good opportunity to be part of it," said Megan Lanier, a principal with land-use consultant Richard Stevens & Associates, which is representing the development group. "This will save the property owners money by not having to go through the process by themselves." The property, presently designated urban reserve area, has been used for growing hay and grazing. It rests on the northwest flank of Coker Butte and is bounded on the west by Highway 62 and a frontage road extension of Crater Lake Avenue. On the north it is bordered by Vilas Road and a couple of small farms. To the east it rubs up against exclusive farm-use land. Among the project's key selling points is that it is being handled "as one large chunk of property," Lanier said. It also has easy access to a sewer system and will incorporate an alternative north-south transportation route. About 60 acres on the western edge of the property, from just north Coker Butte Road to Vilas Road, would be zoned commercial. Multifamily complexes totaling seven acres would go in the heart of the project near an open space/park area and along Vilas Road. Two higher-density, single-family residence neighborhoods (10 units to the acre) would be near the multifamily housing. About 90 acres of less dense single-family houses are drawn into the plan, interspersed with two swaths of open space — one following Hopkins Canal and a second area creating 200 feet of buffer from farmland. Per an agreement with the Medford School District reached last September, 20 acres in the northeast corner of the development will be set aside for a future elementary or middle school. Medford Parks & Recreation Foundation will receive 23.5 acres. "Consistent with the Regional Problem Solving, we've designed more intensive uses closer to Highway 62 and gradually reduce density," Lanier said. "We have commercial on the western part to go with what is actually there now, and as we spread to the east there is lower density." To ease congestion along the Highway 62 corridor, Lanier said, the group has proposed realigning Crater Lake Avenue and extending Springbrook Road, providing north-south alternatives. "Springbrook would come around the west side of Coker Butte, bypass the school site and come out on Vilas," Lanier said. "There would be connections between Crater Lake and Springbrook, too. We feel strongly about the project. We're hoping we've made it attractive enough for the city to want to bring it in." Mike Malepsy, Coker Butte Development's assistant manager and an Eagle Point real estate agent, has been working on the project for nearly 12 years, starting with a 50-acre acquisition along with Bill Leever. Eight years ago they took on additional partners as the vision took shape. "We got in on the ground floor with the Regional Problem Solving process with the Vilas Road property," Malepsy said. "It took about 10 years before the RPS process was finished as they worked with the cities on their internal land and what was needed for future growth." The city, which established its long-term needs for residential and commercial land in 2014, is expected to take up the matter sometime in March with hearings. If the city decides it wants bring the property into its UGB, Jackson County will then weigh in, followed by the state.  Malepsy hopes the approval will come some time in 2016, but he isn't sure which phase of the project would come first. "It depends on what the market is doing," he said. "We have to have a project to bring it into the city and acquire zoning, but I don't know if the residential or commercial will go first. There really is no immediate plan." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at  www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge .   By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 4, 2015 @ 5:21 pm » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » 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. 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