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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 1, 2005 Where do we grow from here? By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Hot topics surfacing as the region plans for the day in the coming 30 years when population grows from the current 135,000 to 270,000 include building on productive farmland, cities blending into one another and dueling jurisdictions after the same land. After five years of each city working out the details through public hearings and late-night planning meetings, the region’s urban areas have proposed a wide range of land to spread out, ranging from zero new acres to nearly double in size. "Now we’re coming back together as a region," said Kate Jackson, Ashland City Councilwoman and chairwoman of the regional problem solving policy committee. The next step will be presenting the unified proposal to the state for approval late this year or early next year. The regional problem solving process is a formal effort by seven cities and Jackson County, led by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, to plan for the valley’s population doubling from its 2000 figure, 135,000, to 270,000, from Eagle Point to Ashland. Advertisement With all the pieces put together, RVCOG released a map this week highlighting the areas selected for growth. Both Medford and Phoenix want land between the two cities: some undeveloped rural parcels south of the Rogue Valley Manor and just east of Interstate 5. Central Point wants the industrial land around Seven Oaks Farms, but Jackson County Commissioner Dave Gilmour has proposed that the county develop a mixed-use high-tech and industrial park for the same area. "It’s going to have to be discussed in the policy committee," said Michael Cavallaro, executive director of RVCOG. Maybe individual jurisdictions can reach a compromise first, said Jim Key, Medford City Councilman and policy committee member. He said Medford and Phoenix council members are planning a meeting to work out an agreement. He said there have been discussions over the years of preserving the open land of the 250-acre Hillcrest Orchard, among the parcels identified for inclusion in Medford’s developable area. "(To keep it from turning into subdivisions) would be for somebody to step up to the plate and buy it and say we’re going to keep this open space now and forever more," said Key. Phoenix Mayor Vicki Bear said she doesn’t think the Phoenix/Medford duel will be a problem. "We’ll either work it out or we won’t," said Bear. "Right now, Phoenix is of the mindset that we really need the land for economic development," said Bear. She also said she’s not concerned about not having an undeveloped buffer zone between the two cities, and there are many ways to do signage or creative landscape buffering. Ashland is not proposing to expand its footprint, Jackson said. "Ashland decided two years ago not to have any growth areas," she said. "We still have a fair amount of commercial and residential land inside the urban growth boundary but outside the city limits." Neighboring Talent is remaining a small town, with only 260 additional acres proposed for the current 1,120 acre urban growth boundary. Betty Wheeler, Talent’s city manager, said it’s difficult for Talent to do anything because it’s surrounded by land zoned "exclusive farm use." "We’re just being a little more conservative," she said. She said the regional process leaves annexation up to the property owner. "By and large these are really left up to the property owner as to when they want to annex rather than the city coming after them," she said. Eagle Point’s current urban growth boundary includes 1,964 acres, and the city is proposing 1,348 additional acres. "We have almost nothing left to annex into the town," said Bunny Lincoln, city planner. She applauds the RPS effort. "It’s brought the communities together and we’re getting a better perspective on what everybody’s needs are," she said, adding that it’s helping with coordinating transportation needs and services such as water distribution. Each of the six expanding cities have selected for development some land identified by the state Resource Lands Review Committee as critically needed farmland. Cavallaro said Central Point is proposing many parcels that are not just farmland, but have been considered by RLRC to be vital, so there could be extensive discussion about those. But not everyone agrees any of these cities need to spread out. Brent Thompson, president of the Friends of Jackson County, a land-use watchdog group, said it’s premature for cities to start bringing in more land. "It seems to me the cities need to have an infill program," he said, adding that cities need to inventory underdeveloped land and use up what they have first. "The more you sprawl, the more everybody has to drive," he said. Thompson also disagrees with Medford and Phoenix eating up the rural land between them. "Whatever they resolve they need to put a buffer between the cities," he said. "I think communities are stronger when they feel a separate identity." John Evans, senior planner with Parametrix out of Corvallis, has been hired to come in as a neutral party to help move the final stages of the process along. "I just think the growth pressures are what’s fueling things and the cost of housing," he said. "It’s a rare opportunity to say what do we want to do with the valley here to make sure it’s an area we want to continue to live in." He said not all regions are as successful as ours, in part because city leaders get territorial, and the process requires give and take. "It’s been tried and failed in other areas but this area has the will to carry it through," he said. Cavallaro said the regional problem solving policy committee meets Tuesday to begin exploring how much the current plan deviates from state administrative rules governing candidate growth areas. ACREAGE GROWTH (city — acreage within current urban growth boundary; proposed additional acreage) Ashland — 4,751 acres; 0 proposed Central Point — 2,873 acres; 2,793* proposed Eagle Point — 1,946 acres; 1,348 proposed Jacksonville — 1,219 acres; 996 proposed Medford — 18,016 acres; 4,594* proposed Phoenix — 1,090 acres; 890* proposed Talent — 1,120 acres; 260 proposed * Medford and Phoenix are putting dibs on some of the same land, and Central Point is including land that Jackson County wants to keep for the proposed Tolo development. Source: Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Acreage numbers include land used by streets. IF YOU GO WHAT: Regional Problem Solving policy committee meeting WHEN: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday WHERE: Room 151 Lausmann Annex, 200 S. Ivy St., Medford. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Where do we grow from here? ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Advertisement s