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P/SUNNY Temp: 50 °F Wind: WSW at 8 mph Tuesday, April 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 28, 2003 House OKs land-use upset; Senate has its own plan By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — Three of Jackson County’s four House members voted Thursday to allow areas outside the urban growth boundary to be zoned for development without going through the land-use exceptions process. House Bill 2869, backed primarily by Republicans, was approved by a 36-21 vote. However, Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, chairman of the Senate committee that will take up the issue, said the House bill is "too broad." "It will do violence to the land-use planning process. There are no boundaries on unlimited development," he said. Metsger said the Senate is drafting its own proposals to allow industrial zoning in rural areas, but under strict guidelines. Three Republicans — Reps. Rob Patridge of Medford, Dennis Richardson of Central Point and George Gilman of Medford — voted for the bill. Rep. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, voted no. "I think our land-use system is Draconian," Patridge said. "This brings some common sense in dealing with the exceptions process." "This is not the right bill," said Bates. "I know there is a problem, but we need to address this issue carefully." He said he hopes to support the siting bill currently being worked in the Senate. Rep. Tootie Smith, R-Molalla, the chief sponsor, said economic growth in Oregon's urban areas has not been felt in rural Oregon. "One of the largest impediments is our very own land-use planning law," she said. HB2869 allows counties to select and rezone sites outside the urban growth boundary that are suitable for development. Farm and forest land still would be protected, she said. "This is a responsible land-use reform that returns land-use decisions to the local level," Smith told her House colleagues. Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego, led the opposition by minority Democrats against the bill. "The urban growth boundary for 30 years has been the keystone to land-use planning. That is why we look better than so many other states," he said. "If we approve this bill, it will turn Oregon into Anyplace, USA," Macpherson argued. The bill would allow unrestricted development on some 750,000 acres of so-called "exceptions lands" that are basically rural residential with minimum 1-acre homesites. Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S