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Prison foes derail Sports Park plan Jackson County fears costly litigation if park plans proceed By PETER WONG The threat of legal opposition has prompted officials to shelve an update of the master plan for the Jackson County Sports Park in White City. That threat is tied to an effort to overturn state approval of a prison site nearby. Diane Davidson, of Central Point, helped lead the opposition to the prison site at Stimpson Gulch, north of Medford, in 1997 and 1998. She said the issues are linked because the existing sports park is relatively close to the proposed prison. "The sports park expansion would make that area a huge urban development that endangered species and the environment cannot endure," said Davidson, who is president of the Land Owner Resource Management (LORM) Corp. "LORM Corp. will oppose it unless we are able to relocate the prison to reduce the impact. If the prison was not there, LORM Corp. feels there would be a way to work out the mitigation necessary that would allow the expansion of the sports park." The group is represented by a Roseburg lawyer, Stephen Mountainspring. Commissioner Jack Walker said a legal battle over expansion of the sports park would cost the county too much. "We need to decide whether to spend a lot of money trying to fight these people to accomplish the zone change," he said. "We feel we are not in a position to fight a court battle to accomplish it." The changes in land use are necessary for shooting ranges and auto racing facilities. The county wants to relocate the big-bore shooting range. Though Davidson said she has not spoken directly with county officials such as Walker, she wants to enlist county support for an effort to shift the state prison site and do other things. After a state panel recommended it in 1997, Gov. John Kitzhaber chose the Stimpson Gulch site for a future 400-bed work camp and 1,600-bed prison. Davidson and another landowner appealed, but the Oregon Supreme Court upheld Kitzhaber's decision in 1998. It is unclear whether that decision can be changed. Davidson supported an alternate site in Whetstone Industrial Park, which the city of Medford owns west of White City, but the state panel concluded that environmental concerns ruled it out. A statement that Davidson furnished to county officials vowed opposition to any sports park expansion if the state prison site is not changed. "In the present situation, LORM opposes the rezoning and insists on compliance with every intricate detail of the land use process," it said. "If the land use process continues without addressing prison siting and wetlands banks, LORM will continue to oppose the Sports Park." Davidson was scheduled to discuss the tie-ins today at a luncheon of Jackson County Republican Women. Walker and other commissioners also oppose a proposed prison in the county, but he said it should not be tied with the sports park. The original master plan for the Jackson County Sports Park was approved in 1991. Parks Manager Paul Korbulic said a special advisory committee on the master plan recommended last week that the update effort be shelved. He said the county Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will take up that recommendation Jan. 20, before it goes to county commissioners. Walker said the value of an updated plan is that it specifies projects that could be done if money becomes available. "If the plan is completed, we could have something for future use that I think would generate money for the county," he said. "So it is unfortunate that we have gone through all of this." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA