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City ponders annexation slowdown Photo by Jim Craven Central Point city officials are considering limits on annexations as a way to control the growth of new homes, such as these being built on Vista Drive. Central Point faces population problems after steady growth By SUSAN JAY CENTRAL POINT -- One of the county's fastest-growing cities is taking a hard look at annexation limits as a way to control the pace of residential growth. Central Point's new City Council majority was elected on pledges to control home building much more than its predecessors, because of the effects of growth on schools and streets. "We can't stop development," Councilman Dave Gilmour said, "but we have to slow it down to a rate that the city and schools can keep up with." The council discussed the issue at a study session Wednesday night. The city staff was asked to come up with a draft report on city annexation policy by the next council meeting. It's an issue not unique to Central Point. Cities across Oregon, especially in the Willamette Valley, have been looking at ways to control rapid residential growth through annexation policies, said Phil Fell, legislative director for the League of Oregon Cities. At least 20 communities like Central Point are wrestling with growth and its effects on streets, roads and schools. Central Point has no systems development charge for new or improved streets, and its schools are already overcrowded. Fell said it makes sense for Central Point to try to keep the problems from growing worse. In some cities, such as Corvallis, voters are the ones who approve or reject proposed annexations. Other cities have used a phased-in approach, Fell said. He described it as more moderate, planner-oriented and thoughtful. The method "tries to correlate development of services to support (annexation)." Dividing large annexations into smaller pieces over a period of years would give the city more time to do that, said Tom Humphrey, Central Point city planner. "We don't create a lot more buildable residential lots that the city can't sustain," he said. A phased-in approach would also benefit builders because they could build and sell the annexed portion, while knowing what to expect in the future. "It's clear the city will annex property, it's not clear about when," Humphrey said. Council members are nervous about annexing large projects, Humphrey said. A phased-in approach may give them a better sense of their role and ability to manage development over time. Gilmour said he likes the phase-in idea. "The big question will be when to start the phase-in," he said. "My own bias would be to wait until November 2000, after the potential bond election, and begin phasing in after that point and do it slowly." The city now has three annexation applications pending; they total more than 220 acres. The two largest are owned by W.L. Moore Construction, which has 194 acres off Taylor Road and west of Highway 99. Boise Cascade has 22.2 acres it wants to annex at the corner of Beall Lane and Highway 99. Builder and developer Bret Moore, manager of W.L. Moore Construction, said he doesn't quite see the point of the phase-in approach. "To be honest, I'm not sure what it would accomplish," Moore said, because most developers build in phases already. "You can only do so much, and our property out there is an eight- to 10-year project." Moore is developing a master plan for the 194-acre-site including mixed residential and commercial uses. He is also working with the Rogue Valley Council of Governments and its Transit Oriented Development project as part of his development. Moore also said the city doesn't have much building inventory. The city has 871 vacant residential lots approved for home building within the city limits -- enough for about four years of building. The city building department processes on average 250 building permits a year. Annexing the three proposed projects would add an estimated 940 residential lots to the city's building inventory, adding another four years of building lots for a total of eight years. Moore said, however, that it takes a developer several years to move from buying land to selling homes. "What they're going to wind up doing, if they don't think ahead, is create an artificial shortage of buildable land, like in Ashland, in Central Point," Moore said. "All that would do is drive up the cost of housing because bare land would become so expensive." Planning consultant Mike LaNier, who is working with Moore on his development, said the city has a number of ways to control growth, including requiring building in phases or limiting the number of building permits processed each year. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA