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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, April 5, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 15, 2004 Phoenix ponders regional planning effort Some fear problem-solving process could have detrimental effects on city’s development By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune PHOENIX — The City Council and mayor want to know why the city should remain involved in a countywide coordinated planning effort, fearing it could lose control over its own development. They may get the answers they’re looking for at a meeting tonight. The regional problem-solving process, where the concern lies, is a formal effort by seven cities and the county, led by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, to plan for the next 50 years of growth. The effort is geared at ensuring that development and infrastructure changes in various cities and the county mesh together and don’t cause problems elsewhere. For example, a decision made about a buffer or traffic change between two cities would involve input from everyone involved in the regional process, not just those impacted directly. Advertisement Countering that concept, Phoenix City Recorder Betty Smith said Friday that Mayor Larry Parducci, who was out of town on Friday, sent a letter to RVCOG regarding concerns he had about decisions that could be made that would not necessarily be in the best interest of the city most affected. "In the letter he wrote them," Smith said, "he stated that he was concerned it might not be in the city’s best interest to have ‘any decision within the purview of my city and potentially counter to my city’s best interest to be made by those outside my city.’ " Another concern, according to Smith, was that the process would allow decision-making authority to certain groups but also allow those decisions to be overturned by another participating group. Michael Cavallaro, executive director of RVCOG, said the city of Phoenix had actually "done everyone a favor" by outlining concerns that all involved were likely having. Cavallaro said it was crucial to determine how best to "balance the autonomy of jurisdictions with a collaborative approach." "They’re no different than many of the other jurisdictions that have talked to us," Cavallaro said. "Everyone is thinking the same thing. There are basically some questions about governance, process, just how the decision-making is going to go in terms of which areas will wind up coming into growth in the future and which areas will not. "Actually, I think Phoenix has broken the ice on these kind of policy issues. They’re the first to put their concerns in such a clear and concise form and make it official. We all thought we would wind up needing to address these and it will help the process enormously that we start talking about them. We just needed the process to grow up a little bit before it became obvious what the concerns were going to be." Councilman Harold Burks said the council is hoping for clarification on the overall process and some specific hot points. "One of our concerns is buffer zones (between cities) and reimbursement of land set aside, and if it’s a benefit to the city of Phoenix to be a part of this (regional problem-ssolving) committee," said Burks. "We just have had some reservations about that and RVCOG requested the meeting to explain some things to us. I expect it will be a pretty in-depth discussion so if anybody is interested this is definitely the one to go to." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times